Although poor, townships have a lively community lifestyle that should be experienced and enjoyed when visiting South Africa.
The beauty of Cape Town extends past Table Mountain and the wealthy suburbs, and into the townships. What could be described as shanty towns, townships are the separated poor black suburbs of the previous government. Beauty might not be obvious when first entering Kayelitsha. Shacks built from wood, corrugated iron and plastic overflow with people. Families sleep in one room, kitchen against one wall and a toilet outside. A shared tap up the road is often the only water supply. Litter is everywhere. Mangy dogs roam the pavements. Yet the beauty lies in the people. Laughs, smiles, conversations called over fences and through walls. The vibrant community lifestyle can only be described by the African saying ubuntu - "I am because we are".
I spent the night with a friend, Beneditte, and we went for a walk down her more affluent street. Small concrete houses were separated by patches of vegetable gardens. Behind a wall an old man was blowtorching sheep heads - a fast and cost effective way of cooking. These were being sold to workers returning home - township fastfood. Children crouched next to him, waiting for a piece. A house was running a spaza shop out of their lounge window, stocking essentials like maize meal, washing powder, tea, sugar and toilet paper. Groups of children gathered freely in the streets, always with a soccer ball being kicked between them. Around another corner, a huddle of men played mrabaraba, a gambling game that could go on for hours. Large bottles of beer sat next to each player. In the sitting room of another house was a local shebeen, an illegal pub. The resident teenagers tried to concentrate on their homework to the sound of clinking beer bottles and rowdy music.
As darkness fell we made our way home, to a meal of chicken stew whilst the TV blared. Friends started arriving for a church meeting. Singing and chanting began. Dancing in circles the priest whipped the crowd into a frenzy, whilst the non believer family members waited it out patiently in the kitchen.
And then to bed, in Benedittes room with no ceiling, bare bulb hanging and hand-down furniture from her employers. Dogs barked incessantly at drunks returning home. I eventually fell asleep behind the thin walls covered in purple and green wall paper - sheets of mint chocolate wrappers gotten from a friend who works at a chocolate factory.
