Passing the township

This morning we headed from Cape Town to the beautiful town of Stellenbosch to our conference. Because of being inside all day there were not many blip opportunities but thankfully I had taken a couple of shots as we passed one of the townships on the way out of Cape Town.

I spent a year in Johannesburg about 10 years ago and did some work in a children's centre in Alexandria township. I had been living in Malawi for some time by then and had seen much poverty and hardship. However, I never saw anything like I came across in that township. Okay, living conditions were hard in a cardboard or tin shack, but the worst thing was the effects of crime on the small children. Children were suffering the effects of rape, of shooting, of beating, of sexual assault every day. The people in Alexandria who I worked with were among the most resilient people I have ever known - their stories never ceased to shock me to the core.

As I passed this township this morning I was reminded of the wonderful people who I met living in Alexandria and who I am ashamed to say I have lost touch with!

On another note entirely - am at a Montessori Early Childhood Conference and it was really good today -the key speakers were great and I met some wonderful people who are also fascinated that I live and work in Malawi! It is interesting to note that when I was asked where I came from and I said Malawi, many of the South African delegates said 'where'???

Hope you all had a good weekend!