… or what it must feel like to get forgotten.
We went on a cycle tour through Soweto when my sis was visiting from Germany. It was so nice to experience Soweto in a different way and we had a very knowledgeable guide who added a multitude of interesting facts to the tour which made the whole day even sweeter – bar one thing which left a hole in my heart…
Part of the tour was in an area I had not visited before – the former women’s hostel in Orlando West – which is where the feature image was taken.
All the houses that form part of the hostel are supposed to get upgraded to newer, bigger homes. The upgrade project was launched over a year ago. Researching this when I got home I found a plethora of articles announcing this fantastic, oh so necessary project – lots of bells and whistles in the lime light. However, it seems this is yet another project that got stopped in its tracks by corruption. According to our guide, the money has been spent but there are only a few number of houses completed. The greater part of the project has not even been started.
This makes me very angry. And if it makes me angry, what about the people who have to live here? I wonder how they must feel.
The money was there, and now it is not. Big promises. Smashed dreams. Forgotten people.
Nothing left to do but to carry on with life as is – in a house that’s too small, with too little infrastructure while looking over a construction site of what should be nice new homes while the rich get richer.
After all that has been, this is what it is…
It took a lot of air blowing around my cycle-helmeted head to get back into the swing of things – after all it was the last day of my sis’ visit.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Not at all. It was actually a really nice day out taking in lots of different sights and sounds from a different perspective. Definitely an outing I can recommend.
If you are interested in experiencing Soweto on two wheels I can highly recommend the bicycle tour organized by Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers. Ask for our guide Naledi. He is very knowledgeable, has a fantastic sense of humour and he can even fix flat tyres!
Visit the album on my Flickr stream to view more images of the day.
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