History Of Langa, South Africa
Langa is a small South African town that was established in the 1920s. The town was set up as a designated black community (before the apartheid era) and was used to support a government initiative to remove non-whites from South Africa’s main cities. Since its inception, Langa’s citizens have faced harsh living conditions. Lack of access to essential community resources such as proper school systems, adequate housing, and basic utilities has created an endless cycle of poverty for the town’s residents. Located only 12 KM from the heart of the touristic downtown area of Cape Town, Langa still stands today. Though the resources and economy of Langa have improved since the end of apartheid, the city still struggles to break out of the poverty cycle it was forcibly entered into several decades ago.
Should I Visit?
Planning a visit to an area of poverty is always a challenging decision a traveler must make. On one hand, a visit allows you to see the struggles that exists in a country. On the other, it can feel wrong to walk around and observe people’s poverty. My take? If you have the right motives and want to educate yourself while traveling, visiting places of poverty is more than ok.
Langa in particular, can teach you a lot about South Africa’s history of segregation and the impact it still has today. A half-day walking tour in this town can be a life-changing and eye-opening experience that can inspire you to make a difference in this world. If you have a few days in Cape Town, Langa is a must visit!
How to Visit
Most of the people in Langa are friendly and will treat you with respect. That being said, any poverty-stricken area always poses a risk of theft and crime. I highly recommended visiting the town via a local tour. Not only will you feel safer, but you will also receive more insight into Langa.
I booked a tour to Langa, for about $50 as part of my Gate 1 travel Package. Several other tours for Langa can be -found through a quick google search.
Tour and Overview of Langa
On my way to Langa, our group tour guide, who was once a Langa resident, briefed us on the lifestyle he had experienced when living in the town. It didn’t sound pretty. Drugs, theft, murder, aids, and violence were common struggles that he saw daily. Additionally, he explained how for the women of Langa, the fear of getting raped was a major concern. Rape cases were so prevalent in Langa, that some residents actually looked to profit off of these victims by creating fake abortion clinics. Our guide pointed out one of these clinics and told us how these dangerous clinics were very popular due to families’ inability to pay for abortions.
First Impression
Our bus stopped and we got our first chance to walk through Langa’s streets. The first thing that I noticed was the endless rows of shipping containers. These containers served as houses for a large percentage of the Langa community. The containers had no proper sewage or running water, and would often house more than one family. I saw a child using the bathroom near a pile of trash, and I was devastated at how normal this looked to citizens walking by.
With each step that I took and each image that I took in, my understanding of life in Langa slowly pieced itself together. I had seen impoverished areas before, but these sights induced a different kind of emotion within me; The hardships of black segregation and apartheid had created a cycle of poverty that was hard for these citizens to break out of. Some people such as our tour guide did make it out, but that was a rare case. Most of the families in Langa had been suffering for generations simply because their ancestors were black South Africans.
The Economy
As the tour continued, we got the chance to see some of the different stores and businesses in the area. If an economy is an indicator of how well off a community is, then Langa clearly needed a lot of support. We were taken to a local store where a family sold unused goat head meat to make a living. The store was in awful condition, with ash dust and garbage everywhere. Flies bombarded my face as I stood there and tried to imagine how a mom and her child could stay here all day. I also couldn’t take my eye off of the child in the store. Every time I looked at her, I wondered what would happen to her as she grew older? Would she be doing this very same job when she grew up?
The Nicest Parts of Langa
There are “nicer” sections of Langa, with properly walled homes (as opposed to shipping containers). When we walked past this section, I almost felt some relief. It was nice to see families living in something that looked safe and comfortable. As part of our tour, we got the opportunity to enter one of the houses. The home was small but looked livable. I felt some optimism until I found out how many people lived here…16. Yes, 16 people in a one-bedroom, one-bathroom home! I was speechless again. Our guide explained how these living conditions were actually a major improvement since the apartheid era where nearly 30 males would live in a house of this size! The notion that this house was a step up from living conditions decades ago was mind-boggling.
You can see more of the home at the 3:05 mark on the video below
The Residents
Walking through Langa and seeing its conditions are heartbreaking, but it all really hits home when you get to meet its citizens face to face. We got to meet the grandmother, mother, and her three children that lived inside the home that we visited. It is easy to assume the worst about Langa residents given the horror stories of drug, rape and violence that you hear, but this could not be further from the truth. The residents of the home were some of the most welcoming and kind people I had ever met.
As a group, we decided to donate to this household. As I handed the money to the mom, she pressed her hand against mine to express her gratitude. I could feel the wear and tear in her palms and knew instantly how much she had gone through in her life. Behind this scene were here three little kids running around and enjoying life. Their energy was refreshing and seeing them running around happy and carefree made me forget for a few minutes the hardships of Langa. I smiled initially only to realize the dark reality these kids may soon face in Langa. It was a helpless and saddening feeling I couldn’t stop thinking of the entire journey back.
You can see the precious children of Langa at the 3:16 mark on the video below.
Reaction To Langa
I’ll never forget some of the things I saw in the town of Langa. Never. Of all the things I saw in South Africa, this still sticks out to me the most. It is hard to encourage an experience knowing that it involves other’s suffering, but if you can visit Langa, I would encourage you to do so for three reasons.
1. Education
It is easy to forget that the end of apartheid does not mean the end of the struggle for the black community in South Africa. A quick stroll around Langa educates you on this very fact. It allows you to visually see the obstacles that the black community had to overcome during the days of segregation, while also showing you the challenges that still lie ahead.
2. Spreading the Message
Visiting and sharing what you learned in Langa helps bring more awareness to a struggling community that needs help from their government and the world. With donations and a push for more resources, change can be made. Just recently, a cultural center was built in the area to help educate kids and encourage creativity. I got a chance to see the center, and it was a promising place that provides a source of hope to the young citizens of Langa.
3. Appreciation
Seeing a poverty-stricken area like Langa will make you appreciate everything you have. When you realize kids are growing up with no proper toilets or schools, all because they were born in this cycle of poverty, you realize how lucky you are to have everything around you. A visit to Langa may not be the most exciting day on your trip, but I can promise you it will be the most important.
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Great reflections as ever Nishil. Thank you.
Nitin Fuva.
Great way to look at and learn from a city like Langa. This really hits home as family used to live in house like the one mentioned towards the end of the article in India. Hope the conditions improve soon for the kind people of Langa.
We will never forget this …very disturbing and at times horrifying and disgusting…and yet once of the things I remember being touched by the most was a small boy maybe 8 years old who had mad a toy car from sn empty sodas can..using bottle caps for wheels and a piece of string to pull it…with about 5 others running behind him hoping to pay with the wonderful toy …I wondered sadly and silently to myself…what this little child could’ve become in another environment or country with possibilities and opportunities..…such imagination and inspiration to others …I wanted to bring him home with me…his joy and happiness will forever stay in my heart and my mind 😢❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
So well said. Very sad, but also makes you realize how fortunate some of us are for being born in an environment where we can thrive. Many of these kids, sadly, have little opportunity to experience life out of hardship. Its one reason why I think as travelers, its important we do what we can to bring awareness and share resources with those less fortunate than us. Thanks for sharing your story and experience in Langa