Middle-class family stayed in Mamelodi for a month
"Mamelodi for a Month is a canvas for us to challenge what is most important in our lives. It is a blank canvas to transform our context. And it is a space to engage you in a conversation around these two fundamentals," said Julian Hewitt.
Today, we're resharing a story that raised eyebrows.
In 2013, Julian and
Ena Hewitt made the news when they decided to embark on a month-long
stay in Mamelodi with their two young daughters.
This middle-class family left their home in Pretoria to live in Mamelodi for one month.
The Hewitts kept a blog, 'Mamelodi for a Month', that detailed their experience, touching on the "why" behind their decision. They felt they needed to do this for themselves rather than for anyone else.
Julian Hewitt wrote, "Ena and I are Christian, and this frames our month in Mamelodi. It is a journey about embracing Christian values far removed from the comfort of our daily middle-class comforts. You might call us neo-monastics for want of a fancy description.
"God does not reside in a church. He is here and now. While it is easy to be a Christian on Sunday morning from 9h00 to 10h30, living Christian values on a Monday morning when life happens that counts."
The people we will live alongside for a month have far greater faith than us in living a daily life of vulnerability. They have far greater entrepreneurial ability than us to live on the poverty line to get by. They have far greater stamina to survive illness without the comfort of a medical aid or in waiting for a bus at 4h30 in the middle of winter that might or might not come. In this regard, we have come to learn from people who have less but often much more.
The family paid just R100 for monthly rent and moved in next door to Leah, their domestic helper of four years.
Although their decision was personal and not intended to create a media spectacle, Julian admitted that they faced significant online backlash, with many people resorting to online threats.
Watch the video interview and some snippets of how they lived in their shack on YouTube.
Julian explained that they faced two opposing mindsets before setting off on their Mamelodi for a Month stay.
"Apparently, we were being reckless and irresponsible parents by willingly opening our children to the multitudes of social ills that ekasi life is ‘synonymous’ with from illness, lack of seat belts on taxis to violence and child rape. If we had listened to this discourse, Mamelodi would have been dead in the water for a month before it started, or Ena and I would have had quite a soulless experience living in Mamelodi sans children," he said.
"The other mindset, which came through as an undercurrent to our month, was that 'We were making a mockery of poverty and essentially had no right to live in a township.' The significant media interest we received definitely added fuel to this fire. Why should a white family living in a shack for a month warrant so much attention when this is daily life for millions of black South African families? Ena and I agree with this assertion."
In a world full of opportunities to experience new things, why do we often focus on the negatives instead of the positives?
While many expressed their anger online, the Hewitts were grateful for pushing forward with their plans.
Their time in eKasi allowed them to experience the true spirit of community, something they wouldn't have gained otherwise.
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