Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
― Nelson Mandela
The human autonomic nervous system has three parts – social engagement, fight & flight, freeze and submit (aka rest and digest). For the social engagement branch to function optimally, a sense of safety is required, when this is absent, we shift to fight & flight, and, as last resort, freeze and submit.
What on earth has this got to do with anything right here, right now and why should I care? Well, we are all interconnected, all interwoven into each other’s nervous systems and subsequently into each other’s stories and right, here, right now we find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic in the midst of an economic depression locked up in lockdown, concerned with our own survival. How safe we feel right now has a direct impact on our personal experience and will continue do so long after lockdown when we emerge from our cocoons and venture back into the world. Our world. This communal world here in Hout Bay. So we find ourselves, all of us, at a juncture where the decisions we make are based on our sense of safety, which determines our actions. If we are to operate in a place of social engagement, we need to work towards a sense of safety for all our communities in our Bay. If we do not, fight & flight becomes the next reaction. And there is little else that threatens our sense safety like hunger and thirst. If we glance at Maszlow’s hierarchy of needs: food, shelter and water supercedes “safety”. We need Courage.
Hout Bay is a truly unique community which understands this sense of need for unity, operating as a single organism. We are said to be a microcosm of greater South Africa where different cultures and socio-economic groups live pocketed alongside each other which affords us a particular vantage point into each other’s lives. Before I landed in this Bay, I perceived “giving” as an act of generosity, but I have now come to understand it as something completely different – each action is an inter-action, as much as we give, we receive, we enrich each other’s lives: the social engagement branch. It is the act of uplifting each other.
Remarkable acts of courage are born out of remarkable crisis. One way our nervous system can process trauma is through action, working towards a constructive solution is potentially an act of integration. The virus brought along with it a deeper economic crisis in our already economically strained land where so many people live on the breadline, and fears of starvation were already growing. In response to this growing threat, David and Lea Froman created Courage, an organisation focused not only on raising much needed funds, but also on streamlining the supply chains and co-ordinating the efforts of existing organisations within Hout Bay. Lea herself had been facing a life -threatening illness and as such, is no stranger to meeting fear with courage. Focus and fearlessness, driven by compassion, motivated by a connection to a community and a deep sense of love for that community, they recognized the need for immediate action.
Here in the Bay we have an estimated 70 NGO’s. This is remarkable in such a small area and speaks to our compassion, kindness and engagement as a community. When chatting to Jeremy Elson of Home Heroes, he suggested that it is a certain person who chooses to live Hout Bay, one who values community and is kind and caring.
Home Heroes is a local taxi service connected to the HBUFC and they are part of a conglomerate who are collectively ensuring the smooth gathering, packing and distribution of food parcels to people within the bay who are particularly vulnerable. Home Heroes have a special dispensation to operate as essential services, and indeed they are just that.
The story of Home Heroes is not only that of a taxi service, but more that of community and the power a ball. Jeremy tells the story of how he; his drivers and some local restaurateurs began playing football on a Monday some years ago. The children who would watch from the sidelines soon joined them and steadily their games, players and teams expanded. So they grew from informal footballers to an official club. Their players come from across Hout Bay, bridging many divides and working towards a common goal – the love of the game. Instead of areas playing against each other, teams were integrated, forming a sense of comradery, breaking down barriers, working towards social engagement, simple gestures have far- reaching effects. A new community emerged, one of football and mentorship, unity and hope. And it has grown from strength to strength, now a mere 2 stages away from being a professional football club. Their three tenets are “Unite Community”; “Uplift” and” Bring Pride”.
When the pandemic crept into our country and businesses began to shut their doors, Home Heroes and its kin organization HBUFC, threatened with potential closure, needed to adapt in order to sustain its many employees, purposefully. They took on the delivery of food parcels. Instead of moving into a space of fear they collaborated with other organizations and people, offering a solution to a great problem, in service to those most in need. Home Heroes together with Gracie in a Bowl, Courage and other many other members of our community have been working tirelessly.
Jeremy explains that there is a football player in every square of HB which is brilliantly advantageous and food parcels are delivered by these players on the back of bakkies into their communities.
Gordon and Michelle from Gracie- Love in A Bowl are no strangers to social engagement. Recognizing the intense need of those around us, they have been providing food to residents for quite some time. 5 years ago they decided they would never refuse anyone food, that no one should go hungry.
And so from humble beginnings grew Gracie- Love in a Bowl. “We call this gift of giving Gracie Love-In-A-Bowl. Gracie, because we have all received Grace in our lives at some point and we wish to be Grace to others. Gracie, Thank You!! And Love-In-A-Bowl because these veggies are planted and nurtured and grown with much Love in the Garden.”
A simple idea which started small, born out of a desire for lost connection to earth and evolving into a connection with others, feeding our people. From growing organic vegetables in their back garden they now have larger tracts of land, offering nutritious food to 14 different soup kitchens across the bay weekly, feeding our people.
Their garden grew into a farm and two immediate neighbours have now contributed fertile land enabling Gracie to expand their reach.
The present crisis has clearly seen a spike in the need for food. Gordon and Michelle are working to meet the exponentially growing demand as the lockdown time drags on, and the vulnerable edge closer to hunger. And it is with love courage that they rise to meet this challenge. ‘As Gordon says “We’re working together to build a new story for South Africa.’ A chance conversation offered up this description “he is a man with a big heart and a wise head”. All this on a slight frame!
Together these wonderful people work together under the banner of Courage. They are just few of the many people in Hout Bay, working in service for the greater good, and they are all stories of love and connection.
When we are in a space of connection, when we feel safe enough to be socially engaged, we shed fear. It does not take extraordinary powers or vast amounts of money to affect change, it takes simple will and a desire for connection, an understanding that we are all in this together and that we each have the something to contribute to the whole, no matter how small. Humble gestures can result in sweeping change and all it requires is for us to see each other, actually see other, to find that point of connection. This crisis will not end when lockdown dissolves, far from it, but hopefully our compassion will have awoken and instead of exploding with anger or retreating in denial and fear, we can evolve organically, engaged and together, working together for a better Hout Bay, one where all our communities feel a sense of safety, a place where hunger does not exist.
Take courage and donate now.
May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
― Nelson Mandela
Author: Carla Collins