Decansos - “the makeshift roadside shrines that symbolise loss and transformation”. Courage - “will in extreme difficulty”.

Decansos and Courage both imply moral strength to nurture and persevere. Decansos - Spanish for resting place marking the spot where there has been a death - ressurection: rest within the very symbol of pain. In order to heal, we need to go back to a place of grief and loss.To do this takes courage - Decansos.

On the April 6th,2006 Tracy and I had the privilege of taking our Nedbank delegates to Robben Island to start the first leg of their Decansos programme.

The Decansos programme allows the delegates to revisit places of hardship or turmoil in an attempt to heal . While our basis is understanding and acceptance of the diversity of our country, the Decansos journey is a incredibly personal one.

Every person born of South African origin has a story to tell. Whether they fought in the struggle, whether they were conscripted, whether the threw a stone or were a consciencious objector …we all have stories, and all of them are powerful. The program is as much about understanding yourself as it is about understanding others and accepting others.

The Decansos programme started with us getting insights into the lives of those who work on the island. We chatted to Derek Basson and listening to him, to his childhood, his understanding of his motives, and feeling his pain and melancholy I was struck by his almost hopeful outlook for our future. In fact he challenged Tracy and I. As we drew our conversation with him to a close he commended Avo for the work we were undertaking to build bridges of understanding but he also asked us how we were going to reach out to others who had no platform to tell their stories. Yes, he was talking about all those who were conscripted, all those who were imprisioned for fighting the conscription campaign, and all those who were on the borders and in the security police. I, for one, stood in awe of that request. I had as yet not thought about the other side (being black and part of the struggle myself) or of the turmoil they must go through on a daily basis. I wonder where all those poeple are…who’s helping them heal? Derek told Tracy and I about a member of the security forces who had been on his tour, who broke down and cried who needed to tell his story. I was humbled that Derek, who had been imprisioned for fighting Apartheid, now saw the need to heal his former enemies. Derek felt his pain. If he can do it so can I.

This interaction set the tone for the program.

As I look through the arial pics of the island, I notice the airstrip. It forms a cross on the far side of the island. Very poignant. I suddenly realise that this place of banishment, of misery, of human frailty is for some many people a Decansos. Derek, Eugene , Lionel and so many others who live and work in their place of pain and difficulty find courage and hope by telling their stories.

That’s what this program is about: it is about making yourself vulnerable, it’s about stripping away the protctive layers that we have shrouded ourselves in and allowing ourselves to communicate with, and interact with, an unknown.

It moves beyond the theoretical basis of diversity, it moves beyond the clinical understanding of culture and it grapples with the heart of our pain. It allows us to display and interact with our fears and misunderstandings. It allows us to relate to, discuss and explore our interpretations of events and it allows us to acknowledge our fraility. It is perhaps one of the most difficult journeys one could take in your life time but it is for me the most worthwhile.

Too often we assume that because Apartheid is over and we are all basically nice people we should just understand our differences and just get along. If only it was that simple.

Our workplaces have become such a melting pot of cultures, views, opinions, and ways of being in and understanding the world that superficial acceptance just does not make for real team integration. By allowing our own vulnerability to show, by showing and eagerness to learn about others and accept them we build the strongest bridges of all.

It is really incredible that corporate companies like Nedbank are challenging and growing their teams by taking them on programs like ‘Decansos’. What they are effectively saying is : We want more for our people, our clients, and more for our country !

Well done Sharon Kersten !!

Every time I see what this program does for people I understand my role and my passion in this country.