Mfuleni was eye-opening because it was a reminder that the South Africa that I know is not the South Africa that most South Africans know. The townships are a good 45 minutes to an hour away from the beautiful city center of Cape Town with its imposing beaches and and stunning mountains. The gorgeous views from Signal Hill, sundowners in Camps Bay, or summer concerts in Kirstenbosch are completely foreign to most people in townships and it seemed unfair that we, as seventeen foreigners, were able to experience the best parts of the country, while the residents of townships like Khayelitsha or Mfuleni would never or rarely share such sights.
Spending time in Mfuleni put the contradictions of the country into perspective for us. Every morning we would leave our comfortable hotel for a forty-five minute bus ride into the townships, where children would speak little English, wear mismatch clothing and no shoes, and cattle would roam freely throughout the soccer fields. In the evenings, we would return to Cape Town, where the surroundings were enough to fool us that we were in some European country where people would speak English with ambiguous accents.
In the townships, we would spend the day keeping between sixty and one hundred sixty young children occupied, teaching them our games, while they would share with us bits of Xhosa and their schoolyard songs. I spent a lot of time working in the kitchen helping prepare meals for the over one hundred young children, adults, and seniors who came in and out of Power Child every day. Preparing healthy food for such a large number of people is a production to say the least. Every day, it would be a mad rush to peel and cut vegetables, boil rice, and wash dishes for the hungry mouths patiently waiting for their meals. The food was always simple- a scoop of rice and a spoonful of some type of vegetable stew. It was not uncommon for food to run out and haphazard preparations to be made to feed the unlucky twenty-something children who were last in line. The people who we worked with at Power-Child were always patient and took such challenges in stride. It was amazing that they went through this process day in and day out and never seemed tired or exhausted.
As the week progressed and we each learned the names of specific children, I could not help but wonder where these kids will end up in ten to twenty years down the line. Unemployment for 16-25 year olds in South Africa is over 50% and most of the unemployed come from townships or similar backgrounds. There would come a time when these kids would have to make life altering decisions-should they get involved in the profitable trade of crime, would they make risky choices that would result in HIV-AIDS, or would they resort to other paths, such as drugs or alcoholism? With their poor English skills, high university fees, and living in the isolated townships, all factors seem to be stacked against them. There are so many structural problems in South Africa that keep people like the children we met down that it seems almost impossible for them to overcome it. It is hard to be optimistic when looking at statistics on South Africa's poorest, but I am hoping that in time some of the biggest problems will be slowly ameliorated.
We went to Parliament last week, and the Chairperson on Human Settlements assured us that universal housing will eventually be achieved and movements have been made to place government housing closer to the cities, in order to combat the legacies of apartheid. The Committee on Higher Education also unveiled their plans to increase the number of Africans from poorer households in universities and to provide support for them once they are in university to ensure their successes. Despite robust legislation and policies, gaps remain and South Africa is still the most unequal society in the world. I suppose baby steps are necessary, but when looking at the townships and thinking about the almost seventeen years since the end of apartheid, I cannot help but wonder how long most South Africans are going to have to wait for the end of these extreme socio-economic inequalities.
- Tasnim Motala
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