KwaThema Works

Today was my first trip into Kwa Thema, a place I had heard a lot about, but had yet to experience. After a surprisingly quick journey from Johannesburg we arrived in a place which on first impressions seemed amazingly dense and layered. After a morning briefing and a quick name swapping, we hit the streets. I found the experience really interesting, Kwa Thema seems (most probably due to its age, or perhaps its stringent planning) to work. The incredible density of living and socialising along the street, and the wonderful human scale of the area was something which I haven’t ever really experienced. Kwa Thema seems completely different to any township I have ever visited, it almost feels contained, experimental, but has this great feeling of success which was hard to ignore. Sure many opportunities exist for the improvement of the infrastructure and general built fabric, but the feel of the place is very positive. I feel ridiculous saying this, but I’ve never felt as secure (hopefully not falsely) in similar environments. We were warmly welcomed by the eager volunteers who seem very excited to get their hands dirty for the upgrade of their community. Their drive and direction is astounding. The spaces chosen for our project are very different, but each seem to demand a similar approach, upgrade and improvement for the community together with a certain memorial, historical element to educate visitors and residents. I was particularly interested in the incredible history of the Beer Hall, and its demolition. The idea that a municipality would set up these facilities in townships really got to me. I find it amazing how those in charge often seem to impose their rule by subduing the ‘lesser’ cultures in a pool of alcohol. This seems to be a global phenomenon with North America and Australia and their indigenous cultures as an example. I therefore find it particularly potent that students uprising against Apartheid would choose the Beer Hall to bear the brunt of their frustrations. After a talk with Tseleng it became clear that the Beer Hall must have symbolised a form of control and perhaps oppression, and of course the story of the students revolting because their parents drank away their school fees is legitimate, I just feel that the anger was directed at the government and not perhaps the students’ parents. Anyway, it’s an ominous structure in the landscape, a concrete mass punctured with framed views through and out of. A skeleton whose flesh has been gnawed away, awaiting some sort of solution.

I think the project will be lots of hard work, I’m exhausted after a day of walking in the sun, can’t wait to see what a day of working in the sun will do! I’m excited for the construction of our interventions, but also quite nervous of the amount of work to be accomplished in a relatively short time. The whole process will be very interesting, and I look forward to it!