Day 4 in Cape Town

It’s about the closest that we can get to the top of the world. We headed up to Table Mountain using a cable car that overlooked Cape Town. It was an absolutely breath taking view and offered an amazing contrast to our earlier visit to the Township of Langa, which was designated a black area after the enactment of the 1950 Group Areas Act. The mountain was peaceful and allowed us to reflect on the days activities.

The first stop on our Sunday morning adventure was to a Roman Catholic Church in Langa. The church is surrounded by a fence and barbed wire to protect the clergy and faculty members who reside and work at the facility. The warm welcoming locals possessed homes which were extremely difficult to accept. One of the positive attributes of the area was the clinic that promoted personal health and awareness for such devastating problems as AIDS/HIV. We visited a local traditional medicine man that possessed such methods of healing as a baboon hand, a large snake skin and a turtle one could touch for good luck. But when it comes to problems regarding AIDS/HIV, he turns his clients to the modern hospitals for treatment but when asked about the disease he refused to answer questions.

As we traveled through the township we were surprised at the various meats that were for sale. These included “free range chickens”, smiles (which were sheep heads) and enormous sausages. As we went further, there was a sharp change from housing shacks that were the size of a common bathroom to homes that had swimming pools; much like suburban America. From one block to the next you could find people who had upper class housing to those who had nothing. One thing to take into consideration while looking at these homes and shacks, were that sometimes one could see a new BMW parked outside and the occupant walking around in a nice suit. Since this area requires little money to stay in (if any at all), group three believes that many may stay by choice, however, others ponder whether individuals in the townships have a choice given the historical context of South Africa.

We traveled through the township part by bus and walking. While on the bus, it was difficult not to feel sympathetic for the young people who lived in the township. Many of these individuals would walk up to the bus asking for money, experiencing this placed us in a very awkward position. Walking around, we wanted to be able to offer them something and one member of our group did offer the kids a few rand (South Africa currency). This first visit to the township, while brief, highlighted the reality of a city of extreme differences.