I am a bit behind on updates about my project. Internet where I was staying went out and I haven not had the chance to put stuff up for a few days.

 On July 11 an 12, I visited Orien Center in Atlantis. Atlantis is a community created during apartheid for coloreds. Originally, many factories were located in the area; however, these companies moved to other areas. As a result, there is high unemployment and poverty in Atlantis. 

The Orien Center provides support through many programs, which I observed over my two day visit. There was a protective workshop (a place for people with disabilities to do work: Click Here for further description), a activity center for adults with disabilities, and a special care center for children. I spent most of my time in the special care center. 

During the first day, I helped a physiotherapist give a massage to a 7 year old boy whose legs have not properly developed. Before she started, he was crawling. By the time we (I say we because she showed and then allowed me to help) were finished stretching, he was able to stand up and wlk were finished he was walking. She showed me how to stretch his legs. These stretches allowed him walk with our assistance. I also observed and assisted with a hydro-bath and massage of a 14 year old boy who has very little control of his legs. 

On the second day, I observed a speech therapist work with a boy that probably has cerebral palsy (has yet to be diagnosed). She focused on trying to understand his vocabulary using picture books. I had spent a good deal of time with this particular boy. He had nog spoken a word. Following speech therapy, he was making all sorts of noises. I thought it was so fascinating how the therapist focused on how the child had developed his own vocabulary. 

I was shocked by  the progress in movement that resulted from the therapy sessions that I witnessed. One on one attention led to a child being able to walk and language development. The challenge is that there are not enough therapists to assist and spend time with the children. Parents could be trained to do many of the things that the therapists do at home;however, according to most people that i have spoken with, parental involvement is one of largest challenges to progress. 

The bottom line is that students with disabilities require a great deal of resources. I believe that if these resources are provided to students at an early age then the money needed to help students with disabilities will decrease. That's a long conversation for another day! 

I am off to bed. Stay tuned for pictures from my time at Orien in addition to a post about my experience doing home visits at a township in Atlantis. Lot's of pictures on the way. Not enough internet to post now!

- Feldman

Transportation Experiment

I ask everyone i meet the same questions. One of these  is "What are the four primary barriers to inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace?"The answer  is invariably "Transportation of course. We need better public transportation." This answer has caused I try to imagine the challenges that I would face using the different forms of transportation if I had various disabilities. this has opened my eyes to aspects of transport that I have never considered, and I encourage everyone to start asking questions on this issue. In this post, I am going to go through three forms of transportation - mini bus taxis, MyCiti Busses, and MetroRail train services to illustrate where the system works and fails. 

Mini Bus Taxis: These min-busses can be found all over South Africa and Africa in general. They travel on main roads and stop wherever there is a potential client. There is a driver and then a person who hangs out of the front window yelling the name of the vehicle's destination. I will be happy to imitate these men yelling "Wynberg" so just ask me sometime. The route that I took most often  using this form of transport was from the  Southern suburbs to town on the main road. This cost me 6 rand one way and 12 return.  In town, there is a taxi stop with other taxis going to routes all over the Western Cape. This is a lively place where people offer to sell items from socks to t-shirts to water bottles. 

In terms of accessibility, the mini-bus taxi does not provide a viable option. To begin, these busses pack people in like sardines. On a few occasions, I have had to sit on a crate. Indeed, the goal is to get as many people in as possible so if someone has a wheelchair than the driver is most likely not going to want to use the space to accommodate that person. Even more, the vehicles are not equipped with ramps or any other accessibility contraptions so it would take manpower to get someone in the vehicle.  If for some  strange reason the people operating the taxi  let someone in a wheelchair into their vehicle, the person will be charged for their transport in addition to the transport of their  wheelchair. Someone who is blind with a seeing-eye dog would also be charged twice (people tend to be scared of dogs so this is a big "if."). 

 In addition, mini bus taxis have no planned stops on their routes. The taxi picks up passengers when they are waved down and lets them go when a passenger indicates they are ready to get off. No one is announcing "We are now at Mowbray Shoprite stop." This lack of formality would make it difficult for someone that could not see to know where to stop. They could not see to say "I need to get off just up here" as I would. The bottom line is that the informality of Mini-bus taxis make them undesirable for people with disabilities. 

As a side note, I would like to share my theory regarding music on taxis. I have decided that there are three types of drivers based on the music - the safe drivers (play gospel music, which causes the driver to sing in addition to passengers), the young and probably unlicensed ( They play techno music extremely loud like their taxi is a club. For some reason, when I am tired or have a headache I get on one of these), and the chill drivers desperate for customers to fill their vehicle so they can get to Cape town as soon as possible  so they can get munchies (play reggae music). I digress but if you ever come to Cape Town and use taxis I guarantee you will hear gospel, techno, or reggae on your journey. Unfortunately, you will not be riding with many people with disabilities. 

  

MetroRail:  The train system is unaccessible to people with physical and sensory disabilities in addition to causing more people to have disabilities.  To begin, the train stations that I have been too are not equipped for people with disabilities. There are lots of stairs and no ramps. Next, entrances to he train are not level so if I were in a wheelchair, it would be nearly impossible to get on. Even more, I have heard stories about people losing legs because they tripped getting in and the train moved. Also, there is not a speaker system announcing stops so someone that is blind would have to count stops in order to know where to get off. If they miscounted, the train skipped a stop or the train stopped midtrack (as happened to me yesterday), there would be no indication for someone that was blind. For someone that is deaf, there is not a electric board indicating stops. Even more, as the train passes stations, there is not a clear sign indicating where the train is stopping.  I find the train system's lack of equipment indicating stops to be confusing so I cannot imagine using the system if I had a sensory disability. In sum, the train system is in need of reform. As Vincent Daniel's, an amazing advocate for people with disabilities told me (paraphraising), "If they fixed it there would be more business. They would make the money back! Not only could people with disabilities get on but the elderly could. It's good business. Fix it once and be finished with it!" 

MyCiti Busses: This is the public transportation system with the most hope. The main stations are accessible by ramp. In addition, the busses drive up to doors where ramps come down so people in wheelchairs can get in. On the busses, there are boards where stops could be flashed and a PA system to make announcements. The problem is that they are not used. I am not sure if the drivers are not utilizing the system or they do not work. Also, there is only room for one wheelchair so if two people in a wheelchair wanted to get in ,  a fight might break out! Another weakness is that the accessible busses are currently only on the main routes. The feeder busses I took had numerous problems. Finally, MyCiti Busses are not everywhere. Currently, they are located mostly in Northern Suburbs (like Milnerton). So, I could not have used them when I lived with Rene and Clive in the Southern Suburbs.  Rene, one of the people I interviewed, laughed as she told me the system was supposed to be completed by the World Cup ... In conclusion, there is hope for people with disabilities if technology is utilized and MyCiti Busses continue to expand with new routes.  

Conclusion

With all of these forms of transport, it is important to note that there may be a distance between where vehicles stop and where someone is going. This may cause even more challenges for people with disabilities. I hope this post will lead you (the few who probably read to the end), to think about the challenges people with various disabilities face regarding transport. 

Here are some pictures from areas near my most recent homes. The first 4 pictures are from a beach that is a 5 minute bus ride away from Nicky's place in Milnerton - a northern suburb. The other scenic pictures are from Strand (which means beach). This is where I am currently living with Cathy and her husband William. We are having a great time.  William is a terrific cook. On Friday, I went with Nicky to a restaurant called Mama Africa. It is a tourist haven that I had been told had terrific traditional food. I would like to publicly go on the record and say it was a  very disappointing meal. My point is that I am encouraging William to take on Mama Africa's with a place called Father Willy's (he is a priest). Hope you enjoy the pictures! I have two posts in the works right now. Also, make sure to sing Happy Birthday to Nelson Mandela tomorrow! 

 T                                                Table Mountain in the distance.

                                  Still not sure why there is a Texas Flag in the front of this building. Made me  feel at home though!  Nicky and I  had a terrific seafood meal despite the disappearing waiter!

              I just wanted to share this because I am so happy someone is loved!                                  Good for you Marco!

                                Photographed by Cathy and proof that I am doing just fine.

                                                       Cathy's home in South Africa!!

July 2-8

Yesterday, I ended my alloted time with Nicky's Drive. This does not mean i am finished with the work, but I am finished with the backup research. The goal of Nicky's Drive is to provide funding for people with disabilities to have their cars adapted to fit their needs. My task was to develop methods for Nicky to evaluate applicants. To do this, Nicky arranged multi-day visits for me with two organizations. During the days between these visits, I wrote, researched, and met with other leaders within the disability sector. At night, we had dinner often with some of her friends who I approve of as they were all fun to be with.  I have become increasingly bad about updates so here is a summary of July 2 - July 8. 

I visited the Chailil Campaign July 2 and 3. The Chaili Campaign was founded by Chaili who has Cerebral Palsy, her sister, and two friends.  The original goal was to simply gain money to buy Chaili an electric wheelchair . The organization  now  funds and organizes 8 programs. These include art therapy, providing occupational therapy, writing contests, social entrepreneurship and leadership training, and educational services.  For this, Chaili was recently awarded the Children's Peace Prize - the youth version of the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Unfortunately, due to school holidays, I was only able to visit one of the programs operated by the organization.   I went to hospital where the South African Government now operates a  residential facility for people with disabilities. In the past, a popular  way to deal with disabled people was to put them in residential homes.  When parents did this, they essentially signed away their parental rights. Sadly, this was  a welcomed contract for many parents. In recent years, the policy has been to limit residential segregation since the goal of legistation and the disabilitiy sector has been "inclusion." With that said, there remains people in homes. Within the last 10 years, many of these places were deemed inadequate. Zelda, the CEO of Chaili campaign, explained how rats were found to be climbing and even chewing  the faces of patients. Even more, many were limited to their bed with no movement for years, and as a result, their bodies formed to that positions that they were left in. This is devastating because through theraphy these people could have maybe used a wheelchair or even moved on their own. As the inadequate homes were shut down, the patients became wards of the state. The hospital that i visited is one of the places where they now stay. The Chaili Campaign provides an occupational therapist and speech therapist once a week to visit patients. It was truly a sad place - a home for the forgotten and abandoned  (One of the patients had not been visited by a relative since 1976).  When I walked into the first ward (for children), I really could not believe that this was a real place. I really don't know how to describe it in words and won't try. I should note that  there were some aspects of hope in this home.Thrrough the assistance of the therapists sent by the Chaili Campaign, the patients are now being engaged in deeper ways by caretakers. There are now rooms, which provide places for the patients to relax and engage in socio-dramatic play (This is when children role play situations. It is an essential element in developing social skills). Following my visit to the hospital, I was able to interview the CEO of the Chaili Campaign. I am thankful for all the time that they gave me. 

In this paragraph, I will summarize Thursday to Sunday of last week. On Thursday, I moved into NIcky's flat in Milnerton (pictures of the nearby beach to come). Then, on Friday, I had a meeting in the morning with the Association for People with Disabilities and then in the afternoon had the most exciting meeting in a long time ... Nicky and I met   with Cathy Arendse who had just returned from her time in the US through the Humphrey Fellowship. It was so great to have time to meet with all the players in the project (minus Professor Shields who will join us via Skype sometime soon). We had fun catching up,  reflecting, and discussing ideas. That evening, I attended a Shabbat dinner. I am so thankful that NIcky arranged this for me. It is always amazing to experience this Friday night custom somewhere other than home. There is something so spiritual and exciting about it (and I should add delicious as Challah and herring and roast chicken are never bad! . On Saturday, I went on one of those double red decker busses around the city. I took the person that replaced me at Rene and Clive's. THey were going out late for the evening and asked me to etnertain and stay the night since it was his first Saturday.  He was a French student. On the tour, we saw Hout Bay, Camps Bay, and other major sites of interests. It was truly one of the top 3  most beautiful drives I have ever been on. I really wish i had done this earlier in my stay as I really learned more about places I wanted to see.  Following the bus tour, I showed the stuent around the area where Rene and Clive live. Sunday was so rainy that my plans to go to the Hout Bay Market were canceled. I just relaxed and then took the red bus (which I had a 2 day pass for) back to town to head to Milnerton. 

On Monday, I had another meeting with the Association for People with Physical Disabilities and at night, I went with NIcky to a meeting about professional speaking. Some of the people were true characters in the best sense. On Tuesday, I had two meetings. I was pleased and excited to be joined by Cathy for these. We met with the coordinator of the Western Cape Network on Disabilities and then with the director of a major disabilities organization (this was an interesting experience. This man was deaf and we communicated through a translator). On Wednesday, I visited the Orien Center for the first of two days.   My next post will focus on this! 

- Feldman 

State of My Ingram Summer Project Part 2

Let me take you back to June 28... 

On that morning, I  I visited the Village Work Center - a projective workshop operated by the Western Cape Cerebral Palsy Association. Protective workshops (PWs) are places for people with disabilities to go work.  This work is not part of the open labour market as people situated in PWs are not employed by operating companies; however, many PWs  have contracts with companies to produce their products. This i learned was For instance, the Village has a contract to sew and package comforters. These types of contracts are one of the ways such an establishment stays open. Important to note is that this is a fairly new development. In the past, many PWs simply served as a place for people with disabilities to go and do something. . In addition, increasingly, a goal of PWs is to help people with disabilities gain skills so that they can get jobs in the open labour market. People at PWs may go on to get jobs at a grocery or even a factory. 

Going to the Village Workshop provided a great break from my interview heavy scheule. Something that I felt lacking from my time in Cape Town had been interaction with people with disabilities that were not working disability sector. I had been struggling because the people that I had been talking about were not the people i had been talking with. They were and continue to be for the most the part, the operators of  organizations that assist people with disabilities. Yes, i had spoken to someone that was blind, with cerebral palsy, and in a wheelchair, but  they were in a sense an exception to the rule in terms of the status of people with disabilities in the Western Cape. Its not that i haven't enoyed or been inspired by the people i talked with, but it was just getting to be a bit repetitive. Going to the the Village was a great change of pace. 

At Village, I was able to speak and meet with people with a variety of abilities. This is represented by the variety of activities facilitated at the Village. There was a place where bath toys were being packaged, a sewing room (mostly occupied by girls) where some people were making complex patters while others simply did straight stitching, and a wood shop. I really enjoyed speaking with some of the workers, especially those who were excited about the work that they were doing. For instance, there was one man who had been there for 26 years. He was so happy to show me around the wood shop where he had duties that no one else was permitted to perform.

I am so happy that I went to the Village Work Center. It gave me the opportunity to see a service that I had heard so much about (as Protective Workshops were mentioned to me in almost every meetings) and to develop a more personal connection to the cause that I have been researching. 

On that Friday, I met with Vincent Daniels - an energetic leader in the disability sector. He works for the Cape Town Society of the Blind. He is blind himself and works on awareness. In addition, he serves at the Chair of the Western Cape Network on Disability. The is a consortium of 60 - 80 (I forget) disability NPOs in the Western Cape. We did not finish our conversation, as waiting for us downstairs was Hillary Lane (who I wrote about in my last post and is the deputy chair of the Network). She drove us  to the opening of a new center to teach people with disabilities computer skills. It was a project of the organization supporting people with quadriplegia. There were an excess of disability advocates at the event so I had a blast networking! 

I have started and will complete a post about my work with Nicky's Drive, which started July 2, tomorrow or  within the next few days! Let's just say its been fun, full of learning and produced some great ideas. 

- Feldman 

Happy July 4th!

Tonight is my last night staying with the Caesar family. I cooked a July 4th meal with the daughters. We had hamburgers (an altered version of my moms recipe as we did not have BBQ sauce, Worcester, or onion soup mix), potato salad and french fries (there was a dispute on what type of potatoes we should have so we settled on having both!), avacodo, and an American flag cake. With all the farewells, I failed to write State of My Ingram Project Part 2. Instead, here are some pictures from going to Kirstenbosch - the nearby botanical garden with hiking trails - and our July 4th celebration. 

                       This is the sculpture of Nelson Mandela at the entrance of Kirstenbosch. I overheard a tour guide tell a group "I personally think this looks more like Jimmy Carter."

My SA mama - Rene -  and I in our July 4th outfits 

                                               Milo and Duke Caesar - my hiking partners once in a while. Aren't they            adorable?

State of My Ingram Summer Project Part 1

I apologize for my lack of posts about my project. I have gotten into the habit of going on hikes in the afternoon. This gives me time to reflect and grapple with the information I gathered during the day.  Even more, I get to gaze at the beauty of Cape Town. It is truly a remarkable place. The fusion of city and nature is unlike any place I have ever been. The only issue is that I keep returning home and wanting to relax as opposed to return to the subjects that I have been contemplating for an hour or two or three sometimes (I can never get myself to turn around to go home once I start walking). Thus,  I have yet to update you on last week in terms of my project. Well, here is what I will call the State of My Ingram Summer Project. I will issue this post in two installments. 

 Last week, I am proud to share with you that I have made some great breakthroughs in relation to my research.  On Monday, I went to Stellenbosch - the second oldest town in the Western Cape (the first being Cape Town). It is a lovely place - truly picturesque. Surrounded by nature, the town has maintained its Dutch (I looked up the origin) architecture. The buildings are quaint, white, and well maintained. I had to resist from walking into every art gallery and cafe as I wandered around during the hour I had between my arrival by train and meeting. There is a sculpture festival occurring in the town currently. One of the pieces is a clothesline with shirts hanging. It was located in the middle of a square in the town. I was originally puzzled by what I thought were drying clothes. I understood why that was there when I saw the brochure about the festival, which featured that particular sculpture. I am going to have to return to Stellenbosch on a day when I do not have a meeting so I can explore more and go to the famous wineries. I also need to find out whether that clothesline is literally that or made out of steel or something crazy! 

My purpose for being in Stellenbosch was to interview Corne Rossouw, Liana Bester, and Wentzel Bernard. All three of these people have been or are currently involved with sports for people with disabilities. Corne has previously been in charge of  South Africa's Paralympic Team (which is better than the SA Olympic team and as a result is very popular). She was the kindest lady and so knowledgeable.  It was so fascinating to here the answers to my questions (which are the same in every interview) from the perspectives of people that have trained people with disabilities to be athletes.  This interview proved to me that the obstacles faced by people with disabilities can be overcome when people invest time in finding ways to adapt tasks. I was moved by one things that I believe Corne said and the others agreed with. She explained that she has the same expectations for every athlete that she asseses - whether the person is abled or disabled. For example, if a requirement for a team is that someone runs a distance in a certain amount of time, then she expects that the person does it. Perhaps the person does this with a prosthetic leg or in a wheelchair, but in order to be considered, they have to meet standards. I lofed this notion because it epitomizew the idea of inclusion and emphasizes the fact that with adaptations people with disabilities can be successful. 

One of the challenges with this interview was that three people were providing answers. Typing was difficult because there were interruptions, etc. I am so happy that I recorded it so I can, as I will with every interview, transcribe it (This is the only upcoming task that I am sort of dreading). I will put more direct quotes on here once that process is finished. 

On Tuesday, I met with the director of an NGO that provides assistance to people with disabilities in addition to conducting advocacy work. For instance, she was involved in the starting of Dial a Ride, a program that has been mentioned in nearly every interview I have conducted. Dial a Ride is a program, run by the City of Cape Town that provides transportation for people with disabilities. It is a fleet of about 20 mini-busses equipped for people in wheelchairs and other challenges. Cape Town is the only city in South Africa with such a program. The only thing is that Dial a Ride currently does not have nearly the capacity to help everyone in need of its services. One estimate that I have been given is that there are 6,000 people on a waiting list. Even more, the service is often unreliable as traffic and a limited time frame (it runs from 5am to 7 PM) make it efficiency difficult. I heard one account of someone who is picked up at 5 am despite not starting work until 9. Even more, the building that she works in does not open until 7 so she often has to wait outside. The bottom line is that Dial a Ride is a wonderful idea with  many kinks. Despite its negatives (which people have been very quick to point out), I think it is important to note that it is exciting that Cape Town is at least attempting to address the number one barrier to the employment of people with disabilities - transportation. 

On Wednesday, I met with the most remarkable and kind woman - Hillary Lane. She has Cerebral Palsy and currently is the CEO of the Western Cape Cerebral Palsy Organization. She is extremely passionate and full of information, opinions, and ideas. One of the most fascinating facts about her is that she recently walked the New York Marathon. It took her 10 hours, but she did it. Here is a video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMdxPZ_4nVw and an article - http://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/from-cerebal-palsy-to-the-nyc-marathon-1.1157435#.T_NsTBwwJV8 - about her walking of the marathon. It is truly an impressive feat. Please watch and read. The video focuses on the technology that was used to help her reach this goal. Ironically, the technology was  a product of the University of Stellenbosch, a fact that connects to the start of this post. Therefore, I am going to end Part 1 of 2 of my project update with that fact. 

FYI: Tonight is my second to last night with Caesar family as I am moving to Nicky's place on Thursday morning. I recieved a preview of where I will be living on Sunday when I visited Nicky. I am so lucky. For the past few weeks, I have lived by the mountains and now I am going to live by the sea! I am going to spend my final night with the Caesar making hamburgers for July 4th celebration (a happy one to everyone). Goodnight and look for part 2 tomorrow. 

- Feldman