Alexandra Township

Here we see a vibrant and exciting community. After eating "vet-koek" on the street, we pass the ZCC church explaining it’s doctrine and illustrating the differences as well as the similarities of our cultures. We visit "Beirut", the site of massive unrest in the 80’s and 90’s, where we explain the background to and the detail of the violence which swept the townships at this time. We also visit Presidential Flats, Mrs Mbeki’s birthplace, the Zulu men’s Hostel "Khayalethu", where we see examples of job creation programmes. The history of the Hostels and their role in Apartheid is explained in detail.

We explain how the social structure of the "yard system" and the "gangs" had such an effect on events leading up to change in 1994. We discuss the 1.3 billion rands that has been spent, as a Presidential initiative, on reconstruction and development of Alexandra.

We see Nelson Mandela’s first home in Gauteng, a Traditional Healer, the home of one of the first Gang members of the 40’s, the Community Centre, traditional food preparation of "smiley’s" and "skop", one of the prison gang members, the Athletes' Village from African Games, and River Park, the first houses of the "displaced people."

We visit the building used by the "1916 Health Committee", St Hubert’s Catholic Church: Holy Cross Convent and the oldest Beer Hall in the township. The "Chinaman", and "The Rocks of Alex" are visited (if we are lucky) and their stories told. We capture the spirit of Alexandra and the struggle of the man on the street to earn a living wage. Throughout the drive through Alexandra we are accompanied by Mphane, a local resident.

Depending upon the interest of clients we also visit an initiative run by Investec Bank and partnered by NOAH, where 395 HIV/Aids orphans are cared for on a daily basis. We can also visit Ba-Amogaleng a pre-school facility where 48 2-6 year olds are cared for by members of the community.

Guests participate in a short ceremony whereby we demonstrate how everyone can contribute towards improving society. The history of the places seen and the township are explained and shown in an interesting and interactive manner, providing an understanding of the diverse cultures of the country.