Langa Township, Cape Town, SA

Langa Township, Cape Town, SA

Let’s start with some background on Langa. The township was created in 1927, well before apartheid become official policy, but under one of apartheid’s precursor laws, the 1923 Urban Areas Act. This Act created segregated areas to manage the non-white population and to restrict the black population to only those who were actively serving/supporting whites.

Initially, Langa was populated by men in minimal housing who worked at the shipyards and who were forced to be away from their families.  Eventually, families arrived and rooms originally intended to sleep a few men now were occupied by several families.  Since those early days Langa has swelled to an official population of approximated 60,000 people inside an area of approximately 1 square miles. Unofficial estimates of the population go as high as 3 times that, due to the number of undocumented residents.

We visited Langa Township twice during our visit to Cape Town. Our first visit began when tour guide, Wandile from Vamos Township Tours, picked us up at our hotel. While driving to Langa he began giving us an overview of Langa and his life there. Wandile had grown up there, but moved away with his family. He recently moved back to Langa to help out with the iThuba and Happy Feet Projects.

Our first stop at Langa was the cultural center. There were several shops there where artisans were creating crafts for sale.  The artists stopped whatever they were doing and walked us through their processes and then offering the finished products for sale.

Then we started walking through the township. There were several buildings/homes that people had set up businesses in. There were also several nice houses in the “Beverly Hills” section. These were built by township residents who had “made it” in business or professionally and who wanted to still live in the township.

But of course, there were many many homes that were marginal at best. Families living in cargo containers, multiple families living in one room and then there were the shanties: homes built with scraps of wood and metal. There were a lot of these. We walked back into the shanty area to visit the home of Shooter.

Shooter is a former policeman (hence his nickname) who lives in Langa and who has a lot of talent to use what is at hand to make his home better. He has three rooms in his home and it felt warm and cozy in there, even though it was cold and rainy outside. We were impressed at how well he has used his ingenuity to create skylights and other features in his home. We really enjoyed talking to Shooter, but unfortunately he had to leave early because of another appointment.

Smileys

After Shooter’s we stopped by a stand where women were cooking “Smiley’s”, i.e. sheep’s heads…a traditional food in the township. First they sear most of the hair on an open fire. Then they file off any remaining hair with a piece of hot rebar. The head is then boiled. Once done, the head is scrubbed and chopped in two with an ax. Finally, the brains are discarded and the head is ready to eat. I tried some and it was delicious!

iThuba and Happy Feet

Next up was a visit to a classroom where the iThuba Project is working to help bright students advance their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills. Here, we once again linked up with Shooter whose home we had visited. He was here helping the kids learn engineering skills. We were introduced to the kids and then they were asked to name things about the United States that they liked: Michael Jordan! Hollywood! New York! Jay-Z! Beyonce! Barak Obama! Each child had at least one or two favorite things in the United States.

Once we got there the students began acting in dramatic skits that they had written. The skits were about issues in the township that concerned the kids. The issues they addressed on this day were domestic violence, child abuse and crime. The kids all seemed to be natural-born actors as they were excellent and very moving; bringing us to tears several times. Even though their skits were about tough issues all of the kids were bright and happy.  Just being in the classroom with them was truly a memorable and heart-warming experience.

The final stop of our day was a Happy Feet presentation. There, kids of the township performed several gumboot dances for us (an audience of two).   The music is provided by hand clapping, foot stomping and chants. Once again the children of Langa blew us away with their enthusiasm and skills.

Mzansi

Our next visit to Langa resulted from a discussion we had with our hotel’s owner. We asked him about a good place for dinner and he suggested Mzansi for a unique experience, saying it was the highest rated restaurant in Cape Town. It sounded perfect for us and we immediately made reservations.

When we entered Mzansi we were first greeted by the smells of our food being cooked and then we were greeted by Momma. There were several ladies busy in the kitchen preparing the food and there were several musicians playing local music. All this made for a great beginning!

We sat at communal tables with people from Spain, Italy, Germany and one other couple from the US. The food was served buffet style and there were many delicious choices including about ten vegetarian dishes. The food was excellent and a local band played while we dined.

After dinner Momma sat down at the table and told us her story. She has lived in Langa Township all her life and created the restaurant to feed her family and put her kids through school. Momma is a wonderful and inspiring story teller and made us feel like long-lost friends.

Visiting Langa is a remarkable experience; one that we feel everyone, especially us Americans, should have. You will be amazed at the conditions that these people live in and you will likewise be amazed at the spirit of hope and enthusiasm that is thriving here. If you’re like us, you will also be incredibly moved by the spirit and friendliness of the people of Langa.

References:

For more information on Vamos Tours and the Happy Feet Program: Vamos

For more information on the iThuba Project: IThuba

For more information on Mzansi: Mzansi TripAdvisor Reviews

Our tour agent (now friend) recommended a visit to Langa.  She also planned our entire Africa trip.  Check out her company at Africa Direct USA.

Note: None of the above are our sponsors and we have not received any compensation for our post.