Xhosa

Life of the Xhosa people in the Knysna Township

We booked a township tour in the city of Knysna with Emzini Tours in hopes of getting a better understanding of the chaotic 'shanty' towns we saw during our many miles driving across South Africa.  Emzini, which means "home" in Xhosa, supports 27 preschool children and house 18 abused/neglected children within the township. Emzini is owned by Ella Mapurisa and Penny Mainwaring, and is completely funded through tours like ours.

We saw firsthand the impact of Nelson Mandela's policies of providing housing and services for the most disadvantaged groups. Each citizen making less then R4,000/month is eligible for a free 2 bedroom home with a kitchen, living area, running water, and flush toilets. We saw these new homes as well as temporary structures where residents live while waiting for their new home. The Stacks is the area where people have claimed the land and built their own structures prior to the government policies. With the government red tape, many people still live in the stacks.

'The Stacks' - most homes are without running water or toilets.

Workers from other countries like Zimbabwe or Congo are drawn to South Africa because of the opportunities. Many rent shipping containers as business offices and provide goods or services to township residents at prices lower than what is available in town. The types of businesses include small grocery stores, hairdressers, cobblers, and furniture & electronics repair.

The grocer and hairdresser operate out of shipping containers.

The grocer sells basics (this is the entire store - the back of the shipping container) at discounted prices.

A traditional Xhosa song.

Xhosa women paint their faces for sunscreen and to control blemishes .

The preschool children supported by Ella. They love visitors!

One of our new friends - Ntandazo

One of the many friendly people we had the opportunity to meet during our visit was Ntandazo Sigomoshe, who lives near Plettenberg Bay. He is the weekday security guard. He is a friendly, smart, funny, kind, and humble person from a Xhosa tribe in eastern South Africa. From our township tour, we learned it is a sense of pride within a Xhosa family for your children to leave their hometown and create a life of their own. Ntandazo is living this very dream. However, he works 60 hours a week and can only afford a place in "the Stacks" outside of town.

Ntandazo is currently taking driving lessons so he can get a license which will in turn lead to a better paying security job. I enjoyed talking with him about his life and he is very honest about his struggles and dreams. I decided to assist him financially with his remaining driving lessons and his driving test to help him accomplish this goal sooner than he planned.

Ntandazo - good luck on your driving test October 7th!

My new friend Ntandazo Sigomoshe.