First day

This was my first time in KwaThema. Getting there was quite a mission and we ended up getting quite lost. We had to stop and ask for directions on numerous occasions as we were really battling to find the rendezvous point- the KwaThema library. Eventually after a brief phonecall to Hannah we were on track and arrived at the library a few minutes after everyone else.

We met outside the library in a small outside covered meeting area where Hannah gave us a brief description of the project and then introduced us to a number of volunteers from KwaThema who would be helping the Wits students out. At this point I was very unsure of what this project was about but I was very pleasantly surprised to see the turnout of volunteers- no matter what this project involved, I was pleased to have community support.

We then embarked on a walking tour of various sites in KwaThema. The first being the chess park owned by Mr Anthony Shoba. This was a really great place for children to learn to play chess. I was so impressed with Anthony’s vision for the land adjacent to his small container that housed his chess academy.

Moving on towards a quite little park area where the Indaba tree stood, I really had a good feeling about this township. It had a really cool vibe about it and it was a place that I really felt comfortable in. I passed numerous locals who were very friendly to me… this was a place I could really get used to being in. The site for the Indaba tree was a very secluded and tranquil one. It was so calm and serene here, far from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets. This site really appealed to me for some sort of an intervention but later thought to myself that the site is actually very special on its own. It would take a very sensitive touch to transform or add to this space.

We then moved on to the civic centre which was an area alive with activity. The streets were lined with hawkers selling their various wares raging from clothing to meat. I was later told that this street market was not an everyday affair but that the reason they were all present today was because it was the allocated day in the month for pensioners to collect their pension cheques from the civic hall.

It was now time to walk back to the library for a very welcome lunch. I’m not used to all this walking and it was really draining me.

After a short lunch we walked to the Masimini Beerhall. This was a structure that was burned down by students in 1976 in protest against their parents spending all their school tuition money on drink in the beer hall. This structure has been completely gutted by what I would assume to be the fire and theft. The exposed concrete structure is very beautiful and full of possibility.