Today we visited a township. The majority of the South African black population live in these areas. Many of these townships came to existence during the apartheid period. The houses are small and very close together. We were told by our taxi driver that most of these houses are government housing. Challenges that face the people living in the townships are lack of working utilities, establishment of effective schools, violence/gangs, spread of HIV/AIDS and access to other public services such as health care, libraries... Moreover, one obviously disturbing challenge for the people of townships is the remarkably high amount of trash and litter that covers the landscape. After speaking with the locals, the problem stems from the lack of a reliable waste collection/disposal by the local government. During a drive through the township, our group saw children sifting through the trash. One of our guides, a student from NMMU and former resident of a township, said they were using the trash to make toys. We could see dogs, goats, cows, and donkeys roaming freely wading through fields of trash eating anything they found. It was a shocking experience to realize people are living in these conditions.
"As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest." ~ Nelson Mandela
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