Township Life

The following is an excerpt from a journal entry that was shared during one student's year end testimony.

Kayamandi
You can’t describe what it’s like to walk around a township, Let alone live in one. You can’t describe the feeling, there’s a lot of paved roads, but then there are clay allies between the shacks. It’s like being in a constant maze, with passage ways everywhere. The shacks could be the most incredible sight. Pieces of wood, tin, cardboard, thrown then nailed against the wall, with cracks or gaps as windows. Tiers and cement bricks sit upon the roofs to keep them from blowing off. The walls are often slanted and deformed, slowly toppling over. These shacks are no bigger then my room at home, yet an entire family will sleep in them.
The sight of hundreds of people living so closely together is incredible. Houses are built side by side. There are no front yards, only shared allies where drying clothes hang over fencing wire. And wherever there is any shade, you will be sure to find a dog sleeping. I don’t know if anyone owns these dogs, or if they wander looking for food, their bodies are slender and limp. But dogs aren’t the only animals. Chickens run lose, across the streets and into shacks. I can only image all the roosters in the morning.
There are so many baby chicks as well, they kick up garbage to make areas to rest in. There is garbage everywhere, and no one picks it up, except for the few BFI sized bins on the paved streets, but they, themselves, overflow. People throw their garbage any where they please, you cannot look anywhere without seeing pop cans, condoms, and wrappers. You kick as you walk down the street, and kids play in it with bare feet. Along side the paved roads is a ditch system where water flows into the sewer. But the garbage quickly piles up and blocks the water from running. You wind up with flooded streets running through rubbish.
So with wild animals garbage, minimal hygienic resources, its not hard to imagine the smell. Tons of corners have a rotten out in the sun with a strong urine smell. People are living among these unpreventable smells. These shacks are built among these odour hot spots.
And despite this Kayamandi is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. And it is all due to the people.
Life in township changes at every corner. One corner a girl is playing a drum as her friends are dancing, down a back ally two men are playing a game of checkers on their homemade board, and down the street little kids are running around, playing on their toy cars, as their neighbours are blasting rap music of their stereos. Someone is running a hair salon out of their front porch, and another is selling lamb heads, muddy and piled in the streets. It’s a megalopolis of people, something is always going on. There are always people mingling, dancing singing, listening to music on every street, and every street corner.
It’s a unique vibe and feeling. I can’t describe not going somewhere and seeing hundreds of people. You can’t describe soccer games in the middle of the street with a flat ball, and you can’t fully describe the smile on a kids face as he rolls his tire with a stick. It’s the most beautiful feeling and place.
Submitted by Kyle Wiebe