I am participating in a three-day seminar in breathtaking Gordon's Bay, a city outside Cape Town where the mountains meet the ocean. It is co-hosted by two Mott grantees, Synergos and the Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS). The approximate 30 attendees have come from the Middle East, Africa, and there's even one from the USA (That's me).

As is often the case for people from the States, I am the lone person in the room who speaks only one language. Most participants speak two or three languages and a few even speak four (My ever-so-slight understanding of Spanish does not count). As the men and women from Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, and South Africa share creative ways to address current challenges resulting from the global recession, my interest is piqued. For most of them, this is just one more societal struggle.

In the Middle East, the downturn is further hindered by governments that oppose a vibrant nonprofit sector and create tax laws that discourage giving, says Luma Hamdan, CEO of the Arab Foundations Forum (AFF) in Jordan. Dina Sherif, associate director of the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo, agrees.

The recession hasn't affected institutions in the Middle East as much as those in Europe or the States, but the future is uncertain, says Luma, who is a Jordanian.

"People are becoming cautious in their giving because they think things will get worse," she said.

Her words stir a slew of side discussions.

Earlier, during breakfast in the conference center dining room, the representative of one grantmaking support organization also generated a bit of a buzz from his fellow South Africans. Chris Mkhize, CEO of the South Africa Community Foundation Association (SACOFA), casually mentioned that he grew up in the same village as the country's newest president, Jacob Zuma. Although he is seven years younger than the national leader, the two men's formative years were very similar while living in Nkandla in the KwaZulu Natal province, Chris says.

Of course, we all wanted to know more.

"It was a typical Zulu village," Chris said. "We didn't have electricity until the late 1980s or the early 1990s."

"Almost everybody there still speaks Zulu; there are some people who wouldn't understand English, but most would."

Chris then told us about Zuma's days as a freedom fighter in the anti-apartheid movement. While it has a bit of a James Bond-like quality to it today -- almost 30 years later -- it was quite real and dangerous, he said.

As the leader of the intelligence operations for the African National Congress (ANC), Zuma spent a lot of time living in exile. Although his fellow villagers rarely knew precisely where he was living during that period, they often got word that Zuma was moving in and out of many countries on the continent -- Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia.

Water came to the village before Zuma did. But it came first to the government offices. Then the lone white farm owner. Finally to the people.

"Back then, they'd rather have electricity serve one farmer than a whole village," said Chris.

"If people only visit Cape Town or Durban, they will think our country is highly developed. But, in truth, it is still a country of sharp contradictions. Parallel to this cosmopolitan city are parts of the country that are the extreme opposite."

With perfect timing, as if to illustrate Chris' point, a man walked past the window and down the boardwalk wearing a pair of shorts and a light shirt. We all laughed because immediately across the dining room from us sat a woman in a fur-lined parka and woolen hat.

Winter in South Africa -- the land of sharp contradictions!