Adventures in South America

Kayamundi - A Township Visit

During the course of planning our trip to South Africa, we decided that we wanted to visit a Township. We came across Selwyn Davidowitz on the Fodors Travel Message Boards. He came highly recommended as a good individual to show us what life is like in a Township and we arranged a tour with him for our 2nd day in Cape Town (Friday the 24th). From the beginning, Selwyn stresses that this is not a “tour”. This is not something that is premeditated – there are no organized shows, etc. The plan was to arrive in Kayamundi (the township) around lunchtime, eat lunch at his friend Lily’s house, and then walk around the township dropping in on various friends of Selwyn’s.

What an experience. Arriving there I did not know what to expect. Their circumstances are so different from the poverty in the states … many of the children do not have shoes, they live in shacks… would they be hostile towards their Western Visitors?

From the moment we stepped out of Selwyn’s van, we were greeting by wave after wave of incredibly friendly and warm people. Especially the children. Everywhere we walked I felt like we were Pied Pipers, children following us at every turn. Grabbing our hands, greeting us, smiling at us, begging us to take pictures on our digital cameras then racing over to see their images onscreen. The kids were amazing – so obviously poor, but so warm and friendly. Most of the children speak Xhosa – not English - so verbal communication was limited at times.

For more images from our Township Visit, please click here to view the pictures Selwyn took of us.

posted by Kathy T @ 7:52 AM