In this week’s guest post travel writer and journalist Andrea Wren describes a visit to Soweto. She shares with us her experience of taking a township tour and offers tip on those planning to make a similar visit.
Looking into a corrugated iron shack the size of a camper van, it was hard to believe a family of six lived here. There was barely a foot of a space between the end of the one double bed, and the small table for cooking with its single gas burner.
I felt both humble and ashamedly voyeuristic taking photographs inside the home of this Soweto family, and yet they were happy to oblige and let us learn about their life, as part of the township tour I was on.
To describe a tour of Soweto as an eye-opener is an understatement – but to leave it out of a visit to Johannesburg and Gauteng is ignoring what life is truly like for a massive proportion of black South Africans.
Soweto – standing for SOuth WEstern TOwnship – is one of the many townships in which black South Africans were housed in the period of apartheid, and where millions of people still live in abject poverty. Soweto is entrenched in South Africa’s history like no other.
20 miles from Johannesburg, an estimated 4 million people live in Soweto, while the ‘official figure’ is 1.3 million. The sights are rich and plentiful, although I was fighting back the tears on several occasions while visiting them.
Soweto’s Vilakazi Street is the only street in the world which has the homes of two Nobel Peace Prize winners. Here sits Nelson Mandela’s former home, which is now a museum, and Desmond Tutu’s house.
Close by, there is the site where 13 year-old Hector Pieterson was shot dead when police open fired into the street on 16 June 1976. This occurred during the student uprising, where school children had begun protesting about their lack of educational facilities.
When I thought about this poor young boy and his senseless death wandering the memorial and museum dedicated in his name, I felt the hotness on my cheeks as I cried. Soweto has a way of moving you like this.
Contrary to what you may think though, there is a substantial amount of affluent housing in the township, where many high-profile residents live, including Winnie Mandela. However, when you see the squatter camps, your poverty-gripes back at home will soon be put into perspective.
The shanty town is grossly overcrowded; people share block toilets and families of eight may live with no amenities under one tin or plastic-sheeted shack the size of a garden shed. Barbed wire and chicken wire fence off rusting, leaking homes, while ‘roofs’ are held up on rotting wooden posts.
Speaking to families who have to share one ‘portaloo’ with twenty other families, suddenly my terraced home back in Manchester, with ‘only’ a backyard, seemed like a palace.
But for all the deprivation and violent history Soweto has, there is a real welcoming buzz and vibrancy to the area. Yes, it is crime-ridden, dirty and at the grossly extreme end of poor, but when it was time to leave, I wished I’d had longer to get to know the township.
Don’t listen to anyone who tells you not to come.
How to see Soweto
A few streets are safe to visit alone in the day, but an organised tour is really the recommended way to see Soweto. I went with Fhulufhelo Tours and was charmed by the knowledge of tour manager Elvis.
Some tips for visiting a township:
1. Do take enough money for tipping. You’ll likely get taken around the shanty town by a local rather than your main guide, and tips may be his or her only income. Also tip families when you take pictures in their homes or of them.
2. Buy souvenirs. At the end of your shanty town tour, locals will set up make-shift stalls with goods on them. Buy a couple of things, even if you don’t want them. Again, these people rely on that income.
3. Don’t be afraid to interact with the locals! Townships have a reputation for being dangerous and crime-ridden, for sure, but you will be surprised of how welcoming the people are. And you’ll be safe with your tour group, guide and the locals who are showing you around.
Andrea Wren is a freelance journalist and travel writer based in Greater Manchester, UK. She writes for UK national media such as the Guardian and Wanderlust, but started her travel blog Travelling Wren to share her travel experiences as a woman. Andrea also writes for the website TheTravelEditor.com. You can find her on Twitter: @andrea_wren.
Wonderful article, so full of humanity. I’ve seen poverty in man places but never visited South Africa and experienced the townships. I believe however that this is something that everyone should see, at least once in the life. We need this to see our everyday life in the right perspective, and to remember how lucky we are.
Thank you for sharing such an awesome piece.
Thanks for sharing Andrea! Living in Johannesburg, it took me almost 26 years to first visit Soweto and I’m ashamed at how long it took me to get there.
Like any major metropolis, there are places you shouldn’t venture into alone, but that said, most of the locals are wonderfully helpful and friendly. We shared a similar experience on our blog a few months ago – http://bit.ly/iLSEm1
Thanks for visiting South Africa with an open mind!
Thanks for the great article Andrea. I’m a South African, born in Johannesburg but living in Cape Town so understand what you are writing about, it is very close to my heart. I agree that you should learn about the history of every culture to see where they came from but more importantly find out where they are going. I believe looking into what can be done, what can be changed for the good is far more important than looking back and judging what has happened in the past. Otherwise we may as well right off the entire planet for the atrocities that we have done to each other.
I agree that foreigners need to visit the townships in South Africa but they also need to realize that we are an incredible colourful nation with so much to offer, South Africa has come such a long way in changing their ways and trying to amend past hurts. Unfortunately the balance is still not right but I only ask that you keep an open mind and realise that this a work in progress.
Regarding the poverty in the townships, we need to look at our government that even today find shocking ways to spend their budget and don’t take the needs of their own people into account.
Thanks again for your perspective, just remember that Soweto is a pinprick of the beauty of South Africa and doesn’t even begin to show you what our nation has to offer.
@Simon – Thanks so much for your comment and so glad you enjoyed this article. I’d definitely recommend South Africa if you’ve not visited yet – I’ve been twice to the country and it is one of my favourite places. I do hope you get there to discover its wonderful treasures!
@Clare – It’s funny isn’t it how you can live somewhere and yet not go to see what’s under your nose? I do the same right here in Manchester! I suppose you just think you can do it anytime! I enjoyed your own post on Soweto too – I was incredibly moved by my own visit there, and hope that my article got this across to some extent, but I did not anticipate just how much I would wish I could have stayed longer. Thanks for the Twitter follow too
@Samantha – Thanks for your thoughts. I agree that Soweto is just a pinprick of what South Africa offers, and having been to the country a couple of times (including a trip to Cape Town and the Western Cape, where my friend and I spent 12 days driving around the region), I wholeheartedly agree on there being so much beauty and experiences there. I love the welcome of South Africa, and while like any country it does have its problems that are some way to being resolved, I have no hesitation in recommending people visit and find out for themselves what the country is about.