Dear Infinite Family,
I’m writing from sunny South Africa and have traded sub-20°F degree weather for the mid-80°F’s! Please rest assured that, while my wool socks have been replaced by cotton anklets, our Infinite Family team has been “pulling them up” every morning and working hard to get 2025 started on a positive note. And our teens are responding with enthusiasm and energy!
So far, we’ve visited our Net Buddies in Johannesburg, in Alexandra and at Nkosi’s Haven and tomorrow, Zoleka, Zinzo and I will be in Cape Town, in Khayelitsha. We’ve got a packed schedule of meetings with a range of important stakeholders – none more important than our Infinite Family teens – and we’re also here to help celebrate our 2024 Matric students’ scores.
The great news is that, despite another gritty year, they kept up our long-standing track record (starting way back in 2008) with a phenomenal 96% of them qualifying for advanced education. And – get this – 93% of them qualifying for the country’s top-tier universities! We couldn’t be prouder and are doing all we can to help them navigate the stressful and often confusing transition to college and university.
More good (and really unexpected) news is that, for the first time since I began working in South Africa in 2006, my colleagues say that some local government departments are showing signs of improvement toward operating efficiently. After years of frustration, I can’t actually believe I’m typing this but, having been hamstrung by corrupt political actors and poorly performing staff for the longest time, the bad guys are finally being brought to justice and government offices are taking baby steps to working as they should. What a relief!
Equally surprising, and noteworthy, is the proficient help we’ve had from SARS (SA’s equivalent of the American Internal Revenue Service) and the SA Dept. of Labour to resolve some complicated situations. All green shoots that are giving South Africans hope that life will become easier, and fairer, going forward.
Now to address the elephant in the room: The news from the US that South Africa is reportedly “confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY.”
I needn’t tell you what a sucker-punch that has been for people here. Especially coming on top of the body blow Africa took last week with the announcement that foreign aid funding was being suspended and, just today, the news that USAID has been shut.
Say what you will about the widespread issues South Africa is contending with (and there are plenty), but they are very proud of their post-Apartheid Constitution – which is lauded around the world! And they are sorely offended at the misrepresentation around their judicial response to the deeply sensitive issue of land ownership. This is not the place to go into details but, suffice it to say, it appears to be a poorly informed response to legislation just signed by President Ramaphosa, after five years of negotiation, to pave the way for the South African government to ensure equitable public access of land in parallel with protecting the rights of property owners. (Not unlike our own Eminent Domain legislation, actually.)
As for ‘treating certain classes very badly’ … well, the potential for misunderstanding looms large.
With life-saving funding interventions being stopped, and damning assertions like these, the economic reality is going to be brutal and it’s likely you may be feeling as disheartened as our Infinite Family team is right now. (Got to be honest about feeling the feelings, right?) But make no mistake. The harder things get, the more important our work becomes and we’re absolutely driven to keep making a positive difference to the lives of the teens who depend on us.
So here’s my final message (with my thanks for reading this far!)
For 18 years, our Infinite Family has been one of the forces that has reinforced bonds between “every day” Americans and young South Africans struggling to break free of the bonds of poverty and violence they were born into. And, as mentors and donors, your actions have created healthier and more self-reliant families.
- With your support, we have proven that we can inspire and motivate teens to take responsibility for building their own successful futures. Not with international aid but, like most Americans, by pulling up their own boot straps (or socks, as they say here.)
- You have seen teens who expected to drop out of school before 12th grade become engineers, accountants, pilots, doctors, educators and attain so much they never dreamed was possible.
- You have affected real lives, families and communities by kindling the light of hope from the ashes of helplessness and despair.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring about teens growing up thousands of miles away from your own (and my own) community. My prayer right now is that you will keep showing up for South Africa’s teens and continue being the best part of our Infinite Family.
With gratitude for all you do,
Amy