Mdantsane - A Way of Life

Car Wash on the weekend overlooking beautiful NU 5

The material for the book " The Mdantsane Way " has been collected for over five years by now, and my archive of photos and stories is still growing. The Mdantsane Way has evolved and become a project. The first version of this book will be released in January as an e-book. We have decided to publish it as an e-book as well because e-books are taking the whole world by storm. The book will be cheaper to aquire and this puts more people in a position to have access to it. There will be a hardcover version as well. 

We have named the book " The Mdantsane Way " because most of all Mdantsane stands for a certain way of life. It is the second biggest township in South Africa but foremost it represents a life-style. A lifestyle that embodies community spirit, African vibrancy and energy, uniqueness, creativity and a whole lot of humor. If you live in Mdantsane you do it the Mdantsane Way. 

It was our objective to capture and to show you as many scenes of daily life and street life of this township as possible. I can say today this has not been done before ever. Not for Mdantsane. There is very little photographic material about Mdantsane available. Nobody has taken as many pictures and collected as many stories as we did. What started in my head as an art project became a journey with consequences. I infected my friends with this idea and we could not let go of it since then. And we feel a little proud of it.

This blog was created for you, the people in Mdantsane who have helped us pushing it through. 

The stories, the faces, the photos we were allowed to take, the fun and the new things we have seen and learned are worth a trillion.

I hope you see your face here on this blog sooner or later. And it is for all the others as well that have taken an interest in it. I can say there are many who know Mdantsane by now a little bit through our stories and pictures. 

If you want to use and upload the pictures that you see here and on our facebook and twitter pages-you can. Spread them, show them around, add them to your photos. That is why they were taken. Just mention our name so that we get seen and heard more.

This will enable us may be to get more support for the online magazine and the movie we have started working on.

Pimp My Ride

I got a similar ride of my own that needs a whole lot of pimping.!

STORED AT OWNER'S RISK

HARDBODY

YOUNG MONEY

AFRICAN DREAMS

There are lots of dreams in the air as well

and not only African

THE FACE OF THE TOWN

There is no lack of cars or of their remains on the streets of Mdantsane.
It's a paradise for car lovers, ressembling a little Havanna and all models, sizes and types can be found in varying states of working condition. 

If they lack their most essential " ingredients" like engines and tires they are stored on sidewalks or fields and serve still as playground for children or for young lovers.   

Parts of Mdantsane became electrified over the years bringing a long desired change to the lives of thousands of families but many parts and the growing informal settlements bordering the outskirts of the township remain still unplugged. Most of the streets inside the township are dirt roads. The Government has built and provided thousands of simple houses over the last 15 years since South-Africa became a democratic country. Most of the houses are built in similar style and are set up in clusters in close distance to each other.
Mdantsane lacks an adequate social and economic infrastructure for an urban area of it's size.

If the financial means are available houses are neat, beautifully painted and well maintained by their owners. Most of them have a small fenced garden. 

But the town faces major challenges in regard to the supply of potable water, accessibility  of public transport, road and pedestrian access-way networks, the safety of its residents. The high crime rate complicates the life of its residents.

There are also insufficient primary quality health care facilities to deal with the high prevalence of HIV infections and HIV related  diseases.

Community Chat facilities are set up at strategic points.