"A person is only a person through another person." The community members of Manenberg who participated in SHAWCO's IT training were immensely grateful for the assistance provided by their Vanderbilt trainers. Many of the trainees are local women who want to pass their new IT skills on to their children. By helping with this program, we may have not only had a direct effect on the adults who sat through the course--there will hopefully be a radiating effect outward to Manenberg's young people, as well. Young people who badly need extra support in a still highly unequal education system.
On the flip side, we have learned much about Manenberg, the condition of Cape Town's townships, and development, in general, from these community members. The first-hand experience of working in the SHAWCO Manenberg Centre has been an education in itself and has lit a fire in many of us to learn how to best work with communities like Manenberg, both here in South Africa for the next few weeks and beyond.
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