The Daily Necessities Are Hard To Secure

The daily necessities in Mdantsane are still not guaranteed and are hard to get whilst we reach the end of the second decade of South Africa's independance.

The water and sanitation situation is a very challenging one to deal with. The number of households in Mdantsane has grown tremendously over the years and there has been a great influx of people from the rural areas as well.

And with so many additional households, many of them informal, the pressure on the water pumps and water points reaches critical levels. We are talking about public water pumps and water pumps outside the compunds. With low pressure the water becomes difficult to get and sometimes only sparse amounts are already available to each household. Maintenance is another problem.

The water is used for everything from cleaning clothes, cooking, drinking, bathing, and cleaning the house. Having very little water accessible to each section makes it very hard to get enough water for a day per household. There are attempts to improve this situation through modernizing the main water supply system and to add more pumps in each section of the township.

But still many hoseholds do not have water taps in side their house which means " keep a bucket close by" because the water has to be fetched.

As you drive through the streets, not only the streets of  Mdantsane but of every township in South Africa, it is hard not to see the overload of electrical wires strung from the trees leading to the only power box in a section. Hundreds of wires come from one power box because the residents of the area were not given access to the electricity. So illegal and sometimes dangerous connections were set up because people do need electricity. 

Every house in the area has a wire coming out of it and every wire is known by the owner in order to fix problems as soon as they arise. The municipality is tearing down these wire frequently but they are back up the next day.

All this shows us that service delivery has not been the Government's strength

Transport? Let's leave this for another time. If you have to go somewhere you have to walk in many cases and the walk can be a long one.
But still in the face of all those atrocities and poverty, there is so much heartfelt friendliness in Mdantsane.
They are simply THE HEROES OF DAILY LIFE!

Living On Wheels

Under The Boardwalk

Over a year ago we posted two images on our other website "la vie est belle souvent" When you post an article or photos you never know entirely what reaction you will get from the readers. But the two images have enchanted and were love by thousands of people all over the world. And still after a year they are tweeted, re-tweeted and shared on the net. We love them too.

We are sharing them with you on The Mdantsane Way even though they are not directly related to Mdantsane. The Esplanade or beachfront in East London is however a very popular destination for many especially on the week-end and during holidays. It's a place to relax, linger, get take-aways, watch the activities out at sea, listen to music in your car and just spend time with the people you love, like this young father with his son!

A moment, a street photographer dreams off. He was entirely dedicated to his son, there was no hurry, no rush, no pushing and no we-have-to-go-somewhere-now-now. It was a man to man, a father and son moment and you can feel the peace of this morning shared together in the images long after it is gone. 

Moments like these are the reason why we believe in the power of a positive journalism. There is so much love in South Africa. Let's show the love to the world, not the hate!

United We Stand

This shack in an informal settlement part of Mdantsane is made out of hundreds of pieces of corrugated iron joined together. United like this "they stand" and provide a home for a family.

Within the informal settlements that sometimes are entities on their own but often also are part of a bigger township, the communities face many troubling issues. 

Most often the homes are built on lands that are not owned by the occupier so they are considered illegal constructions. Since the houses are not there with the government’s permission they most likely do not have the proper services needed. Without the proper services, such as sewage, electricity, roads, and clean water, life becomes very difficult for the residents.

HI-WAY Sellers Need Patience

 

One of the most beautiful things the African continent has to offer are the traditional African markets. Although more developped than the rest of the continent South Africa still has a lot of them! Hi-Way in Mdantsane is one of them. But times are hard for the sellers. The global recession has not spared South Africa. The smile is still there on the faces but life has definitely changed for the worse for many!

After the morning buzz and after preparing the stalls and displaying the merchandise, comes the wait. Sometimes a very long wait! 

"Nobody buys anything these days", one seller said. Only the hair-salons are still doing ok. I am thinking of changing my line of busniess. But even they suffer. And I don't know really about hair!"

This seems to be a fact and the cheap and low quality Chinese imports, flooding the country from every angle do not help either. Now everybody has the same things on offer.

While relations with China are intensified and China is getting a tighter grip on Africa more and more traditional craft techniques disappear and die, because the products are too expensive and the producers can not find ways to sell them in this global economy on their own.

So for many the only thing to do is wait, and continue doing the things they already do!

Busy At HI--WAY

Hi-Way scenes during a mid week morning

 

Endaweni Supermarket Mdantsane

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!

Traditional Xhosa Wedding Gifts In Miniature Form

Another Xhosa Tradition To Remember

It was heritage day just recently but we could not come up with a meaningful story. We were looking for a story, that is not repetitive of all the other stories. But now we have one, that we think is worth telling. 

On the African continent many people of all sorts of skin-colors, nationalities and convictions are busy trying to preserve traditional African culture. Look around, you can see them everywhere! Many of them are not even affiliated with the so so callled International Development Agencies or Organisations. 

They do this because they believe in a common cause. They are passionate and they believe in an African identity, that differs from region to region, but that nevertheless is distinct and unique.

Each tradition in each country of the African continent, be it a specific language, a poem, clothing, jewelry, song, the way an item is made or anything else, that is preserved, kept alive or remembered contributes to the great African identity, that must not be lost.

It is not easy to preserve African culture and traditions because in most African countries American influences swamp out many traditions and beliefs. The irony is that American culture is readily accepted by the younger generation in Africa, while Afro Americans are on a quest to discover their African roots. 

So it is a fiery topic. 

A great percentage of the inhabitants of Mdantsane are of a Xhosa origin. Most families have relatives in the Transkei. But what is Xhosa culture and how can one preserve it? It is so manifold and rich! Which traditions can be left behind and which ones have to be remembered and preserved.

One lady has done a lot of thinking and a great job in this regard.

Annegret Mostert has created a symbolic XHOSA wedding gift. Annegret has had produced the traditional Xhosa wedding gifts in miniature form, assembled them as a picture, elegantly framed under glass
When given to a young couple on their wedding day, this gift serves as a reminder how this day was celebrated traditionally.

Annegret Mostert, was born in Africa and has worked most of her life as an occupational therapist with people with disabilities. Listening to her is like opening a treasure chest of knowledge. 

She has worked many years for REHAB, the non-profit organisation, that we have introduced in an earlier article as a consultant. Her great passion is the preservation of traditional African cultures and African craftsman's techniques such as basketry. And as such she also focused her efforts on the Xhosa culture. 

She spent years working with women's organisations in the Transkei. And she has created a very unique wedding gift, that can remind the younger generations of the traditions of their parents.

 

In an interview Annegret said: " This gift is for the people who come originally from the Transkei but who have moved to Johannesburg or other parts of South Africa. With time the younger generations loose their connection to the Xhosa culture"

With the framed picture comes an exact description, where, why and how it was created. The production of this wedding installation picture helps women in the rural areas to get additional income.

So, if you know someone who is getting married, give it a thought because by giving this gift to a couple you start a whole process of remembrance and preservation, thereby enabling the ones who have stayed in the rural areas to also live a little bit a better life. 

This was my Sunday morning Sermon to you ! We wish you all a happy and blessed Sunday with your families and loved ones.

Siseko Says

SiIseko Tose Tose Says

I met a while ago this fella, called Siseko Tose Tose. Grew up in Mdantsane. Spend a couple of years in Cape Town. Then came back to his home ground.

Siseko is indeed a very interesting guy and he has a few things to say. He does this on the African blogosphere.

One thing that can be said with certainty is that Siseko is never without his music and never ever will it happen, that you will see him without it. I can predict that. He is the kind of guy who carries a mobile home office stored in a huge backpack around. ALL the time! Enough me taking about him. Let us here now what he has to say about himself.

 

Siseko says about Siseko:
this [SisekoSay] is on a lighter side of things as you will figure it out as you bare witness.
i am not here to preach, front and show how intelligent [and lack of] or opinionated i am, i am on this
tip cause i can – so i will post it and you can read it / luckily there is an option for you to paste your comment about my opinion/s and frankly i dont really care if you dis-agree but if you do / hey

without further sounding like an uncle in a family gathering / lets do this
_remember if you say something stupid – you earn the right to be shot with a water pistol.
this blog is born on Father’s day / not on the 19th, on Father’s day – got it

That gives you an idea? Right? Intrigued? Yep, others call him fresh! Lets go and check it out.

Siseko blogs on wordpress and here is his link SISEKO SAYS