So as I begin my clinical work in and around the townships, I don’t want to assume that everyone knows what I’m talking about. Hopefully, this post will give you a better understanding of where LH works everyday! The issue of townships is large and complex, so please know that this is just my experience so far, rather than a summation of the entire issue.
How about I explain?
How about I explain?
What is a township?
A township is generally a massive urban squatters camp or a large grouping of official or unofficial shack settlements. "Slum" might be an accurate term to describe some of the poorer settlements, but since some of the townships are actually more established than others, you can't classify them all as slums. Most of the homes are “built” from thin, loosely-connected, corrugated sheets of iron, but again, in the more established townships, houses could be made from concrete and have amenities more like what you and I would be more accustomed to. Most townships do have running water and electricity but the majority of toilets are outdoor latrines, and sewage is a big problem.
A township is generally a massive urban squatters camp or a large grouping of official or unofficial shack settlements. "Slum" might be an accurate term to describe some of the poorer settlements, but since some of the townships are actually more established than others, you can't classify them all as slums. Most of the homes are “built” from thin, loosely-connected, corrugated sheets of iron, but again, in the more established townships, houses could be made from concrete and have amenities more like what you and I would be more accustomed to. Most townships do have running water and electricity but the majority of toilets are outdoor latrines, and sewage is a big problem.
How many of them are there?
Per some government calculations there are 66 townships spread out over South Africa. Many have up to or over one million people living in a particular township. In addition to the known 66, there are hundreds of others that are either illegal or just not large enough to yet count. In most cases, shacks extend as far as your eye can see and then some beyond that. Government estimates are considered highly inaccurate when it comes to accounting for the number of persons living in townships because as you can imagine, that many people living in squalor doesn't look good for any government. The administration definitely paints a rosy picture to it's constituency, and to the world, whenever possible, but there are signs that they are working to improve services in the townships, albeit rather slowly.
Per some government calculations there are 66 townships spread out over South Africa. Many have up to or over one million people living in a particular township. In addition to the known 66, there are hundreds of others that are either illegal or just not large enough to yet count. In most cases, shacks extend as far as your eye can see and then some beyond that. Government estimates are considered highly inaccurate when it comes to accounting for the number of persons living in townships because as you can imagine, that many people living in squalor doesn't look good for any government. The administration definitely paints a rosy picture to it's constituency, and to the world, whenever possible, but there are signs that they are working to improve services in the townships, albeit rather slowly.
How did they get here?
Starting in the 1950’s, during the Apartheid Era of the South African government, any persons that were non-white were forcibly removed from their homes by government forces and "relocated" into segregated areas. Imagine being rounded up and moved hundreds of miles from your home, job and family, just because of your skin color. Their homes were bulldozed to the ground and they were transported far away from the city centers to live in out-lying, low-level, barren wasteland areas. If you resisted you were jailed or possibly shot right then and there. Separate "townships" were established for each of the three designated non-white race groups: blacks, coloreds and Indians. Basically, this was legally institutionalised segregation, or in another light, it was a way for the white ruling minority to control the larger majority of non-whites and thus guarantee a maintenance of power. What's difficult to grasp is that these injustices happened in our modern times, just a few short years ago. Most of my peers, colleagues and co-workers here spent the majority of their lives in a township and many still live there today. While the white population marched into the modern era as a first world nation and enjoyed the highest standard of living in all of Africa in the last 50 years, the ethnic majorities remained totally disadvantaged by almost every standard, including income, education, housing, and life expectancy.
Why don’t the people just leave?
Long-term, government-sponsored oppression and marginalization of large ethnic people groups, such as what occurred under Apartheid, induces wide-spread impoverishment. Corrupt governments withhold money and aid from their own people for their own gain. Poverty stricken people are put at risk for illness, disease and general malnutrition relating to the absolute poverty of their circumstances. Limited access to clean water or adequate health care worsens any underlying conditions making people chronically ill. As part of structured oppression, the government made it illegal, or at the least very difficult, for those same people to get an education. So then, under those circumstances, a society of impoverished, ill, and under-educated people unaturally comes into existence.
Can you see how over the course of many years, generations of people come to exist in a nearly unbreakable cycle of poverty? Even if certain individuals were healthy enough or had the level of education required for a job, they have no job experience, they don't own a car, likely can't drive a car, they have no official documents to get a job, and they live 3 hours via train or taxi from the nearest place that could offer them work. So then, we have impoverished, chronically-ill, sub-optimally-educated, and non-optimally-productive people living in forcibly-compressed, highly-overcrowded urban areas. Add to that the incidences of violence, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, HIV and a little bit of leftover tribal-witch-doctoring-mysticism and you have a recipe for a disaster of epic proportions.
One might also take into consideration that no matter how "bad" some of these environments may appear to be to us, these settlements are the only home most people here have ever known. Their entire family and culture exists only within these geographical systems, making it very difficult and scary for them to leave. It's not just as simple as moving.
Are they dangerous?
Yes and no. South Africa, in general, has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and violent crime against women and children is also very high. But just because there is risk, doesn’t mean we remain safely inside our bubble at all times. In any urban area where there is overcrowding, disease, unemployment and poverty, there is bound to be crime. Managing your risk might be a good way to look at it. Townships are especially dangerous at night, but generally safer in the daytime. I never go anywhere alone, and I keep my car doors locked at all times. I never keep my purse on the seat while driving and anything of value is always locked in the trunk. Foreigners are generally only targets for opportunitistic crime, or petty crime such as theft, rather than the highly reported violent crime that occurs within the townships. Just be smart about your safety.
*Yes, I did take this photo myself in one of the townships and yes it did take my breath away. Even though I knew these were only toy guns, the manner in which these children used them gave me great pause to think about the violence that has been modeled for them.
So now what? What does Living Hope do about it?
I'm so glad you asked! Living Hope has a motto that guides all of our interventions laid out by Pastor John Thomas: "Poverty is an acquired mentality, not just a financial state." LH understands that people don't instantly or automatically rise out of poverty when given a certain amount of money. It's really not even about money or about "not having" material possessions. Poverty exists within a deeply rooted and profoundly-interwined, learned set of views, values, and norms that are written into a person's cultural DNA. And we all know that DNA replicates itself. Breaking that cyclical replication is very difficult. So, we do it in four parts:
And in fact, there is an open door for hope to enter in every one of these areas! These "problem" areas are our greatest opportunities! They are the door which we are walking through, to bring Christ's ultimate hope to anyone who wants it.
Yes, there are real challenges. Yes, there is hopelessness to overcome. BUT we have hope. We resist those who would steal, kill and destroy our work and our joy, and we rest in knowing that there is One who has come that we may have LIFE and life to the fullest! (John 10:10)
So we hold out, and we hold onto Hope.
I promise you, it doesn't disappoint.
- Prevention & Education through "Living Right" - LH chooses to start breaking the cycle of poverty with young children, for the very reason that the next generation is our hope for sustainable change in the future. Avril Thomas, the founding pastor's wife, who leads our children's programs says this: "It is easier to build a whole child, than to mend a broken man." So then, we start from the very beginning and challenge the mentalities that poverty creates. We do this by instilling in our children the possibility of alternative future outcomes other than poverty. BUT we do it within the existing culture. Let me be clear, this isn't about "enforcing" our "correct" culture on someone else's culture. We only present alternative patterns of thought and behavior through listening to and supporting the people or groups of people in that culture. We listen to what the people want for themselves and their communities and act only in the ways that assist them in accomplishning their own goals as best we can. Our ultimate goal is to work ourselves out of a job as the communities themselves ideally "fix" their own issues.
- Job creation and economic sustainability through "Living Way" - We do more than just give ideas. We demonstrate the power of ideas through opportunities for economic empowerment. Vocational training, computer training, enterpruener development classes, small business incubation, financhial management courses and a worker readiness school restores people's beliefe in their own potiental to overcome poverty. They have to be taught to believe that they can move forward through the use of their own unique talents and gifts that are then applied in the workforce.
- Drug & Alcohol Rehab and Homelessness Ministry through "Living Grace" Sometimes the most vulnerable members of a society are the most difficult people to truly love and care for. Those that are homeless or unable to overcome addiction live everyday with a lack of security or protection, illiteracy, drug and alcohol abuse, hunger and malnutrition, inadequate shelter, abuse and threats to their health. Living Grace tackles these issues through a daily feeding program, secure spaces to store their belongings, showers, laundry facilities, food parcels, obtaining proper ID books, access to social services, oversight of medication for TB and HIV, as well as health and substance abuse support groups. Some will recover and others we will continue to love no matter what.
- Healthcare through "Living Care"- You already know that this is the part of Living Hope that I work in! In all honesty, it is totally impossible for people to rise out of poverty and live full, long meaningful lives if they are hurting, injured, sick or at risk for becoming sick. Take a minute and think about how you have felt when you have been sick or injured. All you want is comfort. All you want is rest. All you want is to feel a little better. You want to know how to prevent this from ever happening again. You want to move on with your life. You don't want to be scared of what is happening. You want your pain to go away. People living in poverty don't always have those options. My job is to give it to them in every way possible. My own personal vision in working at Living Care, is that healing comes in as many forms as illness, and even if we only ease suffering, we give hope. Physical healing is only one of the many steps in a person's total healing, but it opens the door for hope to enter in.
And in fact, there is an open door for hope to enter in every one of these areas! These "problem" areas are our greatest opportunities! They are the door which we are walking through, to bring Christ's ultimate hope to anyone who wants it.
Yes, there are real challenges. Yes, there is hopelessness to overcome. BUT we have hope. We resist those who would steal, kill and destroy our work and our joy, and we rest in knowing that there is One who has come that we may have LIFE and life to the fullest! (John 10:10)
So we hold out, and we hold onto Hope.
I promise you, it doesn't disappoint.
What a great post, Ames! Thanks for giving us an educated, well-read glimpse into your world. The issues of poverty are always more complicated than they seem. Love you, miss you, proud of you, praying for you.
So glad you wrote this b/c I don't think most understand what a township is like. Very interesting & educational.
Wow, fascinating! Love you! Aileen
wow girl that was awesome and very educational. you are going to make a fine south african! you are ready to give the tours. I'm impressed
Thank you so much for sharing! Be Safe! Lisa Cook