“...I love interacting with the Irish people.  They are the most cheerful people I‘ve ever met.  One older gentleman in my group whose name is Padraig is by far my favourite.  He is full of great stories and has been so patient with us Americans in the group.  He attentively shows us how to do our jobs and treats us like his own children that he wants to learn his trade.  Padraig says that we are the “Obama Americans”, giving deference to our race, attainment of education and commitment to service.”  

Ervin Johnson, Grey Team 

On last year’s Blitz, among the 609 volunteers were 16 Americans.  Of those 16 Americans, 6 were from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Fellowship along with their programme coordinator.
 
After travelling for close to 24 hours, they made their homes (and helped build, plumb and paint houses!) on the Grey and Lime Green Teams.  Throughout the week, the Fellows wrote journals for the CBCF facebook page which can be read here.   They’ve kindly allowed us to publish some of them here to share with you.

“Words can’t describe how tired I am.  I am so thankful that building these houses isn’t about me, but for a greater cause, because my body may have given up a long time ago”

Oneshia Herring,  Lime Green Team

The journal entries are touching not least because they express so well what it means to be a volunteer on the Blitz but because they articulate the reasons why all our wonderful volunteers spend months in preparation for one week in November when they work tirelessly, motivated by the end goal of handing over a completed house, to someone who just hours earlier had called a shack their home.

We asked the programme coordinator Ervin Johnson to explain to us what the CBCF is, what they do, and what taking part in the Blitz meant to him personally:

“The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy, research and educational institute based in Washington, D.C. that aims to help improve the socioeconomic circumstances of African Americans and other underserved communities.

Each year, CBCF undertakes significant public health, economic empowerment and scholarship programs that benefit thousands of people across the country. Its stellar fellowship and internship programs are among the largest of their kind and, while enabling young African Americans to pursue careers in public policy and public service, have helped to diversify the ranks of officeholders and staff on Capitol Hill and through the federal and state governments. The (6) young professionals on the trip are participants of the CBCF's Congressional Fellowship Program, 2-year program designed to provide young professionals with an opportunity to work on Capitol Hill and learn about the policy-making process. CBCF programs are supported by fundraising events and the generous support of our corporate partners. To this end, several of our corporate partners along with support of U.S. Congressman Donald M. Payne stepped up to the challenge to fund the fellows' trip to Cape Town, South Africa to participate in the homebuilding project.

The trip to Cape Town was impactful because it provided us with an opportunity to serve a community of people that have been overlooked for far too long. Waverly Gordon, a CBCF Fellow described the trip this way "There are special moments throughout life that we can remember as if a permanent DVR recording was etched into our brain.  These moments may be the moment someone received their college diploma, one's last conversation with a loved one who has passed away, or the first time a parent holds their newborn child.  These moments are rare and we generally only get to experience the moments that occur directly to us or to people in our immediate family or friendship circle. However, working on building homes in Witsand allowed me to participate in such a moment with people that I knew for an instant. Helping to construct homes in the township of Witsand and then observing as one of the recipient families' walked through, not just the home that my team constructed for them, but the home that would terminate the family's residence in a shack is a special moment that will undoubtedly remain forever etched in the DVR of my mind."

For me personally, being on the trip was amazing and gave me the chance to dig deep into my heart and live out my dream of serving others and ensuring they to have the opportunity to live a decent and quality life.”

Kamara Jones, Grey Team, wrote this touching entry about her first day on Site.

“Their first names are Kerri, Garry, and Patrick. Their last names are McNamara, Kennedy, and O’Brien. They are the 600-strong Irish volunteers who come to South Africa annually with the Dublin-based non-profit Niall Mellon Township Trust to build houses for the South Africans who live in shanty towns. 

 “Do you know the other American volunteers on the trip?” an older male Irish volunteer asks me while I’m painting the inside Grey House #14, one of the 160 almost-finished houses in the township. “Yes, the Black Americans,” I say laughing. (The other American volunteers on the trip are white.) “Oh,” the older Irish volunteer laughs, “You guys are the Obama Americans.” I laugh.

 By this time he has already taught me the proper way to paint with a roller brush. “Keep in mind I’m not telling you what to do, I’m just showing you how to do it,” he says laughing. Everything is funny to the Irish, at least to this older Irish man. He says the same thing every time he shows me the proper way to do something. The truth is he is telling me what to do, and that’s alright with me. He’s been volunteering with the organization for the past nine years and he knows the proper way to paint a house with a roller brush.

 “Dip the roller brush in the paint tray. Roll it around a little so the excess paint falls off. Lightly press it on the wall for the first coat of paint, and then press a little harder the second time around,” he says. I do exactly what he says. His way works better than mine.

After four hours of painting concrete walls my way, the concrete is still poking through. I keep painting though. I want the South African family that gets Grey House #14 to have solid white walls.
 
“What’s your name again?” he asks. “Kamara, I say.” “OK Kamara, you have thirty more minutes to get the rest of this house finished.”

Thankfully, he’s joking.

 From the beginning of the fellowship program, the CBCF has challenged the legislative fellows to lead and serve, a challenge that is embodied in their mission, a challenge that was explicit during their most recent Annual Legislative Conference. On the Hill we are expected to be leaders: work hard for Members of Congress and congressional committees, host policy briefings, and conduct research. In South Africa, we are expected to serve: get on the volunteer bus every morning at 6 a.m., labor outside for 8 or so hours, and be amenable to the needs of the team leaders and the community.

I am proud happy to serve. We are proud to serve.”