An introduction to Khayelitsha
The orphanage where I am volunteering for the next two months is located in the heart of a poor black township called Khayelitsha (pop 1 million). As part of my training, I was given a tour of Khayelitsha in order to provide me with some historical, social and cultural context for my work.
Since arriving in South Africa over two months ago, I have seen many townships, and assumed Khayelitsha would be similar to others.
I was therefore not prepared to see what I saw in Khayelitsha—the crushing poverty, the miles upon miles of tiny shacks made of little more than thin plywood, cardboard, burlap and corrugated metal. It was truly staggering to see such destitution on such a large scale.
I probably learned facts about Khayelitsha during the tour, but I haven’t retained much. I will surely learn more over the next few months.
In the meantime, I wanted to share some photographs of the township with you. I will surely write a great deal more about my experiences at the orphanage, about the children and what brought them there, about the social and economic forces that make an orphanage like Baphumelele even exist at all (let alone bust at the seams). So, I wanted to provide you with a small portion of the context that I was provided on my Khayelitsha tour. What follows are not great pictures, as they are all taken through a mini-bus window (it’s not safe to have the window open.) But they are a start.
Since arriving in South Africa over two months ago, I have seen many townships, and assumed Khayelitsha would be similar to others.
I was therefore not prepared to see what I saw in Khayelitsha—the crushing poverty, the miles upon miles of tiny shacks made of little more than thin plywood, cardboard, burlap and corrugated metal. It was truly staggering to see such destitution on such a large scale.
I probably learned facts about Khayelitsha during the tour, but I haven’t retained much. I will surely learn more over the next few months.
In the meantime, I wanted to share some photographs of the township with you. I will surely write a great deal more about my experiences at the orphanage, about the children and what brought them there, about the social and economic forces that make an orphanage like Baphumelele even exist at all (let alone bust at the seams). So, I wanted to provide you with a small portion of the context that I was provided on my Khayelitsha tour. What follows are not great pictures, as they are all taken through a mini-bus window (it’s not safe to have the window open.) But they are a start.
