Posted: 02/07/07

Kayamandi Project, continued
Junior Heather Famico furthers Theoharides' initiative

Katie Colleran | contributing writer
kcolleran@smcvt.edu

Famico, (back right) poses with children from the Ikaya Primary School in Kayamandi (photo courtesy of Heather Famico)

When 2006 alumnus Stephen Theoharides studied abroad in South Africa, he went diving where great white sharks swam and launched himself off of the highest bungee-jump in the world. But those experiences were not what affected him most, he says.

Theoharides went to South Africa with service in mind, he says, but nothing could have prepared him for the poverty he encountered. He was so struck by its severity of that once he was back on campus, he says he knew he had to help in some way.

While studying at the University of Stellenbosch, Theoharides joined the Kayamandi Project which helped improve a primary school in the Kayamandi Township. The experience is something he will never forget, he says.

Following Theoharide’s example, junior Heather Famico went to Stellenbosch in the fall semester, and has returned for a second semester. She is actively participating in the Kayamandi Project.

South Africa, at a glance

Famico decided to go to South Africa on the suggestion of a friend. She talked to Theoharides before she departed, she says.

“It was Steve who initially told me about the Kayamandi Project,” Famico wrote in an e-mail interview. “After talking to him and hearing a presentation on it, I immediately wanted to get involved.”

Theoharides and Meghan Fitzgerald, another St. Michael’s student who studied at Stellenbosch, tried to tell Famico what she could expect.

“We just told her she was in for an amazing time,” Theoharides says. “We told her to be careful and to always be aware of where she was and who she was
with. We told her she had to volunteer with the program. And that she had to do the bungee jump.”

Theoharides chose to study abroad in South Africa because he wanted to go somewhere off the beaten path, and because he knew it would be an amazing opportunity to study in a transitional country, he says.

Theoharides says he was struck by the poverty in South Africa, and decided to get involved. (photo courtesy of Stephen Theoharides)

“The moment I stepped off the plane in Cape Town and started driving toward
the university, I was blown away by the poverty,” Theoharides says. “It was all around you.”

South Africa is still coping with the effects of Apartheid, when racial segregation was enforced, Theoharides says. Though it ended in 1994, people are still suffering because of it, he says.

“The black people who were poor under Apartheid are still poor,” Theoharides says. “Kayamandi is only black people. It is multi-generational families living in shacks the size of dorm rooms. There are thousands of them packed on top of each other. Children are running around in torn clothes with no shoes and it smells really bad.”

Ironically, Kayamandi in the native language means “sweet home," Theoharides says. Yet, in addition to the poverty, problems like drugs, crime and fires are also present, he says. The rate of HIV infection is high, around 45 percent, he says.

Famico also helps at a school in the township. She goes once a week into Kayamandi and acts as a teacher’s assistant. Some of her tasks include teaching for five-and-six-year-olds about colors, shapes, fruits and animals, Famico wrote.

Every time Famico goes to Kayamandi, she encounters the same poverty that Theoharides remembers, she says.

“Kayamandi has roughly 20,000 people living in awful conditions, with Stellenbosch right next door,” Famico wrote. “Stellenbosch is a wealthy community known for its wine farms and the university. It’s unbelievable to think that a university is next to a township where others live with hardly anything.”

Aiding Kayamandi

When Theoharides returned from his semester at Stellenbosch, he organized a fundraising plan that collected nearly $5,200 for the Kayamandi Project.

Being at Stellenbosch currently allows Famico the chance to see first hand what the money is being put towards. The people of Kayamandi have been helped in many ways, she wrote.

“One classroom that did not have desks before does now,” Famico wrote. “The high school now has a basketball team, keeping the teenagers from other behaviors and creating a strong bond between teammates. Before, the people in Kayamandi didn’t want a lot of help and now they are realizing the benefits of receiving it.”

The people involved in the Kayamandi Project did not directly ask Theoharides to do any fundraising; it was something he wanted to do, he says.

“I presented the idea to the Student Association and many of the clubs donated money upfront," Theoharides says. "Others, like the Sword Guild, held raffles."

“We also did a letter writing campaign. We wrote about 700 letters to St. Michael’s faculty, staff and associates telling them about the project," he says.

Michelle Kayser, a junior and former member of the SA, helped with the fundraising. Kayser and classmate Mallory Wood went door to door around Lyons, Joyce, Ryan and Alumni halls, collecting $371 worth of change in a few hours, she wrote in an e-mail.

“Steve came in front of the Student Association and asked us for our help in raising money for this project," Kayser wrote. "He had a slideshow with pictures of the village and gave a powerful presentation. When he finished, I knew it wasn’t enough to sit back and let the SA write a check. I felt compelled to do something for all of those kids myself.”

One of the more creative events he organized was a “Date Auction," Theoharides says. Men and women were “bought” by the highest bidder.

“The date was whatever they agreed it to be, there were no rules about what had to happen,” Theoharides says. “Some people went out, some didn’t. Some people had their dates cleaning their places or baking them something.”

The Kayamandi Project coordinators recently sent a letter of gratitude to the Student Association. One section of it read, “The social and financial capital that St. Michael’s College has contributed to the ISOS-Kayamandi Project is without precedent. It is our commitment to continue in the provision and improvement of services to the local community and we thank you for your very important role in that.”

Looking to the future

Famico says she wants to continue fundraising when she returns to campus. (photo courtesy of Heather Famico)

Along with Famico, there are four other St. Michael’s students in South Africa this semester, all at Stellenbosch and volunteering in Kayamandi, says Peggy Imai, director of study abroad.

“I think the appeal is that South Africa is accessible; English is spoken and it has a rich history,” Imai says. “The students may have heard about its beauty and also, they are interested in service-learning.”

Famico acknowledges Theoharides' work but she says help is always needed.

“Others can raise funds to assist in townships such as Kayamandi or could raise
awareness by discussing the issues with schools, the workplace or media,” Famico wrote. “If people do not know what the situations are, then how are they to help?”

Famico has opted to stay a second semester after also spending the fall at Stellenbosch because she is so involved with the Kayamandi Project and an HIV program, as well as her love for the country, she wrote. When she comes back to St. Michael’s, she wrote that she hopes to continue the effort started by Theoharides.

“When returning to campus, I would love to continue fundraising for this project. I feel as though it is a good cause for the college to be connected with,” she wrote. “I would additionally like to show the student body where the money they raised before has gone.”