Theresa Ekpa - My Year In Mdantsane

Theresa Ekpa came to South Africa to spend a year in Mdantsane as a volunteer

It is with greatest pleasure, that I am sharing with you today my interview with German volunteer Theresa Ekpa. I have met Theresa a couple of month ago in Mdantsane while shooting our documentary movie at the Inkwenkwezi High School in Nu 6 in Mdantsane and this interview has been long on my list. 

This talented, humble 19 year old young woman deserves some exposure.

The Beauty From Two Different Parts Of The World

Theresa is a sweet, thoughtful and very tall girl. She is also an incredibly beautiful girl, who has been blessed with the best two different continents have to offer.

Yeah! That is what we have always said! Girls and Boys do not stay at home, go and visit foreign places and fall in love with someone, who is not like you!

Born to a German mother and a Nigerian father she has all, what nature can give to someone. And more than that. Theresa's head is sitting straight on her shoulders and this young lady has the confidence of a 30 year old.

Theresa- My Year In Mdantsane Has Changed My Life And The Way I See Life

When we sat down in the lush, tropical gardens of Green Living activist Annegret Mostert, where half tame horn bills were watching us from a distance, waiting to be fed, we discovered, that Theresa is at ease in front of the camera, as she is in a simple conversation with you. We were able to record an one hour interview with her, that was a walk in a park compared to other interviews we have done. Theresa knows exactly what she wants to say and how she wants it to say.

There is great sensitivity in the way she formulates her sentences and when she asks you to give her a moment, to think about a question before answering, she gets this dreamy look in her eyes. Was I like this when I was 19?  Hm, well......

Her calmness and self assurance can be may be attributed to the fact, that she grew up with two cultures and with the inborn understanding, that each culture deserves respect in this world.

This made her also a perfect candidate for a volunteer position in Mdantsane.

Hornbills were waiting to be fed in Annegret Mostert's Garden

After completing her German matric, Theresa followed her heart and looked for a volunteer position in another country. 

She saw an opening for a volunteer position at a High School in the second biggest township of South Africa - Mdantsane, that was offered by the German Development Organisation GIZ (Gesellschaft Fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit). The position required of the succesful applicant to work and coach an environmental youth club at the High School Inkwenkwezi in collaboration with WESSA, a South African division of the WWF(Worl Wide Fund For Nature).
She applied and she got the position. 

Theresa followed her heart and her roots to Africa and came to live in Mdantsane with a local guest family for one year. This is huge!

The Theresa Ekpa interview with Theresa in Annegret's dream garden was a walk in the park. And she sort of belonged there.

This is really huge! 

For the ones, who do not know Mdantsane - still today Mdantsane is an exclusively black township. Browsing through government statistics, you will find that the graphs show a 3 % population of white people. White residents! But we wonder where are they?

And hey, with a population of close to 500.000 people according to government census, this would give us a number of 1500 white people living in Mdantsane? 

We are coming to Mdantsane since five years and we have not met one single white person living in the township.

So for a young girl from Germany like Theresa, to come and live in a different culture, and to live like the local people do, take the taxis for transport or walk, eat the same things your guest family eats  - that is a huge thing and a huge challenge. Let's hear what Theresa has to say!

Tell us a little bit about yourself? Why did you want to come to Mdantsane?

I am nineteen years old and I have been living my whole life in Germany. My father comes from Nigeria, he is a metallurgist and works now in England. He has lived for over thirty years in Europe in different countries. I have been to Nigeria only once, when I was eight years old. But I want to get to know Africa and the reason why I applied as a volunteer with the GIZ was, that I wanted to meet different people and get in touch with different cultures.

How to you see yourself today, coming from a multiracial background?

I definitely do not see myself as half German, half African. I am German, I live in Germany but I want to go and visit Nigeria again, my father's country, so that I can understand my African heritage better. The position in Mdantsane was a start to get in touch with the African continent. My father and my mother both are very proud, that I am doing this volunteer year in Africa.

What was your first impression of Mdantsane? Did you know about the history of townships in South Africa?

My first impression of Mdantsane was, that it is a place with incredible vibes. It is so colorful and energetic. Alone, to watch Hi-Way scenes during one day is incredible. I did my research before and when I found out, that Mdantsane is the second biggest township in South Africa, I was very surprised. I only knew about Soweto and when I read, that Mdantsane is second biggest I applied for the position. I did not want to be in a very small place.  

How is it to live with a local guest family in Mdantsane?

It was very, very challenging. I think experiences are different with different families, but the problem probably was that my arrival had not been properly announced and when somebody comes to live with a family for one year and the family is not prepared for this, it can cause problems.

Did you encounter security problems in Mdantsane?

I was warned about the security issue before many times. And I am definitely more aware of my environment here in Mdantsane, than I am in Germany but in general I was safe so far. I have not encountered any bad or life threatening things. I just live my life like I would live it in Germany. I am also not too scared.

 I was not too scared, I just live my life like in Germany

And Night Life? The famous Mdansane Night Life?

Unfortunately not! (A big sigh comes in our direction). My guest family was very strict and I was not allowed to go out at night. I would have loved more to dive into the music scene, go dancing, meet more people. I know that everybody goes to the Endaweni lounge but I have not been there. But it is on my list. I will go there one evening before I leave.

Any Boyfriends? 

No, I feel not that I am ready for a boyfriend or a longer relationship. It will come at the right time.

Did you make friends?

Oh yes I did, I found genuine friends and I know that some of these friendships will endure time and that they will last even when I am gone. 

What did you learn from your work as a volunteer?

It changed my life. I learned not to freak out always, to become calmer and develop more patience. I could see people live differently than we do in Germany and they are also happy and satisfied. The idea or objective of our volunteer programme is not so much to develop or help other people but to grow and develop our own character, so that we can take back what we learned to our own country and transform our country from the inside, by being less racist, less prejudiced. I do not think we are really capable of helping the people of Mdantsane, especially the youth, but we can inspire them as well, so that they will take steps in life. that they would have not taken otherwise without knowing us 

Theresa's Love Affair With Tea

We are going to stop at this point. Today's interview was supposed to make you a little curious what else this courageous young woman has to say. We have prepared a long interview with her, that is going to be uploaded on youtube in the next days.

Thanks Theresa for your time and patience.