Langa Township Visit

 

Beneath Table Mountain the area known as Cape Flats stretches out with those who live in poverty.  The contrast between the wealth of Cape Town and the poverty of the townships cannot be made more clear than by visiting, dining and talking with those who live in the townships.

We went to Langa Township with a guide who lives there.  We visited the local tavern (below).  We shared a drink and clapped along with our hosts as they sang traditional songs.  The drink was a traditional corn beer made by the two women who run the place.  It is a metal shack with a fire burning in the center of the room.

We then had a goat’s head to eat.  Which is common.

Afterward we walked through the township to see different houses.  Some were metal shacks, some were brick or concrete houses, but all of them showed the crowded and impoverished nature of township life.

We then had a dinner of pap, vegetables and chicken with gravy.  I must say it was quite good and, honestly, the sheep’s head wasn’t bad, either (It truly tasted like chicken).  We talked politics with our host and another couple from Uganda.  An excellent, and I believe, necessary, experience if you are visiting Cape Town.

We had no problem in the village and were treated quite well. Most of the houses were government houses that you could apply for. There is no other way to get in one. The beer wasn’t bad either.