After countless hours of travel, and a serious case of jetlag, twenty Northeastern students stepped foot in Langa Township and, for many of us, our lives were forever changed by what we saw. South Africa’s history and culture unfolded before us, allowing us a glimpse into life in Cape Town’s townships. It has been almost three years since that day, but many of us still hold strongly onto memories of all we did and saw. That tour set a precedent for the remainder of SEI’s Field Study Program and instilled in us a desire to do all we could to improve some of the unequivocal poverty we witnessed on that day and in those which followed.
Our first stop was a traditional gumboot dance performed by children from Langa. The dances get their origins from South African miners who wore such boots. Some of the more outgoing students joined them on stage after the performance for a crash course in gumboot dancing. Walking along one street we passed a barbershop run out of a metal storage container, around another corner we found pits of fire and billowing smoke cooking a local delicacy known as “Smileys”, or boiled sheep’s head. In the interior of a dark wooden shack we saw a traditional healer, dressed in various furs, and promising us A’s on our tests with his special remedy. Other stops included the Langa Hostels, built during the apartheid era, and home to a multitude of families, as well as Guga S’Thebe, an arts and crafts center, which empowers its community members. The more we saw, the more interested we became, and the more we began to understand the culture, and the more motivated to learn and work.
Our tour guide was about as local as they come. Entrepreneur, Lizo MC Mgobozi, was born, raised, and continues to be a resident of Langa today. He takes pride in his hometown and has spent the past 14 years showing people around and developing his company, ProTeam SA. Although he is a well-known and incredibly knowledgeable tour guide now, his career started off very differently. He began by assisting his uncle on construction sites, and then working his way into pursuing studies in electrical engineering at WesternProvince Engineering College. He later realized his passion for informing and educating others, and thus his company began and took off.
ProTeam SA runs customizable Township Experience Tours as well as corporate and team building activities. Both are meant to give visitors an opportunity to interact with local Langa residents and gain a more well-rounded understanding of townships. Perhaps their website says it best, “We seek to empower and educate youth and adult clientele while raising community awareness through truly unforgettable, interactive township experiences and adventure learning.” For anyone interested in really experiencing South Africa and viewing it through a local’s eyes, the Langa tour is a must-see.
