My driver friend, Thembi, took me for a tour of Alexandra on afternoon. Back in the 1970s, a white person would not be safe in Alexandra unescorted. Nowadays, the township people welcome others to come and see how they live and to learn about its place in African history.
This is what I saw….
 |
| Houses do not have their own toilets. Portable loos are on the streets for people to use. I saw very smelly water running into the streets from over flowing pipes. |
 |
| No washing machines. Women gather water from a community tap and wash everything by hand. |
 |
| This is a hostel fro old and/or sick men. |
 |
| One of the streets in Alexandra. They are numbered 1st to 23rd Streets. |
Visiting the rented room of Neslon Mandela when he first started
working at the law office of Walter Sisulu. The children outside were playing.
The little girl was carrying her dolly on her back, the same way in which the
mothers carry their babies.
This is Thembi. He grew up in Alexandra when he was a boy.
 |
| The courtyard opposite Nelson Mandela's room. |
 |
| Thembi's friend cooking a braai for the workers as they return home from work. |
 |
| This man was butchering the heads of cattle for a specialty soup that is made.Thembi said people love it and queue in a long line to have this stew at lunch time. |
 |
| One of he childcare centres. |
 |
| The end of the township that borders the river. This is 23rd Street. |
 |
| Better accommodation across the river, where people can buy their own homes or pay rent. |
 |
| Squatters living down by the river. People gather the recycled materials at the waters edge to make money. |
 |
| Trying to clean up the area. |
 |
| A good day for washing. People do not have space to hang their laundry. They will hang it over fences, bushes and walls. Some squatters houses have been build onto the existing wall of a disused business. |
No comments:
Post a Comment