What it Means to be a Dreamcatcher

     

        

This is me with my host family Marie and Leonard.

        When I first got off the plane at George Airport I was taken to the beach in Stillbaai where we sat at a restaurant and I shared a sandwich with my Dreamcatcher mentor Anthea. Watching the giant waves, I immediately decided I'd love it here. I am a Dreamcatcher. I became one the moment I was welcomed into my host parents: Marie and Lenard's home, and joined in on a soccer game going on just in front of our house. The purpose of a Dreamcatcher is to dispel bad dreams from your sleep, the object is a symbol of lighter times. It is hope that rises as new volunteers come into the village each week, month, and year. With that hope, the Dreamcatcher can create a desired dream, a dream for hot water, a dream for education to grow up through, a dream for a roof over your head and food to eat, a new door, or a painted mural.

       You think about these dreams and you have to ask yourself, how you can be the best version of what your world needs, whether it's as simple as being a friend to play soccer with or building a wall to paint on. When you leave Melkhoutfontein you will still be a Dreamcatcher, because it is a legacy you have created there. What you do there is permanent when it matters. You don't hold a baby for three days and then leave, that isn’t what this program is about. What you do here needs to be necessary work fit for the time you spend here and what you decide to do with it. If someone needs a door you don’t bake them a cake with sorry written on top because that's what you feel like doing. To make an impact there has to be a wall to make a dent in, and you have to target yourself to make that dent in the wall, whether it be brick or straw. My goal for my time here is to show Melkhoutfontein that I care, not in a pitying way, but with the excitement and laughter that a soccer game brings.

This picture is located on the beach in Stilbaai and showcases the fish traps the Strandloopers built.

        The fish traps are a huge part of Melkhoutfountein's history. They were built by the Indigenous people the Strandloopers- which in english translates to beach walkers. The Strandloopers were easily able to figure out the patterns of the tides and realized if they built these walls- once the tide went back out some of the fish were caught in the walls. The mollusks and other seafood they ate were high in omegas 3, 6, and 12, which are powerful brain foods, causing the Indigenous to be amazing problem solvers and quick thinkers. I went to the beach where the fish traps were created and threw some of the rocks that had slipped loose back into the piles. It felt good to be part of the remaking of history, and keeping the culture of the fish traps alive.

A mural in Melkhoutfontein named: Preekstoel

        One of the projects I am a part of is called 'Paint up with Kammama'. Preekstoel showcases the segregation that happened on the beach during the Apartheid. Colored people were given 3 kilometers of space along the beach. The mural had faded during COVID-19 as they were unable to paint on the finishing coat. Our task is to restore the painting to the bright colors that once covered the walls. Being a part of bringing the painting back to life is a fulfilling tasks. I love painting and tying that into an important piece of history is also so important to me. The murals are all over Melkhoutfontein each displaying a different piece of history and reminding the village people where they came from and who they are.