“Just because you do something differently, you are still a Venda. You will always be a Vendathat cannot change. Treating the people from your own culture with more love can make your
Venda people even stronger. It is okay for some things to change, if we see it is better. You drive
cars and use cell phones now because you see it is good.”
The man agrees, but I can tell I’ve just sent his world into whirlwind. Beliefs and traditions he has
abided by for his entire life are now beginning to uproot, and he doesn’t know how to process it
all at once. Then, remembering that most of this culture has also evolved beyond ancient spiritual
beliefs, and now embraces Christianity as the authority on life, I decide to inspire him to consult
his guiding forces.
“Just think about why God made her a woman and not an animal. Talk to God, and you will have
your answer. And no matter what, you are always a Venda. It’s your blood.”
“I will talk to God,” the man walks away.
This was such an eye opening experience for me. I realized something during that conversation
which I intend to keep in mind as I labor out here. These once oppressed cultures possess a very
real fear of changing the one thing that they have managed to preserve throughout their history
of wars, disease, and injustices. Their concept of culture is, in many cases, their only source of
identity- it is the one thing that they have always had that even the turmoil of life could never take
from them. This illuminates the most needful lesson of all as I embark on inspiring progress
during my second year among the Venda people.
At the core of all that I do, shall be the lesson that just as life moves forward, we as individuals
are destined to move forward. If we aren’t willing to adapt or to progress, then we aren’t
participating in life at all- we are simply written history in an old and forgotten worn out book.
Simply put, to survive, culture must also move along with life. I am grateful for the many
opportunities I have to demonstrate this truth among my host community.
In January, I launched Takalani Empowerment Project. Takalani is one of my nicknames in
South Africa, and it is a Tshivenda term meaning, “be happy.” The Takalani approach is to
stimulate evolution through a process which allows the participants to identify their own needs
and aspirations, to voice their perceived limitations to overcoming those challenges, and to unveil
new beliefs in their own potential to transcend limitation. In other words, all of the participants are
actively engaged in their development process as individuals. That process is then translated to
community projects which put this newfound confidence into action. There are no hand-outs, and
no promises of someone coming to solve their problems for them. The participants understand,