South African couple Julian and Ena Hewitt, along with their daughters Julia, 4, and Jessica, 2, left their life in Wapadrand, Pretoria, and moved to the Phomolong informal settlement in Mamelodi on August 4.

Inspired by the story of two young men who decided to live a month of their lives on the income of an average poor Indian, the couple set out to experience this idea from the indepth context of South Africa's stark income inequality and cultural divides, beset by the historical reality of apartheid.

The family left their middle-class comforts for a 3 m x 3 m shack in Mamelodi, which was being rented out for R170 per month.

In their blog Mamelodi for a Month both Ena and Julian document their experiences and the daily struggles they endured, which in turn shaped their perspective and future apirations for South Africa.

Below Julian unpacks the streotypes from both black and white South Africans regarding his family's journey.

The Month That Should Not Have Been by Julian Hewitt

Conventional ‘wisdom’ dictated that Mamelodi for a Month should never have happened. It did though. And here are some insights into how challenging it can be to go against the status quo.

Before moving to Mamelodi, close friends and family shared strong reservations about the risk involved in our venture. This was particularly in exposing Julia and Jessica to all the perceived riskiness of a township. “If you want to take a decision to move to a township, please don’t take your kids along.”

Apparently we were being reckless and irresponsible parents by willingly opening our children to the multitudes of social ills that ekasi life is ‘synonymous’ with from illness, lack of seat belts on taxis to violence and child rape. If we had listened to this discourse, either Mamelodi for a Month would have been dead in the water before it started or Ena and I would have had quite a soulless experience of living in Mamelodi sans children.

The other mindset which came through as an undercurrent to our month was that “We were making a mockery of poverty and essentially had no right to live in a township.” The significant media interest we received definitely added fuel to this fire. Why should a white family living in a shack for a month warrant so much attention when this is daily life for millions of black South African families? To this assertion, Ena and I would agree.

However, the anger in these messages could have been enough to stop the bravest plans in their tracks. To get a sense of how this social commentary played out, read a couple of the tweets below that came our way before the Month in Mamelodi began and ask yourself how you would have responded to them?

These were some lessons that stood out in swimming against the current. They are important takeaways in guiding future experiences:

1. Trust Yourself: Listen to others but not at the expense of trusting yourself. If you are doing something for the right reasons, do not be afraid to transcend conventional thinking. It is not about trying to please detractors. Significant decisions will always have critics.

2. The Litmus Test of Real Life: Despite the misgivings of some of the ‘intelligentsia’ regarding our Month in Mamelodi, we never met a single detractor in Phomolong. Rather, we were overwhelmed the love shared by the people around us. They completely understood and appreciated why we were there. Real life should be the litmus test not academic or social discourse.

In all of this, the question that stands out is: in a country as culturally and historically complex as ours, should it really be so tough for people to cross over boundaries? Should the social conversations not be more encouraging of authentic intent to bridge chasms?

The reality is that divides are in our heads not our hearts and perhaps it is time to be led more by our hearts.
 

For more information and comments please tweet us @PolityZA
or for the latest from Julian and Ena tweet @hewittjulian, @EnaH or @mamelodi4amonth.