So what is a
community!?!
“The
universal brotherhood of man is our most precious possession.” – Mark Twain
When I hear the word “community” I immediately think
of informal settlements and townships. Wow, such narrow-mindedness on my
behalf! I was completely oblivious to the fact that we are somehow all part of
one or even two!
Brownson (1998) defined community as, “...persons
natural environment that is, where the person works, plays and performs other
daily activities.” (Brownson, C.A.) What I am extracting from this statement is
that occupation plays an important role in community life on a small and large
scale. Individuals have unique occupations and so do communities. Communities
have many unique facets such as:
·
Cultures
·
Relationships
·
Views of health
·
Occupations
Communities
are, “...complex with multiple dynamics all interacting and interconnected.” (Jones
& Barlett Publications)
·
Human trafficking is the 2nd largest profit-making
crime in the world next to drug trafficking. There are approximately 27 million
people enslaved in the world today.
·
People most vulnerable to human trafficking are
children, teenagers, young women, refugees and job seekers. These people are
preyed upon in various ways and are literally tricked into going somewhere with
their traffickers, and subsequently held against their will.
·
Of the estimated 2,000,000 persons trafficked each
year, Africa accounts for 450,000.
Statistics relating to South Africa:
· It is estimated that 30,000
children are being prostituted in South Africa.
· Half of these children are
younger than 14 years old.
· Children as young as four are
prostituted.
· There are up to 10,000 child
prostitutes in Johannesburg.
· Up to 1,000 girls are trafficked
to South Africa from Mozambique each year.
· The Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and
Limpopo are the main “recruitment” areas for victims of human trafficking.
(Salvation Army)
These are really scary statistics
and I am glad that we were informed about them so that we can be on the lookout
for any of such illegal practices or help to create awareness of such
demoralising acts.
Let’s move on to the more
positive aspects of community life. To give you an example, I will take you to
Max’s Lifestyle, which is situated in Umlazi, a township just outside Durban.
We describe this area as ‘dodgy’ and yet a couple of us wanted to experience
the community spirit on Sunday afternoon. When we arrived, I could not believe
that in the middle of ‘shacks’ and RDP houses, a spirit so vigorous, elite, cultural
and prominent was present. A DJ was there which could have been part of the
reason for an entrance fee. We ordered our raw meat, which was then ‘braai’d’
over the fire in the kitchen. Once the food came around we prayed and then ate
with our hands. We ate our red meat with a chilly which burned like crazy on
our tongues! There were many people, smoking, drinking, laughing and eating
around us. Once we were done we started ‘jiving’ to the rhythm of the musicJ It was a pleasurable afternoon
as we got a ‘sneak peak’ into life in Umlazi and community life in general. I
honestly did not expect the place to be so well known! Someone told me that it
has become a real tourist attraction!
What really stood out to me was
that we all shared the meat that we ordered and that we used our hands instead
of our usual cutlery. These are all things that give off a sense of ‘belonging’.
There is something so ‘magical’ about sharing a meal together in such ‘close
proximity’.
Brownson, C.A.(1998).
Funding community practice: Stage 1. Americna Journal of Occupational Therapy,
52, 60-64
Jones & Barlett
Publications, Community Practice in OT:
What is it?, viewed 26 January 2014, from http://samples.jbpub.com/9780763760656/60656_ch01_Doll.pdf
Salvation Army, Anti-Human Trafficking. Viewed 27 January
2014, from http://www.salvationarmy.org.za/index.php/our-work/community-care-development/anti-human-trafficking
Community is being experienced daily wherever we are... and you have highlighted the most important aspect of that - to belong.
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