Soweto

I honestly had no idea what Soweto was going to be like. I had heard the talk of the people returning from their outings with Cedric. Tiny tin shacks as close as possible, 1,000 and 1,000 of people living on top of each other, Government promises leaving the people in destitute. Soweto is an urban area outside of Johannesburg that is made up of 49 townships  The area of Soweto is often known for its extreme uprising against Apartheid.

We were picked up at Pension Idube by Cedric. Cedric is an Afrikaner that has established a relationship with the people of Soweto to gain understanding of what happened in the townships during apartheid. As we drove he told of his work, explaining to us the youth, and their disinterested attitude which is really a stand against the verbal onslaught that they have grown up with from their grandparents and parents. I likened what Cedric does to Geoffrey Canada's work with the Harlem Children's Zone.
Alex will give you more information on what Cedric told us later on....

Soweto was overwhelming. Cedric dropped off in a township called Orlando East....this was however no Disney land. We were met by a local woman that had moved to Soweto from an area north of Jo'berg called Limpopo, in hopes of finding work. Eunice showed us around her 1 room home (bathroom outside shared with her 4 neighbors). Alex expressed interest in getting a shave, and Eunice walked us over to her friends house that is a barber. Alex sat down in the stool, had a questionable towel thrown over his shoulders and the man went to work. As Alex was shaved i explored the plot of land that belonged to the barbers father. On the plot of land stood a 4 room brick house that had been built by the government. From there the family had added 6-7 tin shacks to house their offspring and relatives, from what Eunice told us this is normal and one of the nicer homes. After Alex's shave we walked through Orlando East stopping only to watch a group of teenagers emulate the JabbaWockeeZ.

We hopped on a mini bus and rode to Kliptown. In my travels i have encountered great amounts of poverty, however i have never seen anything like this.

Full family's living in a tin shack the size of bathroom. It makes your New york city studio look like a mansion. The largest space is approx. 8x8 and often houses 3-4 people. No running water inside the shacks, instead there are taps with a hose spigot on top in different areas through out the township.....56 taps for 40,000 people. No electricity, so people use car batteries to power their radios and often use candles for light at night. Candles often lead to fires, and with the houses so close to each other many go up in flames at one time. I use the term tin shacks loosely as most of the homes are made up of old placard signs and billboards. What ever is big enough to create a side of a house.

After our walk through Kliptown we met with the owner of an orphanage called little rose. Little rose is situated right at the entrance of Kliptown. They have a feed the children program, which supplies the children with breakfast and after school snacks to keep them full on their walk to and from school (since there is no school in kliptown). They also provide after school programs and have a preschool program. Right now they have a 10 bed orphanage which houses 15 children from the kliptown township. They take in children rather than allowing them to be swallowed by the system. The organization is funded by visitors to the township as well as the people of kliptown....they have no government backing and no NGO help. I am trying to find a link for them and can't just yet...i will keep looking.

After Kliptown we stopped at a local butcher/Braai (BBQ) spot. Where we got to pick our own meat and then BBQ it. Alex manned the grill and impressed all the Africans with his skill. At his request someone bought Alex Jo'Berg Beer. After stern warnings from the locals to not drink and walk in the street as you may end up dead we all shared a carton of beer and were on our way.