Imizamo Yethu residents who fell victim to a fire that razed numerous shacks and left families homeless a week ago are busy rebuilding their homes after getting some assistance from the City of Cape Town. Shacks belonging to South Africans and Zimbabweans just 200 metres away from Hout Bay police station were burnt to ashes.
Bernard Chiguvare
News | 18 November 2015
The parents of disabled Khayelitsha teenager Siphokazi Rululu took out an insurance policy in May last year to cover funeral expenses if they lost their daughter. When Siphokazi died last week, her mother Nomveliso Rululu was horrified to find that the insurance company would pay out R2,000 instead of the R12,000 they had been expecting.
Siyavuya Khaya
News | 17 November 2015
Foreign nationals trading in Motherwell, Port Elizabeth, live in fear following a spike in robberies in recent months. The traders say they are being targeted by criminals who rob them of their goods and then sell the loot to locals at a heavily discounted price. Most robberies happen in daylight.
Joseph Chirume
News | 16 November 2015
Deputy Minister of Police Maggie Sotyu is to visit Masiphumelele to listen to residents’ concerns about policing as well as to hand over the new satellite police station, says a Masiphumelele community leader.
GroundUp Staff
Brief | 16 November 2015
Like others in Sobantu township where she lives, 42-year-old Nokhukhanya Myeza wakes up at 5am and dresses for work. But while others put on their best clothes, Myeza gets into old sneakers, torn jeans and an old T-shirt, and walks to the New England Landfill dump site in Pietermaritzburg to search and pick up food.
Ntombi Mbomvu
News | 16 November 2015
The current wave of student protests in South Africa has been mostly analysed from a national and local perspective.
Achille Mbembe
Opinion | 13 November 2015
Without the money for fancy fireworks and with only the occasional cracker, youngsters in Mfuleni have come up with their own game to celebrate Guy Fawkes on 5 November.
Photos by Masixole Feni.
News | 6 November 2015
Lead by two of District Six’s oldest surviving evictees, communities from across the Cape Flats marched on the mayor’s offices on Wednesday. They demanded a dignified return to the city for families forcibly removed during apartheid.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 5 November 2015
This morning, in the silicosis class action, black advocates requested the opportunity to address the court regarding remarks made by a member of one of the legal teams. Approximately 150 black advocates, mostly women, were at court in solidarity with the statement. According to John Stephens, a lawyer with SECTION27, leaders of each legal team "undertook to address the entrenched patterns of racial exclusion in the profession."
Advocates for transformation
Opinion | 23 October 2015
Loud reggae, pop and kwaito are some of the genres of music that compete with each other as you wander through the market at Cape Town central station taxi rank. Customers bustle through the rows of white container stalls, selling cheap snacks, fashionable clothing, haircuts and more. Among the many women entrepreneurs offering beauty services in the market is Odette Motema. She runs a hair and nail salon.
Text by Pasqua HeardPhotos by Juliette Garms
News | 13 October 2015
A non-profit organization is using surfing to promote emotional wellbeing and mental health amongst youths who live in unstable and violent communities. Twice a week, children and teenagers from Khayelitsha, Lavender Hill and Masiphumelele head down to Muizenberg beach to surf. In the ocean, they find a safe space to have fun while building their self-confidence.
Juliette Garms
News | 5 October 2015
We, as a nation, are deeply in debt. And that is very worrying, with declining disposable incomes the rising costs of living and with another festive season fast approaching. Government admits that many households are drowning in debt”. So the plea is for citizens to save more and to retain pensions rather than cash in existing provisions.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 5 October 2015
Mpho Mathebula rents a small space in a fruit and vegetable shop in Khayelitsha to sell his paintings and beadwork.
Pharie Sefali
News | 25 September 2015
Mbulelo Nkwali and Zolani Seyisi had one idea when they founded Suppermix in 2008 in King William’s Town’s Ndevana settlement: to take young people off the streets. Today the film and drama company performs at weddings, church events, and the Buffalo City carnival.
Siphesihle Matyila
News | 25 September 2015
GroundUp photographer Masixole Feni tried to open an account at Jet stores last month - and found himself signed up for a handful of insurance policies he didn’t want.
Tariro Washinyira
News | 23 September 2015
“When I finish school, I want to be in a ballet skirt and do ballet for a big crowd,” says six-year-old Anathi Dakuse from Imizamo Yethu.
Tariro Washinyira
News | 23 September 2015