Isabella Fischer's Blog: The Mdantsane Way, page 15
August 10, 2012
Education Is Sexy
This is a sight, that you will see all over Mdantsane when driving through the streets of the township around one or two o' clock just after the schools have finished.
Confident young people walking home from school.
We stopped and and chatted to some of them and guess what we found!
Education is sexy!
There you go!
One of the many voices of the new South Africa said education is sexy. Educated people are sexy. Of course this is not the only voice of South Africa. But it is a very important one. And it is one that must be heard.
The Department of Education with the latest school book delivery dilemma has apparently not yet heard the voice of many of South Africa's young people who are still forced to learn and study under difficult circumstances - with some of them not having received their school books six months after the schools have started.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/...[image error]
August 5, 2012
Pelisa Welemu - A Woman And Her Dream
Pelisa Welemu is dreaming of a better society.
She is dreaming of a society where old people are respected and treasured.
She is dreaming of the old African ideal, that the elders are kept safe and protected in the last years of their life until the day comes when they leave this world and become our ancestors. This ideal was once a collective ideal and can be found all over Africa but it degenerated in modern South Africa.
The situation of many old people is far from rosy. They are subjected to neglect, poverty, emotional abuse and physical violence.
This undeniable fact made her dedicate her life to the creation of a non-profit orgnization and the establishment of the only old age home in Mdantsane in N.U 1.
Ethembeni - Let's Help Each Other is home to close to 50 old people.
I have been visiting this home since 2005 I owe it to Pelisa Welemu to give her an opportunity to voice her quest and to share her experiences.
Pelisa Welemu - A Woman And Her Dream is part of "The Mdantsane Tales" a series of short movies and interviews about people from Mdantsane produced by us. We invite you to listen to the interview, that we have recorded last week with her and that shows how one person can make a significant difference to society.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/...[image error]
She is dreaming of a society where old people are respected and treasured.
She is dreaming of the old African ideal, that the elders are kept safe and protected in the last years of their life until the day comes when they leave this world and become our ancestors. This ideal was once a collective ideal and can be found all over Africa but it degenerated in modern South Africa.
The situation of many old people is far from rosy. They are subjected to neglect, poverty, emotional abuse and physical violence.
This undeniable fact made her dedicate her life to the creation of a non-profit orgnization and the establishment of the only old age home in Mdantsane in N.U 1.
Ethembeni - Let's Help Each Other is home to close to 50 old people.
I have been visiting this home since 2005 I owe it to Pelisa Welemu to give her an opportunity to voice her quest and to share her experiences.
Pelisa Welemu - A Woman And Her Dream is part of "The Mdantsane Tales" a series of short movies and interviews about people from Mdantsane produced by us. We invite you to listen to the interview, that we have recorded last week with her and that shows how one person can make a significant difference to society.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/...[image error]
A Look At NU 7
There goes the beautiful saying;"What you can perceive, you can receive!"
It is time to do away with the myth that there is only poverty, starvation and deprivation in Mdantsane. A closer look at N.U 7 will just do that.
A while ago I wrote about N.U 5.
Standing on a hill, looking down at the great Grinnaker dam I could imagine how Mdantsane would look like in thirty years, or may be even sooner in a decade or two. Mdantsane -a suburb of East London with tree lined alleys, neat lawns and flowers lining the outside of the walls. Fenced or walled houses with burglar bars shimmering through the curtains. But still painted in bright colors.
N.U 7 allows you to get a vision of that. It's considered a posh place in the township.
If it is difficult for you to follow me on that imaginary journey or if you can not belief just yet in such a positive outlook of Mdantsane's future just look intensely at these pictures for a while.
Houses and street scenes like this you could find in any other suburb of East London.
A friend was arguing with me and she said: "I believe shacks will never
disappear entirely in South Africa. Even if people acquire riches and
get new houses, the ones who will live in shacks will come. This is what we have inherited from the previous government. We can not overcome it".
But I think exactly that will happen. Shacks will disappear entirely one
day. Which brings me back to my opening sentence - what you can
perceive you can receive!
Mdantsane is a place that undergoes permanent transformation.
As a photographer it is exciting for me to document and be part of this transformation with my camera.
I have shown you many pictures of shacks on this blog. And although they are considered as a symbol of great poverty I admire the unmatched artistic creativity of the people who build them. But of course I wish that they should disappear entirely so that each and every South African can live under decent conditions.
It is a necessity that shacks and squatter camps disappear and the symbols of poverty will be replaced with the symbols of a middle class
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/...
It is time to do away with the myth that there is only poverty, starvation and deprivation in Mdantsane. A closer look at N.U 7 will just do that.
A while ago I wrote about N.U 5.
Standing on a hill, looking down at the great Grinnaker dam I could imagine how Mdantsane would look like in thirty years, or may be even sooner in a decade or two. Mdantsane -a suburb of East London with tree lined alleys, neat lawns and flowers lining the outside of the walls. Fenced or walled houses with burglar bars shimmering through the curtains. But still painted in bright colors.
N.U 7 allows you to get a vision of that. It's considered a posh place in the township.
If it is difficult for you to follow me on that imaginary journey or if you can not belief just yet in such a positive outlook of Mdantsane's future just look intensely at these pictures for a while.
Houses and street scenes like this you could find in any other suburb of East London.
A friend was arguing with me and she said: "I believe shacks will never
disappear entirely in South Africa. Even if people acquire riches and
get new houses, the ones who will live in shacks will come. This is what we have inherited from the previous government. We can not overcome it".
But I think exactly that will happen. Shacks will disappear entirely one
day. Which brings me back to my opening sentence - what you can
perceive you can receive!
Mdantsane is a place that undergoes permanent transformation.
As a photographer it is exciting for me to document and be part of this transformation with my camera.
I have shown you many pictures of shacks on this blog. And although they are considered as a symbol of great poverty I admire the unmatched artistic creativity of the people who build them. But of course I wish that they should disappear entirely so that each and every South African can live under decent conditions.
It is a necessity that shacks and squatter camps disappear and the symbols of poverty will be replaced with the symbols of a middle class
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August 4, 2012
The Look Of Doubt
A healthy dose of natural sceptism is always.good. I totally agree.
These two little " fellas", coming home from pre-school in N.U 6 were carrying a very heavy load with backpacks half their size dangling from their arms. And while the left one proofed to be a courageous young man and was standing his ground giving me the look of doubt - his colleague just dropped his backpack and fled into the bush.
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August 2, 2012
When The Winter Wind Blows Over NU 6
When the winter wind blows at the end of July, beginning of August then East London is a very cold place to be. But it is still colder in Mdantsane. You can argue with me - but everybody says so. If you have experienced a day in Mdantsane when the outside temperature is about 12 degrees Celsius, the wind blows with gale force and the sky is grey and gets greyer by the minute, then you know what I am talking about. Or let me put it that way, it feels colder in Mdantsane.
The wind whistles and races over the hilly slopes of Mdantsane and makes the shacks rattle. Only occasionally the doors of some houses and shacks open to let the smoke out and a breeze of fresh air in. Fire and coal stoves are used to heat the houses. Inside, you might sometimes get the feeling that you are listening to some strange orchestra playing a modern opera on the roof of the house.
Mdantsane is beautiful and picturesque because the terrain is not flat.
It is hilly with man view points but the fact that there are hardly any
big trees or old vegetation that has grown over the years and could serve as a wind break, gives the
wind full power to play its game.
You know that it is really cold in Mdantsane when.....
even the ladies who usually do not like to wear pants at all - are wearing them under their dresses!
It is winter when the streets of Mdantsane seem so quiet like suburbia.
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July 20, 2012
Lucky's Mfowethu Spaza
Lucky's Mfowethu Spaza in NU 5
There are at least 100.000 spaza shops in South Africa with an estimated 40.000 located in Gautend - with a collective turnover of R 7 billion per annum. Spaza Shops or Tuck Shops are informal convenience shops, usually run from home.
They also serve the purpose of supplementing household incomes of the owners, selling everyday small household items.
These shops grew as a result of sprawling townships, that made travel to formal shopping places more dirfficult or expensive.
Each Spaza shop employs in average one or two people.
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July 15, 2012
July 14, 2012
July 12, 2012
Close Up On The Iron Maidens
We have received two e-mails yesterday from our readers requesting a close-up of the Iron Maidens. So I am just posting the images quickly without a lot of words.
The author and editor of this journal is constantly practising a balancing act by writing for two groups of readers (and the author is very happy about this fact). There is one group, that knows very little or nothing at all about townships and then there is the second one, that is living the reality of it each and every day. The first group has a lot of questions and the second one wants to look in a mirror and see themselves as clear as possible.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/...[image error]
The author and editor of this journal is constantly practising a balancing act by writing for two groups of readers (and the author is very happy about this fact). There is one group, that knows very little or nothing at all about townships and then there is the second one, that is living the reality of it each and every day. The first group has a lot of questions and the second one wants to look in a mirror and see themselves as clear as possible.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/...[image error]
July 10, 2012
The Irons Maidens Of Mdantsane
Last year I visited an informal settlement that borders the section of NU3 and stretches quite far to the railway line. The shacks are perched on the slopes with ample space and fields between them. The whole area has a rural character
Yes, it is the settlement that has been recently visited by Government Officials. But I do not know its name. If you do recognize some of the buildings and you know the name, please tell me, so that I can include it in this article. I know that all informal settlements and squatter camps have names, that are relevant to their creation and history.
I spend an entire morning there and came home with more stories and some great shots of what I call the "Mdantsane Informal Architecture".
Our focus in our articles is never on poverty and deprivation, it is evident there is great poverty and we do not think that repeating it over and over again, alleviates it. Our focus is on what people do to escape poverty. And by looking at the amazing, sometimes excruciating efforts people undertake to build a home for themselves, have a meal, find transport or take care of their children, others who are in a better situation might feel touched and might want to step into the picture.
The way in which shacks are built in informal settlements was born out of pure necessity and poverty - and in the end it has become an art.
I was invited to have tea with one of the shack-owners.
I call them the "Iron Maidens", he said lighting a cigarette, and looking at our Government, I guess they will still be with us for quite a while".
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