We’re joined this afternoon by Thembi Koli who also lives here in Kayamandi. Mama hosts lunches here in her dining room, for example, showing her guests the local food and telling stories about life in the township. But that’s changing now people like Mama are welcoming tourists into their community. Kayamandi has traditionally been seen by foreign visitors as a restricted area, hidden on the outskirts, scary. The township is just a short drive from the nearby city of Stellenbosch, one of the most beautiful and tourist-friendly places in South Africa. I’ve come to meet Mama Swartbooi in her home here because she is part of a new wave of respect that Kayamandi is earning. “It started being a good place from the first time I came here.” She pauses before delivering a joke that I was not expecting. Not that the residents like to see it that way anymore. You see, Mama Swartbooi lives in the black township of Kayamandi in South Africa, a place that symbolises the cruel segregation of the country’s former apartheid regime. In particular, he campaigned for the rights of residents who were once mistreated by police – locked up in gaol for not having the right identification cards, for instance. He did a lot to look after the community here. It’s no coincidence that they share a name – the street was named after her father-in-law who was “a good guy”. A lace curtain hangs over the window to diffuse the light but outside she can see Swartbooi Street running past in both directions. In one corner, a wooden cabinet displays a collection of plates. Mama Swartbooi lowers herself into a chair in her dining room next to the wooden table covered in a black and pink cloth. Kayamandi Township, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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