Khayelitsha: youngest and fastest growing township in Cape Town, South Africa
Today I visited the Khayelitsha Township on the outskirts of Cape Town, an official Semester at Sea sponsored activity. The details sound cringe-worthy -- a bus full of white students and one black person, yours truly, driving in and around the township, cameras clicking. The reality, however, was something quite different. It's never felt so great to be completely wrong and leave an experience with expectations unmet.
Our intrepid young tour guide, Njungo, started off the tour by doing his best to allay any fears or discomfort with the idea of being in a tour group headed for a township -- an insightful and necessary statement to make, as I was already headed there and we had barely left the waterfront area! What had seemed to make so much sense when I signed up (indeed, the only safe way to enter a township is as a part of such a group or with family and friends) now seemed the stupidest idea I'd ever had. Thank God for stupid ideas...
Njungo gave us lots of information about the history of townships and how and why they formed, as well as helpful statistics to help us understand where they are currently. Much of it was familiar to me, but I enjoyed the refresher. The townships are a visible byproduct of the horrible apartheid regime of forced relocation after the Group Areas Act of 1950 (ridiculous name, I know) and migrations of blacks from rural to urban areas in search of work. When apartheid became official with the National Party's election in 1948, racial groups were created on the basis of some really random physical characteristics. Based on racial profiling, the different districts in Cape Town were razed and people were forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to townships. In addition to these relocations, shantytowns sprang up on the outskirts of Cape Town and even the townships themselves due to rural migration. These places were known for being plagued with just about every housing (under)development problem imaginable -- crime, lack of education, unemployment, sanitation, no running water, electricity, lack of infrastructure (roads, police stations, hospitals). This is still largely the case in many areas of townships, but things are changing. With the end of apartheid in 1994, racial segregation policies ended, causing a migration of many blacks back into the city and leaving townships behind. Khayelitsha, however, is the youngest and fastest growing township with 1-2 million people living there. Although the same struggles exist there as in many townships -- i.e. unemployment is 60% or higher and many people just walk the streets -- there is a vibrant sense of hope, ubuntu (community), and an entrepreneurial and striving spirit towards taking ownership and pride of their Khayelitsha, or "new place" in the !Xhosa language.
We arrived at the township and started by visiting the Khayelitsha Craft Market, a place where some of the local artisans showcase and sell their crafts. There was also a marimba band there playing music. Many of the local crafts were quite clever -- there were bowls made from spare telephone wire and bottlecap figurines along with paintings and handpainted cloth. I didn't even have the strength to bargain for the bracelet that I bought. I figured that the least I could do was put some $ into the local economy there. I did fear that the entire trip might turn out to be a junket around to various shops (horrible flashbacks of Morocco), but that turned out not to be the case. The local schoolchildren were just getting out of school then and they filled the streets. Many of them were curious to see us. All of them were cute and energetic.
After we left the craft market we visited the Phelani Nutrition Project, where women are educated and empowered as well as taught to weave wonderful tapestries and print handpainted cloth. We were able to visit the looms and watch the women work. I was amazed to see that all the looms were handlooms or ones with giant foot pedals like an organ! We spent too little time there.
The next stop was the famous Vicky's Bed & Breakfast, "the smallest hotel in South Africa", operating right smack in the middle of the township. Although Vicky was not there, her assistant was more than happy to show us their 6 rooms and tell us the wonderful story of how that business got started. I was proud to hear about this intrepid woman, whose spirit of entrepreneurship would not allow her to watch as tour buses full of tourists drove through her township, windows alight with camera flashes, and no one getting off to visit, meet citizens, or spend a dime there. Her example spread the idea of tourism, B&Bs, and jobs outward to her neighbors. One of the most impactful things that Vicky's assistant said about their business was "our neighborhood is our security". In other words, far from being jealous, undermining the business, or robbing their guests, the neighborhood was in full support of visitors coming to see, learn and explore. The neighborhood is security enough for all who stay there to be safe. They depend on one another. How powerful. I find that South Africa is a place full of such wise lessons.
Our final stop was at the Kopanong B&B to meet Thope Lekau. A big beautiful woman with a robust personality, she reminded me of home. She even smelled like some of my favorite ladies from church! She told us the story of how she'd traveled to the University of Pittsburgh for a special fellowship and come back to Cape Town with the idea for her business over a nice spread of ginger beer, juice, tea, cookies, tarts, and a local pastry (I can't remember the name, tasted like cold beignets with no powdered sugar :). She was enthralling. If ech person there has even a part of her spirit or commitment to their community they cannot fail to reach their goals. We took a brief walking tour of the neighborhood that turned into quite the merry parade with children from all over coming to join us, and several of the students creating a joyful havoc by blowing bubbles and handing out stickers. They felt no fear in grabbing the hand of a student and just enjoying a walk with us. Many people came out of their homes to wave and shout "Molome!" It was awesome.
I learned so much from my trip today. It was excellent to see so much progress. There was barely any electricity and running water in the townships that I saw in 2000, let alone home-building and replacement projects 100% funded by the government. I was uplifted to the depths of my soul, and smiled so hard my cheeks hurt.
Another interesting thing that happened that I can't neglect to mention is that everyone was curious about me. They kept asking me where I was from, surprised to hear me say the US. Is it the 'fro? If I didn't say a word, I could probably walk down the streets anywhere and be taken for a local. I find that I am enjoying this very much. That and the astonishment when people ask me my age and where I am studying. It's great! I told the tour guide my age and he refused to believe it, going so far as to not-so-subtly offer 50 cattle to my father as a dowry price! All in all a good day's work!
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