t's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something. - Crash: 2004

The 21st century has seen the advent of great technology - today I can connect with people via my Blackberry, stay in contact with a friend from America through Facebook, and just with a click of a button on my laptop, voila! I could be speaking to that very friend from America through Skype. It's absolutely amazing.

But, we have also lost the ability to connect with people outside the technological sphere. I think a lot of the technologically capable world will rather sit behind their pieces of technology connecting with strangers than making the effort to connect with people outside of their sphere. I know that this rings true for myself - indeed - I guess I have lost the ability to connect with others.

How does this work in the context of servant leadership then? How did I learn to reconnect with people?

Below is a piece that I wrote for this photo below as part of an auction for a SAWIP fundraiser. A part of the community service experience - and how I learnt from it all!

Each of the SAWIP team members has to spend a certain amount of hours doing community service. When I first started looking for a suitable project to be involved in, one emotion raced through my head: fear. The fear of not finding a project, the fear of not having the ability to connect with people, the fear of rejection. Confused, I kept on asking myself: “Why, Irene? Why are you fearful? You are a potential leader of South Africa. You are not meant to be fearful!” After talking to others about my fears, I realised that we were all in the same boat.

Lesson number 1: Leaders are also human beings.

After a few weeks of procrastination brought on by my fearful state, I finally found a project. A friend’s mom was working at a crèche in a township on the outskirts of Stellenbosch. My task was to play with the children. But I was fearful yet again. I don’t connect naturally with children - how was I going to be able to connect with children that weren't from the same socioeconomic background as myself?

Lesson number 2: Face the fear.

When I got to the crèche that first Friday afternoon, I was not sure what to expect. As I saw the faces of the children I was going to be playing with, I got more tense. But, once I got inside and started playing with the children, my perspective started to change. It does not matter what circumstances we are in - everyone wants to be loved. And the great thing about love is that anyone can give it. Seeing a child’s face light up when you play with them, or giving them a hug is something to be cherished and worth preserving.

Lesson number 3: Love can go a long way

On one of my last days at the crèche, I decided to take my camera with me to take some photos of the children. The children were ecstatic, always wanting to be in front of the camera. The photo that is being auctioned off today serves as a reminder of why we, as future South African leaders, have to be involved in our communities. In order to know how to change our communities, we need to know what is going on in our communities.

Lesson number 4: Be connected.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

- Mark Twain

Firstly, big apologies from my side for being one of the silent bloggers of the SAWIP team of 2011. Due to technical difficulties I was not able to access my blog, but now here I am ready to blog and share with you my experiences of SAWIP!

Where do I even begin to start telling you of the preceding 3 months that have flown by. From the moment I found out about SAWIP till being in DC (which we are currently in our third week) - I have learnt so much about myself and the world that we live in. I am a bit of a sceptic when it comes to leadership programmes - I guess the stigma that comes to my mind is that it's going to be boring and irrelevant. Let's get one thing straight: SAWIP is anything but boring and irrelevant. I have learnt so much on this programme and I am utterly privileged and humbled to be on this programme - the opportunities that we have received to meet great minds and to be able to interact with great South Africans has been an honour.

When I think of the SAWIP experience, the above quote by Mark Twain springs to mind. As a classical musician, I guess I can view myself as an unconventional one. I do not think I have had the ability to just be a classical musician - other passions in my life include photography and sprinkler running (a wonderful pasttime).

Applying for SAWIP and being a part of this experience has been a total step out of my comfort zone. From the moment I sat down to write the essays required for the application, going forth to selection camp and finally being here in DC - I have learnt so much about myself and the world that we live in. I have also met 14 phenomenal South Africans that I would not have met otherwise - of which all of this started with a tweet. Even though Petrus (alum of 2009) put up posters of SAWIP up in the music department (of which none of us noticed in the building - we are that ignorant sometimes) - the power of social media was definitely at work. Some call it luck, I call it God's plan, and I am at awe at what I have learnt!

Being a student of the arts, the SAWIP experience has been a learning one. From selection camp, meeting individuals that are highly intellectual and absolutely innate with speech and politics, I was rather intimidated from the beginning. Even after being selected, the feeling of fear of sounding stupid still remained with me. Many a time, I sat quietly in meetings trying to absorb as much as I can - and barely saying anything. It is only now in DC that I am starting to be able to think critically  and engage in topics that are very far away from my fields of interest. But perseverance does pay off, and hopefully I am able to apply these skills elsewhere.

There is much that can be said about my SAWIP adventure so far - and I invite you to read my personal blog lifeasirene.wordpress.com to read more on my pre-DC experiences of SAWIP.