Cape Town is surrounded by Townships. These areas are inhabited almost entirely by non-white people, who are not allowed by law to live in “Whites Only” suburbs. The unemployment is really big, reaching more then 50% but even if someone becomes successful the person still lives in the township, the community bonds are really strong there! Historically, the communities in these townships were socially marginalised and economically disadvantaged by the apartheid regime. This led to poverty and social unrest, which in turn have led to a great need for social development programmes on a number of levels. Unfortunately, very often, the government refuses to recognize the existence of these settlements, when informal, thus failing to provide the minimum services and the awareness of other South African citizens of the existence of these; this has led to a strong spirit of resilience and creativity of its inhabitants left behind. Most of the life of the township is lived inside fortune shelter called shacks– houses, shops, services, and even churches, when present, are located in these and they are extremely vulnerable to floods. Most of these crumbling buildings are made of sheet metal, which became a status symbol. 

Townships often don’t have proper running water. People might have to queue at communal taps for water that will be used for absolutely everything – cooking, cleaning, washing and drinking – and walk miles back to their residence with heavy buckets. Water pipes are not well-maintained and can often block or burst, causing spills and flooding.

Sewage systems are a problem in many areas – there either simply aren’t any toilets and people have to do the best they can with buckets, or the plumbing is not up to scratch. The only couple of “streets”, is also a too big name for the lane with no asphalt and water running through it. Electricity is expensive in South Africa, and out of reach of many of its poorest citizens. You may notice home-made power lines rigged up on existing power cables or boxes, as people have “stolen” electricity they would otherwise not have access to. Needless to say, this is extremely dangerous and many people lose their lives.Shacks are highly flammable, and an upset paraffin lamp or candle can cause a raging fire that spreads devastatingly quickly throughout the area, causing much loss of life and terrible injuries.

The photographed area, grown next the airport of Cape Town, it is one of poorest of the poor township in Phillippi East called Marikana Informal Settlement. It includes more than 60,000 people. It is where the majority of the poor people live, people and children there, are in serious suffering and poverty. For various reasons this is where the children find themselves abandoned and alone at a very young age. There are no schools within 7 km. The education and future of those children is provided exclusively by few local organizations which provide shuttle service to the nearest school or hot meal and primary school service at their own costs with help sometimes of private donations.