Lotus Park

Friday morning, our program went to Lotus Park, an informal settlement in township of Guguletu. We split into groups of three and were taken around by residents of Lotus Park. My guide was a single mother with three children who has been living in the informal settlement for eight years. She showed us where the “grocery store” was which consisted of a room in someone’s shack with a few shelves of prepackaged foods. We were able to stop in the crèche (preschool/daycare) she started which was inside a train boxcar with no running water, no windows and no toys. There were 15 babies from the age of 0-2 years old lined up against the walk sleeping while the kids 3-5 were playing with 5 pieces of legos. Then we did some house visit; it was really challenging to see the conditions families are living in and poverty cycle they are stuck in. None of the families have running water and only some families have electricity. A man we met talked about the horrible conditions they must live in when it is rainy season in Cape Town. The shacks have holes in the ceiling and the floor is made of dirt so water fills the house and their furniture and wooden cupboards are damp for months at time. Children sleep in wet sheets and then get scabies from poor hygiene. When I asked members of the community what they like or a strength about Lotus Park they all said nothing. They do not enjoy living there, the crime is high and there is not enough food to feed their families. Overall, the experience was difficult to stomach but powerful and eye opening to see what the conditions in the townships are like.

Waterfall