Building bridges in Tshwane

The two-day event, led by Heartlines community mobilisation lead Olefile Masangane and his team, was a chance for the delegates in attendance to not only share problems affecting their communities but also to get to know each other on a personal level without their titles, ranks and badges getting in the way of open and free dialogue.

"Reconciliation starts with understanding of cultures. Once we sit together and understand each other then we will see that our differences start getting smaller and smaller and we have so much in common," shared Trevor Van Wyk, a member of Funanani in Mamelodi.

Olefile modelled the power of personal storytelling by sharing how his trials, tribulations and vulnerabilities, as well as some of his childhood experiences, forged him into the man he is today.

Brian Helsby, author of the book God’s Love Stories, and senior programmes manager at Heartlines, spoke to the delegates about the impact of personal storytelling. Brian emphasised the importance of asking, listening and telling in the story-sharing process.

The delegates also took part in a River of Life exercise where they mapped out their lives in drawings, showing the different ups and downs of their lives reflected in the twists, turns and rapids of a river.

"Telling a story was the most challenging thing because of its impact and the depth at which it goes, and the demand of honesty. You can't tell a story if you're not honest. Honest to yourself and honest to the people listening," shared Thapedi Tlhapane, a member of the Justice Peace Non-Violence and Care of Creation Commission and the Arch Diocese of Pretoria in the Catholic Church.

An outdoor teambuilding exercise gave guests the opportunity to reflect on themselves, their upbringing, privilege and perception of the person standing next to them, and to re-shape their perceptions of that person. Having to look at their own insecurities and privilege may have been uncomfortable at first, but the exercise helped in bringing the people closer together and to engage more as the day began to wind down.

The facilitators also shared about Heartlines Fathers Matter, a project that promotes the positive, active presence of men in children’s lives and delegates had the opportunity to discuss the importance of fatherhood in their communities.

“I'm so grateful for Fathers Matter because what I am doing differently is aspiring to be a good husband and a good father and be there for my family. I realised that there a families that don't have basic parenting skills, so I'm speaking to fathers more and mentoring more,” shared one participant.

Various organisations, churches and entities were represented at the Bridge event and many pledged to work together in future endevours to build a greater sense of cohesion in their communities.