My Home Is In N.U 6

"My home is in N.U 6. I want a better house but apart from that I don't wanna go anywhere else. I just want a better house!" 

Sometimes one sentence says enough. It says all there is to say.

When we started publishing the Mdantsane Way as a blog we thought initially of something like a " visual feast". It was not our intention to create a magazine that talks about who stole how much money and which organisations have corrupted government money the most.

Instead we wanted to leave a very strong visual impact for the readers inside and outside of South Africa by publishing images through which they can recognize their township. The Mdantsane Way was created as a site for seeing all the beautiful and interesting places and spots of Mdantsane live online. And our focus is on good and empowering stories.

Our archive has grown so much, that we will not run out of pictures for the next 5 years! And if we continue working as we do, we will achieve our goal of becoming the most extensive online photography documenatary and publication of Mdantsane ever.

What one can take home from these images and the sentence that was so well said by one of the owners in N.U 6 is: there is so much love in Mdantsane! The residents have a whole lot of love for their kazi!

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.

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.

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".