We live in a socially complex country in which people of different races were once assigned different places to live within the same towns. These restrictions no longer exist, yet the division remains an economic one. I spent eight years working among the people who reside in what was called ‘the township’ in Grahamstown East – an area historically set aside for ‘people of colour’. I was part of an organisation that set up pre-schools, home care groups and ran a feeding scheme for pre-school children. It was my task to oversee these programmes as well as to raise funds for their educational equipment and running costs. I organised regular training and upgrading workshops to help the teachers, many of whom had not necessarily even finished their own schooling. During those years I got to know that part of town and many of the people who live there very well.
This is a typical view of homes built close together. Several yards contain corrugated iron shacks to accommodate more people, while others boast trees or vegetable garden.
While the more recently developed areas contain larger modern brick houses, there are still a lot of what are commonly called ‘matchbox houses’. Some of these have been extended over time to make them more spacious.
In the older part only the arterial roads have been tarred and the rest of the streets tend to be dirt. The newer areas have tarred streets and proper pavements.
Some young boys are playing a ball game on a section of open, far from level, ground.
Goats roam freely.
As do cattle.
Sadly, it is not uncommon to see rubbish strewn about.
The local municipality has a lot to answer for.
Thanks for the glimpse of life in your area. My parents came from very, very poor families who did the best with what they had, which wasn’t much. My mother often said of her grandmother, “Even when it seemed like there was nothing in the cupboards, she always managed to put together a meal.”
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You could be describing my background here, Laurie. I remain thankful for the education I received and for the opportunities that have come my way.
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I appreciate the ‘view’ and your view as well. It’s nice to get to know you better. You have an interesting job.
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It was a very interesting and fulfilling job.
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Indeed, they do. There is much work left to do (all around the world) to balance the inequalities.
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We live cheek by jowl with inequalities here and there are a lot of organisations doing their best to improve matters – not an easy task.
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It is more than the local municipality that has something to answer for. The problems seem intractable but it is good to see that you are part of the efforts to solve them.
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You are right about it being a wider problem – it is not one that will simply ‘go away’.
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I hope others continue your work, Anne, and help lift more people out of poverty.
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There are several NGOs and well-meaning individuals who do their best under trying circumstances.
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Thank you for sharing this Anne. Our country has so many problems that needs to be addressed.
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Where to begin, I always ask myself. Providing a sound education from day one comes my refrain. It is not the fix-all solution, but a start.
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I absolutely agree with you!
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Interesting to read and see this first hand. Thanks so much for sharing – your work must have been both rewarding and frustrating,
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Very frustrating at times, yet rewarding in that I knew I was helping to make a difference in the lives of many young children.
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No wonder I like you. It isn’t just your photos and tea. I am a social worker, and so is my daughter.
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Thank you Cindy, I was a teacher for many years too 🙂
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…enjoying the tour and the insights into the social situation
✨🙏🕉🌱🌿🌳🌻💚🕊☯🐉✨
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perhaps I should have phrased that “appreciating” rather than “enjoying” – I hope you know what I mean
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I do know what you mean. Poverty is a sad reality in this country.
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The name of the “like” button can seem somewhat inappropriate at times too…
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Your experience, Anne, goes a long way to balance ‘Tsotsi’ for me
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Thank goodness for that!!!
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🙂
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Anne, thanks for sharing a bit of your work and teaching background. I’m embarrassed to say my entire exposure to South Africa as a young person, was the assigned reading of Cry the Beloved Country in high school.
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There is no need to be embarrassed about that at all. ‘Cry the Beloved Country’ is an excellent novel – although how relatable to a Canadian at high school level I am not sure . The title of that novel echoes through the minds of many in this country as we weave through crumbling infrastructure, mismanagement, corruption and the pandemic. The country is beautiful though and most of the citizens are resilient.
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The book was memorable enough that I still remember it decades later. I also remember reading the book Out of Africa and an interesting biography of the author. We took mostly US and European history and geography in school, and Canadian of course. I find generally US citizens to be worse, as they only seem to learn US history. They cross the border and think we all live in igloos. I’m hoping the younger generation is better informed. I suspect that many countries are in a similar situation, teetering from once prosperous nations to close to falling apart, esp. now that inflation seems here to stay and corruption rampant and morals and ethics lacking. I worry about the US, as there is such a big divide there. We tend to be more tolerant of other nationalities here, there’s not as much hate.
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I have enjoyed reading this response, Joni.
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