Life in Khayelitsha
About two months ago (not exactly timely news, eh?) I went on a tour of Khayelitsha, the township where Bapumelele is located. In addition to general cruising around (pictures of which I have already posted), we visited some local businesses, school, and non-profits. I’ve been meaning to write about those visits for months now.
Odd as it may sound, going on township tours is actually a very popular activity for tourists in Cape Town. To be honest, some of the tours are kind of voyeuristic, like ‘hey, lets go look at poor people.’ It reminds me of a funny but sadly true quote that I heard a while back: “People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home” (Dagobert Runes).
But I liked the Aviva tour. I didn’t get that vibe at all. Perhaps it’s because we were all going to actually be working in the township. Or, perhaps it’s because the focus was on what’s working, not what’s broken. It felt good, not voyeuristic.
Non-profits
We visited several non-profits, like a textiles cooperative where they make really great rugs and purses and table cloths (like the cool Pop Art laundry detergent table cloth at right) and all profits go to a local healthcare center.
We also visited a skills training center where women are trained (free of charge) for housekeeping work, which is in great demand in Cape Town. Since women in the townships are very poor, they are not familiar with many mod-cons of the contemporary home, so they need to learn how to use a washer, dryer, kitchen appliances, etc…
And there are other classes, like how to make a bed, how to set a table for tea and how to cook European food.
I really liked all the educational posters. I wish I could buy them and put them up in my kitchen, laundry room, etc. Here’s one of the laundry posters:
Small businesses
And, we visited a number of small (micro!) businesses, like:
-A preschool that charges only what the parents can afford (but unfortunately we visited at naptime.)
-A bed and breakfast. Kudos to the progressive [and brave] travelers who actually go stay in a township!
-A small business that teaches sewing. This was my favorite visit! Called “Beauty’s Sewing Training” (Beauty is the owner’s actual name), the business is located in a tiny two-room wood
and metal shack, with one room dedicated to the business and the other serving as the family living area (for a family of four!)
Beauty’s daughter gave a fantastic and quite professional explanation of the business, and proudly showed the posters of successfully sewn creations (below).
Below right is a photo of Beauty's family bedroom. Sadly, this is probably representative of the interiors of many Khayelitsha homes, with newspaper on the walls for insulation, scraps of linoleum on the floor, patched together sheets of plywood for walls, and a corrugated metal roof. Actually, I think this is one of the nicer shacks, given the success of the business.
Click to enlarge, take a look...then take a moment to reflect on how lucky you are.
Odd as it may sound, going on township tours is actually a very popular activity for tourists in Cape Town. To be honest, some of the tours are kind of voyeuristic, like ‘hey, lets go look at poor people.’ It reminds me of a funny but sadly true quote that I heard a while back: “People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home” (Dagobert Runes).
But I liked the Aviva tour. I didn’t get that vibe at all. Perhaps it’s because we were all going to actually be working in the township. Or, perhaps it’s because the focus was on what’s working, not what’s broken. It felt good, not voyeuristic.
Non-profitsWe visited several non-profits, like a textiles cooperative where they make really great rugs and purses and table cloths (like the cool Pop Art laundry detergent table cloth at right) and all profits go to a local healthcare center.
We also visited a skills training center where women are trained (free of charge) for housekeeping work, which is in great demand in Cape Town. Since women in the townships are very poor, they are not familiar with many mod-cons of the contemporary home, so they need to learn how to use a washer, dryer, kitchen appliances, etc…
And there are other classes, like how to make a bed, how to set a table for tea and how to cook European food.
I really liked all the educational posters. I wish I could buy them and put them up in my kitchen, laundry room, etc. Here’s one of the laundry posters:
Small businesses
And, we visited a number of small (micro!) businesses, like:
-A preschool that charges only what the parents can afford (but unfortunately we visited at naptime.)
-A bed and breakfast. Kudos to the progressive [and brave] travelers who actually go stay in a township!
-A small business that teaches sewing. This was my favorite visit! Called “Beauty’s Sewing Training” (Beauty is the owner’s actual name), the business is located in a tiny two-room wood
and metal shack, with one room dedicated to the business and the other serving as the family living area (for a family of four!)
Beauty’s daughter gave a fantastic and quite professional explanation of the business, and proudly showed the posters of successfully sewn creations (below).
Below right is a photo of Beauty's family bedroom. Sadly, this is probably representative of the interiors of many Khayelitsha homes, with newspaper on the walls for insulation, scraps of linoleum on the floor, patched together sheets of plywood for walls, and a corrugated metal roof. Actually, I think this is one of the nicer shacks, given the success of the business. Click to enlarge, take a look...then take a moment to reflect on how lucky you are.
