Lekker: A Philosophical Answer to One Student's Quest for Understanding

Lekker: A Philosophical Answer to One’s Student’s Quest for Understanding

By Zack Bonzell

Definition: Lekker (adj): nice, good, great; literally “tasty”

As an Afrikaans word, lekker carries with it the troubled history of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa. But, at Mothers Unite, the word embodies a spirit of indomitable optimism that refuses to capitulate to the country’s complicated legacy. After seven weeks at Mothers Unite, lekker has come to serve as a way for me to understand my role as service-learner in post-apartheid South Africa’s complex sociopolitical context. 

My presentation focuses on three separate contexts:

1.     Cape Town’s difficult history, with particular emphasis on the Cape Coloured community

2.     My quest to make sense of this difficult history and my place within it as a university student engaged in international service-learning

3.     The way in which lekker has come to embody a philosophy practiced by Mothers Unite as a way to continue to thrive in a difficult post-apartheid context

Part One: Lekker as a metaphor for colonial legacy

Afrikaans as a language is representative of South Africa’s colonial history in that it developed as the result of Dutch settlers colonizing the Cape. The bewildering complexity that characterizes this history is especially observable among the Cape Coloured population, whose tripartite origins draw from Malay slaves, indigenous Khoisan hunter gatherers, and mixed race relations between white settlers and native black people. Forcing these disparate groups under one racial banner implies a sense of cohesiveness and unity that, historically speaking, does not exist. The forced relocations under apartheid fragmented this already complex social fabric by intentionally disrupting communities and sending them to disparate regions of the Cape Flats.

Part Two: My quest to find my place via service learning

Through coursework here at BOSP Cape Town I have attempted to grapple with the deep historical problems that underlie present day South Africa. In particular, this service-learning class has focused on ways to situate oneself in this challenging context. A number of readings have helped me to understand with nuance where the development practitioner falls in this difficult post-apartheid landscape. In their aggregate, though, these readings have served to complicate my perspective. When I arrived at Mothers Unite, I was in need of some simplification.

Part Three: Lekker as a philosophy at Mothers Unite

            At Mothers Unite, the word lekker embodies a spirit of optimism and resilience that has developed to combat the difficult historical inheritance described in earlier sections. Yes, Lavender Hill continues to struggle with the legacy of apartheid. Yes, the history of the Cape Coloured population is fraught with contradiction and pain. Yes, the forced relocations of District Six and communities like it did irreparable damage to the coloured social fabric. But Mothers Unite attacks this difficult legacy by doing its best every single day. It takes one of the most pure things in the world – the love of a mother – and focuses its power on the challenging world we have inherited. The lekker philosophy has inspired me to think hard about historical legacy but not get trapped in theoretical difficulty. Lekker provided me with a sharp tool with which to cut through my sense of paralysis and take care of what is directly in front of me.