Ferlin du Preez
On October 2, 16 Manenberg girls from Rock Girl embarked on a journey to the Northern Cape. Along the way, and once there, they will be speaking to girls and women about their lives and experiences in poor communities. The girls hope to learn about their challenges, share their stories, and find ways to work together to advocate for lasting solutions. The girls will create a radio show and photo exhibit and will be sharing their experiences with the Cape Times along the way. Today, Rock Girl Ferlin du Preez, 15, shares her experience on visiting Matjiesfontein – a settlement in Central Karoo District Municipality. Their trip ends on Sunday.
I am an ordinary 15-year-old girl who likes music and loves laughing, singing and talking a lot.
I’m part of Rock Girls, an amazing group of girls who try to make our community better by fighting the challenges we face.
We are on our second road trip doing the same great work we do as youngsters.
On day 2, we took a hike in the scorching heat with irritating insects eating us.
It was a long hike, but we soon got to the place where we were going to spend the night.
We settled in and soon everyone was singing, laughing and dancing around the fire eating burnt marshmallows.
Even though it was fun, we all wanted to go to bed so bad. We had to wake up early because we were hiking back and meeting the bus halfway.
It was great exercise, but a bit too much for me.
Then we were back on the road and on our way to Matjiesfontein – a very small town where everyone knows each other.
There are only 300 people living there, but tourists arrive by train to visit the hotel and restaurants.
We had a quick tour around museums and soon we were heading to the local community to meet some girls.
We had a few interviews and listened to their struggles and the challenges they face.
They have no high school and no extra activities, so that makes them do more wrong things like using drugs.
I believe they are faced with these challenges for a reason: so they can learn from them.
It takes time to be strong, especially when you come from a disadvantaged background.
Some people lack partnership skills, which makes it hard to work together without fighting or having to struggle.
If I had to compare my community, Manenberg, and Matjiesfontein, I would say Manenberg is a bit better.
We have a community centre where we come together and work together.
Matjiesfontein doesn’t have any of that.
Having to hear other people struggle is no surprise to me. I also come from a disadvantaged family. My mother is a single parent.
I have a very big family and a real small house. Now that I’m older, I have an idea of what struggle means to other people.
All I want is to live a happy life and always be part of Rock Girl!