As simple as a peanut seed

It was exactly a week ago when I, Nondumis Phenyane, along with my rather ardent fellow SAWIPers went on the much anticipated township tour. Of course, after having dealt with various stereotypes regarding ‘township tours’ and how these tend to lead to feelings of inferiority for community members, some of us did have mixed emotions about it. It has been said that township tours sometimes make people feel like animals in a zoo, as tourists gracefully drive through the streets taking pictures of every ‘unusual scene’ they can spot along the way. However, we soon learnt that this township tour was more than just a tool to help those of us who did not grow up in a setting such as this, satisfy our curiosities about ‘life in a township’. It was about growth, inspiration and awareness. I can, therefore, confidently say that it was by far one of the most remarkable experiences I have had yet, as we got the opportunity to interact with two of the most phenomenal women in our country, Mum Vivian and Mum Vicky. Women who are actively involved in transforming society at ground level and changing lives in the most incredible way. They taught me a very simple principle, and that is; your big break is not going to come from some distant opportunity, it will however, come from the circumstances that you are currently in.

There is much value in simplifying things, this is something that I have learnt in my many quests to ‘change the world’. Do not complicate the notion of success- think, what can I do, right here, right now, with what I have, and you will be amazed at the opportunities that will come thereafter. If I were to summarize the lessons that these two women taught me in less than a day- through their community based initiatives- I would say: Give me a shack and I will turn it into a tourist attraction site, or give me a room and I will turn it into a children’s home.

The notion of simplicity is one that I take particular interest in, simply because I find that as academics we often try to complicate things, perhaps this is because we have been lead to think that complexity is closely associated with intelligence. I beg to differ; some of the most revolutionary inventions in the history of mankind have come through nothing more than a simple idea, which may have even seemed ridiculous at the time. Think about George Washington Carver, a simple man from Missouri who studied bacterial botany as well as agriculture and qualified as an agricultural chemist in 1892. What did he do? He took something as simple as a peanut seed and discovered approximately 300 ways in which one can use peanuts, with peanut butter being the most popular one if them all of course- because we all know that the world would simply not be the same without good o’ peanut butter. Needless to say that he remains one of the most influential agricultural chemists to ever live.

It has become evident to me that simple ideas are often the ones that speak the loudest, just as Mum Vivian’s flourishing organization came from the simple act of feeding her immediate community and Mum Vicky’s thriving Bed and Breakfast started from a willingness to host tourists in her shack. Never underestimate the power of a simple idea, in fact when building something of value, I strongly believe that one needs to focus on keeping things simple. Do not get me wrong, I am not advocating small thinking, but I am advocating thinking simple instead, there is a huge difference between the two.

It is true that the challenges that are faced by South Africans are very intricate and that perhaps we will not be able to resolve all of them in our generation. However, we can transform not only our society but our continent, one simple idea at a time. I believe that one of the ways in which we are going to achieve this is through empowerment, and to me empowerment has never been about giving people jobs; this is called ‘employment’. I say this because I have met many dysfunctional individuals with permanent jobs. To me, empowerment is about the simple act of renewing one’s mind. This means getting people to deal with the ghosts of their pasts and to begin to think positively about their circumstances as well as their future. In this way, it does not matter who they are, or where they come from, they will succeed in empowering themselves as well as the people around them.

I have merely taken the tip of the ice-burg where the notion of simplicity is concerned. All you have to do is Google “simple ideas that changed the world” and you will find plenty examples of how simple ideas have transformed our planet. The notion of simple ideas leading to transformation does not only apply to social factors, it cuts right through all forms of knowledge from all spheres of life. Consider how a concept as complex as law- so complex that students now take a minimum of three years to study substantially- was derived from a simple act of separating right from wrong. That being said, please take time to watch a Ted Talk done by Adam Savage on how simple ideas lead to scientific knowledge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8UFGu2M2gM&feature=player_embedded