From Transkei To Western Cape

By: Sonwabile Gcwabe and Meghan McCarty

A goat grazes in Klapmuts. Many people from Transkei live in this rural community outside Paarl carrying on a similar lifestyle.

Sonwabile Gcwabe was born in Transkei, Eastern Cape, a rural area with deep roots in traditional Xhosa culture. At that time it was very hard – there was no money, no jobs, no food. Like many others from Transkei, Sonwabile’s family moved to Western Cape in search of better opportunities, but he found the culture here to be very different.

Sonwabile tells about the traditional life in Transkei, Eastern Cape. He visits the community Klapmuts outside Paarl, where many people from Transkei now live in a similar way.

Life of a Hawker, In It For More Than Money

By: Lodewyk Amerika and John Adams

The sound of his alarm starts this and every day at 5a.m., not the rising rays of the sun peeking over the Drakenstein Mountains.  Sitting up in his bed, he whispers a prayer thanking God for the wife lying beside him, his kids sleeping in the next room and the new day that is quickly approaching.  He stands to his feet, heads to the window and pulls back the curtain to predict what the weather holds, knowing it affects the possibility of the day’s business.  Thanking Jah for good weather or bad, he heads to his quiet spot and begins to meditate while smoking marijuana.

He packs business essentials into his vehicle as his friends—his brothers—stop by to greet him and join with him in work.  They make their way to the central business community of Paarl and ready for yet another day.

Gangsterism in Paarl, South Africa

By: Ettienne Aries and Matthew Richmond

Khan is Ettienne's uncle. He is a lieutenant in the prison gang known as The Numbers.

Gangsterism in my community has a big effect on the youth. The young people have gangsters as their role models and therefore they become involved in a gang.

Gangs have very secret things such as the numbers that play a role in giving power in the gang. Sometimes people get involved in a gang because the gang is well-known and they want to be famous too. In some cases, it is because the father is a gangster and passes it on to his son; not in telling him to become a gangster but in his way of living. The child picks things up from the father. For instance, if the father is someone who steals, the child becomes just like his father.

Xenophobia in South Africa

By: Sonia Albert and Shannon Pence

Shepard Manombe, 34, came to South Africa from Zimbabwe becuase of extreme inflation and the bad economy in his country. He still has not found a job here. He doesn't plan on staying in the country and hopes to save enough money to return to Zimbabwe soon.

Last year hundreds of foreign nationals were injured in a nationwide attack against them; sadly, some were even killed.  Some South Africans, mistaken as foreigners, were also injured and displaced.

This nationwide attack on foreign nationals shocked the rest of the world, and former president Thabo Mbeki was quoted saying it was a disgrace to all South Africans.

South Africans say that one of the causes for the xenophobic attacks was their belief that foreign nationals are employed, while South Africans are not.  They believe foreigners come to South Africa to commit crime and destroy businesses with their inexpensive prices.

Sticker Man in Wellington #1 With Car Clubs

By: Malik Fortuin and Lauren Mendoza

Moegamant Salie is a popular sticker designer in Wellington. Car clubs throughout Paarl know him as G-man.

Moegamant Salie, known as G-man, is a designer of stickers and makes stickers for almost every car club in Wellington and Paarl. G-man, who was born and raised in Wellington, is famous for his sticker designs. He also does airbrushed designs on cars and has been sand blasting on glass for the past five years.

“All the car clubs in Wellington come here,” said Ryan Goliadh of the car club Strictly Jap.

Terence Gertze, a member of the car club, Strictly Jap, is a customer of G-man. Gertze drives a white 1997 Toyota Corolla with blue and white interior. He also included a DVD player and screen in his car. Gertze’s family has a long history of Toyota cars. Everyone in his family drives one.

In Wellington, A Hidden Gem

By: Bianca Nynan and Richie Duchon

Charmaine Ranna, 14, from Wellington in the Boland, hopes her voice will take her far. She said her sister was the first one to tell her she could sing well.

Teachers, friends and family of Charmaine Ranna say she was definitely born to be a star.

The young 14-year-old living in Wellington, situated in the heart of the Boland in South Africa, has what many consider to be an angelic voice. And her singing reveals an ambitious side of her personality.

When one meets Charmaine for the first time, she seems a little shy and quiet, but as they say, never judge a book by its cover.
With time, Charmaine’s perpetual smile and constant jokes about herself and others reveal a young woman as vibrant and friendly as her voice.

Struggles of a New Teen Mom

By: Jesney Jantjies and Kim Daniels

Jenny holds her 2-month-old son.

Teenage pregnancy is a problem in many communities throughout the world. Jenny, the subject of our story, referred to the situation as “fashionable,” as many of her friends have had babies at young ages without regard for whether or not the biological father would be a part of the child’s life. Though Jenny says she does not want to receive social welfare for her own child, she says many of her friends think that the monthly payment of around R240* (roughly $30USD) justifies their pregnancies.