I know most of you reading this are in some extremely cold weather right now and don’t want to hear about how hot it is here. But yesterday was honestly one of the hottest days I’ve ever experienced in my life. Summer is officially here in Bizana, and when the sun beats down here it can get oppressive. There’s no humidity really, it’s just strict heat.
We spent the weekend visiting our Accenture/UNDP teammates in Umtata, then we all drove to Coffee Bay on Sat/Sun. My Accenture team is working in Bizana in the Oliver Tambo District Municipality, the other Accenture 4 are working in Umtata in the King Sabato Dalindyebo Municipality; both municipalities are in the Eastern Cape Province. The areas that my team are focused on are the same as the Umtata team (IT, HR, Finance, and Local Economic Development), so essentially the projects mirror each other… just in different locations, different problems and issues, different challenges and roadblocks. In any case, it was great to see Umtata after hearing so much about it – both from our team there as well as my colleagues in the municipal realm. Umtata is a bit more of a political “hub” for the Eastern Cape, so many travel there often for meetings – about a 3 hr drive from Bizana.
Umtata is a city and a bit more developed, whereas Bizana is more like a little town with a “downtown” that's basically 2 perpendicular streets . Umtata’s streets are on a grid, there are traffic lights... no traffic lights in Bizana (traffic lights are known here as “robots” btw – I love the roadsigns that read “Robot – 500m ahead”). But you can tell there is some definite danger in Umtata and our teammates certainly have to be much more cautious at times. And sadly, the streets are just so dirty – trash and litter scattered everywhere, as well as bags of trash gone uncollected, empty boxes left by the hawkers and street markets everywhere. But our stay in Umtata was enjoyable nonetheless – had a terrific dinner on Friday night, saw the guest house where our teammates stay, and went to the Nelson Mandela Museum on Saturday morning.
As I mentioned the other day, Nelson Mandela is from that region and grew up in Qunu, which is a village outside of Umtata. He actually has made his home back in the area today.
During my sophomore year at Northwestern, I took “South Africa in the 20th Century” as a class towards my History major. I was fascinated by the history of this country while in that class, making it even more exciting to come and work here. Much of it has come back to me quickly just in some of the reading I have done since being here, as well as hearing stories and accounts of life under apartheid. Before I left the States, I picked up a copy of Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom and have been reading it in bits a pieces so far. Probably sounds a bit cliché I realize, but the book has come to life for me much more than it would have just reading it at home. When he mentions regions or towns, I have a better sense of where they are in relation to the cities. I recognize people’s names, like those who mentored Mandela, or his counterparts in the circle of “freedom fighters.” Mandela and Oliver Tambo were the best of friends and opened a law firm together in the 50s in Jo-burg… and now here I am working in the District named for Tambo.
(An excerpt from Mandela) 
During my sophomore year at Northwestern, I took “South Africa in the 20th Century” as a class towards my History major. I was fascinated by the history of this country while in that class, making it even more exciting to come and work here. Much of it has come back to me quickly just in some of the reading I have done since being here, as well as hearing stories and accounts of life under apartheid. Before I left the States, I picked up a copy of Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom and have been reading it in bits a pieces so far. Probably sounds a bit cliché I realize, but the book has come to life for me much more than it would have just reading it at home. When he mentions regions or towns, I have a better sense of where they are in relation to the cities. I recognize people’s names, like those who mentored Mandela, or his counterparts in the circle of “freedom fighters.” Mandela and Oliver Tambo were the best of friends and opened a law firm together in the 50s in Jo-burg… and now here I am working in the District named for Tambo.
(An excerpt from Mandela) Walking through the museum was enlightening. Mandela is such a charismatic and respected leader, a worshipped figure – in South Africa and throughout the world. To learn and see photos about his history, his struggle, his years of imprisonment, and his fight for freedom of his people and of South Africa is amazing. Through him alone you get a sense of what so many in this country have overcome. But it also put a lot into perspective for me about my work.
Mbizana is developing and has its own struggles – 75% unemployment rate, lacking infrastructure, budgetary constraints, health issues and a rising HIV/AIDS population – but sometimes I have to remember that this government alone is still developing. I am working in and seeing first hand the growth of a young democracy. Mandela wasn’t freed from prison until 1990 and not elected as President until 1994 - when his party, the ANC (African National Congress), took over. The organizational, managerial, and decision-making issues I witness daily come with the territory… many colleagues and this Municipality are in a relatively new position and learning as they go. And though so much has been overcome, there is still such a long way to go.
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