following up

Thursday was my third visit back to KwaThema since the end of the project, and for the first time I felt dismayed by the change in the physical condition of the beerhall. The beercrates had been stolen in the first two weeks after completion, but now the mattresses have been untied and there is a scattering of gravel around the floor. Kids were playing basketball with a tennisball: their big ball was missing. After giving permission for a party - a bash - to be held on June 16, Stan and Mr Cindi feel that the structure is open to abuse.

At the Chess Park, on the other hand, the changes have been positive. Anthony has encroached onto a patch of lawn alongside his house, along the east side of the park, and has rearranged his fence to make a yard for the minigym he is planning. He also intends to get fencing erected around the entire chess park.

Two groups, one led by Stan and Mr Cindi, and the other made up of volunteers, have begun forming NGO's to look after the beerhall. At the meeting yesterday we discussed a larger, more comprehensive group forming that could represent all their interests as well as those of artists, sportpeople, community workers, the organisations around the park, and Wits. Tshepelile reminded us how important the kids who use the space were, and how its important to make new uses compatibile with their access to the space. We closed with the volunteers and Stan agreeding to meet to discuss the idea of a single group with their own networks and take it from there.

The idea of an NGO formed around a specific space is a new idea in KwaThema, so it will be interesting to see if it makes sense to the community. It seems to depend on whether there is a sense of the park being something public, something that could change, and something that can accommodate overlapping uses. For now, the Chess Park, even though its use is controlled by Anthony, appears to be something positive and public. I wonder how a fence will change that image.