Throughout our time in Cape Town, we have spent much of it speaking with different organizations in the township of Khayelitsha that are working for social change within the community. Speaking with both space-based change makers and otherwise, I have gained a good understanding of the type of work that is going into making Khayelitsha a livable place for all its residents. The Social Justice Coalition is one of the main organizations working for a more humane environment in parts of Khayelitsha that are unsafe and unsanitary. They have made many strides in attempting to improve these conditions in the community, and without them, it seems the government would pay no attention to the current situation for Khayelitsha residents. While their attempts at bettering the community have seen improving results, they are held back by funding restraints and the need for government financial support. It seems to be a constant struggle to get the government to pay any attention to townships and give them some basic resources in order to improve living conditions, so the SJC is going to court for many different issues regarding funding for their projects. After speaking with them, it was empowering to see the desire within the employees and volunteers of the coalition to make a positive change in the neighborhood. It seems that they would like Khayelitsha to remain a tight knit community but improve the conditions and the reputation of the township and make it a better place for all its residents and areas- even the poorest, most resource scarce areas.
Besides the SJC, we spoke to Andy Bolnick of Ikhayalami. While trained as an architect, Andy has always been passionate about restoring neglected communities. The government has a restoration program to upgrade township houses, however the waiting list for these upgrades can be endless. The goal of Ikhayalami is to upgrade township houses so that they are more stable structure, more weather proof, etc. Her work has so far reached a large community within Khayelitsha, but there is resistance for her work as well. She explained to us how many members of the community often do not trust her work and the fact that they have to pay a small portion for the building and materials, and prefer to wait for the government to build them houses. This poses challenges for the immediate neighborhood because others who agreed to the housing who are direct neighbors then cannot get houses from Ikhayalami. Besides organizations that work for structural change, Dine With Khayeltisha is an organization that works for social change and the termination of stereotypes that exist about the community.
Dine with Khayelitsha is a program that organizes dinners for foreigners and privileged Capetonian’s to meet people from Khayelitsha and have a conversation to bridge a gap between the two very informally segregated parts of the city. It was not only an incredibly valuable experience to eat in a stranger's home on its own, but the experience of living their everyday life with them and feel the vibe of the township was really cool. It took away an element of exoticism for me that I can admit I originally framed my first impressions on. I realized that those living in Khayelitsha led very different lives than me in many ways, but the similarities I saw overwhelmed the differences. I think this program is an incredibly powerful opportunity for those to see and understand an underprivileged community and all of its hardships, but also to appreciate the fact that we are all the same in our unembellished and most stripped-down form: being in the comfort of our own home.
Charlotte Mokdessi
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