Adrian Ruchini - We embrace the world

For the next evening we have accepted the invitation of Janey (not to be confused with Janie) to go to Table Mountain to admire the sunset, and the following day we are meeting with Janie (one more, do not be confused, seems that this name is very popular in South Africa) to see the surroundings of Cape Town. It is good that we have not planned anything in advance, besides we are very flexible as travellers and easily adapt to changing circumstances.

Yes, we have been also advised a new hotel, tomorrow, probably, we will change our place of stay.

Magic morning. Clouds have descended on the ocean, a warm wet wind is blowing, everything is in noble white and silver shades: water, sky, mountain, horizon. After breakfast, we go out on the terrace to breathe the air that the wind is bringing from the ocean. The picture is so fascinating, it is possible to stand here all the day, thinking and admiring the beauty, but let’s go, Geraldine is waiting for us.

We’re going to meet her in a Cape Town suburb called Langa. Only black people live there, and white people can only be safely accompanied by those who are known and trusted here. Rotary members belong to this limited circle. As we said, they are engaged in pre-school education project.

For better understanding what we want to tell you, think about this: in South Africa, 75 percent of the population is illiterate, the level of education (we are talking about black people) is so low that after the end of primary school, 85 percent of students can neither read nor write, and only a very small number of citizens pay taxes to the state. It is not surprising that in areas, where the poorest population lives, there is nothing, no public services, no social protection…nothing. It is easy to guess, which future awaits kids running around with barefoot in the trash and chasing dogs with sticks, or rather, that they could have no future, because they are almost doomed.

Trying to somehow fix the situation in this country, caring for people, the Rotarians decided to start from the beginning, namely the infant schools. To give to these children knowledge, skills, education and culture means to give them hope and a future, and at the same time it means to take care of their country and their children and grandchildren and how they will live here in the future.

The small infant day-care centre where we have been brought consists of one room, in the centre of which there is a large rectangular table. Children of three or four years old are sitting around it and collecting large puzzles that lack parts. We can’t take our eyes off the babies: huge black eyes, plump lips, curly hair, disarming sincere smiles, they look like live dolls, extremely charming children.

Their teachers are two tall black women: they ask the children to sing a song. We feel awkward, on one hand, we see the poverty and a little affectation of the situation. On the other hand, we understand that these ten kids are lucky. They are lucky to be here, to collect this broken puzzle, and not to run on the street without supervision. They also will have their lunch and, Oh, my God, they will even sleep after it, also if on the floor all together. But to understand all this, you need to see a lot.

Then we visit another infant school, a larger one. It consists of three small rooms, each of it has at least 15 children, in the farthest chamber, one-year-old babies are sleeping, as usually, on the floor on spread blankets, not noticing the screams and noise from the neighbouring rooms.

We drive around Langa for a few hours. To be honest, this was one of those days that can change the perception of life and our attitude to many things, to those that we have and to those with which we can change this world for the better.

It has been really impressive what we have seen, the tough action of local rotarian friends with the help of all five continents, yes, because all the continents are part of the project and here also a similarity to our experience, connecting the world. And, at the end of the tour, one more surprise. The invitation from one of our new friends, Chris, to his house for a cup of coffee and sharing of our feelings.

Chris’s house is bright and spacious, in the British style, with a large well-kept garden. We wait until he turns off the alarm and all the security measures at home, unlocks all the locks and bolts, and here we are, inside. Large spacious rooms, photos of children on the walls, a lot of books and paintings, very cosy and quiet while you are inside. We talk for a long time, having coffee and cookies.

These people are really very nice, we are lucky to get to know the country with their help. In fact, who can show better the beauty of the place than the person, who has lived here all his life and who wants to transmit with their hospitality all the love for this unusual city. And it is really incredible! We are falling in love with Cape Town more and more.

Janey has recommended a charming hotel close to them. We go to have a look at it and immediately understand why she has recommended it. A colonial-style mansion furnished with antiques, high ceilings that fill the space with air, a huge tropical garden with a river and small lakes, where huge beautiful wild birds walk, squirrels run. The queens of this garden are eight huge turtles who live here. They can do everything, even come inside the hotel in the evening, and choose a secluded corner in the flowers and sleep peacefully. This lost paradise is situated right under Table Mountain, so you can imagine the view from the window.

We have been lucky to find one spare room, all the other rooms are already occupied by guests… well, to be honest, this is not exactly a «room», but a huge suite, very beautiful, in noble shades of gray and white, with an interior designed with excellent taste and windows overlooking the garden. The room is so excellent that we don’t want to leave it, but we still have a lot to see, and Janie will show us the best place from where you can watch the sunset.

As we do not want to lose a minute, we go out of town, before meeting Janie, to meet the wind and the ocean. The road is so beautiful, that sometimes it seems that you are asleep, and all what happens to you is a dream. The feeling of happiness does not leave us for a second. From one side you see the ocean, from the other rocks. We pass white beaches, cliffs, mountains, a whale is waiting for us and, from one of the cliffs that has an incredible view of the bay, here it is! A whale! It is floating, rising from time to time, from its home place, the sea. There’s always a thought in the head: «Thank you! Thank you for this!». We haven’t experienced such excitement and such strong emotions for a long time.

In one of the most beautiful places Adri has stopped the car and we go out to admire the view. The man sitting on the bench, hearing us speak Italian, asks with joy: «Are you from Italy? I’m Italian too!». We fall into talk, and he tells us that he has been living here in the suburbs of Cape Town for 20 years, having left Vicenza in the North of Italy. When we ask him if he is afraid to live here, he answers simply and clearly: «I know that South Africa is not going through the best times. Every afternoon when I return home from my office in Cape Town, I stop here, sit on the bench, look at the ocean, and think about how happy I am to see all this. Will I ever be able to leave it? I think I will not. There is no place in the world more beautiful than this,» said a man who was born and raised in Italy, but whose heart was rooted in South Africa. We are impressed by his sincerity and his words, and, by the way, we almost agree with him.