Vakasha Guided Tours t/a Patric Tours

‘Vakasha’ is a Zulu word meaning ‘visit’. Vakasha Guided tours started in 2001 and had won a tender then to develop and organise tours in Alexander and Soweto Townships during the WSSD (World Summit Sustainable Development). After the summit delegates from the WSSD wrote letters to the South African government officials commending the job well done by Vakasha Guided Tours during the summit.

This township tours company still continues to take tourists all over the Gauteng Townships including Alexandra and at the helm of it all is Patrick Gumede making sure that visitors get a real experience through the Township Vibe. Some of Patric’s tours offered include, Johannesburg - The City of Gold, Soweto’s Historical Past, Gold Reef City, Craft Market and also airport transfer services.

This is the fourth book to be published by the St Mary’s School Outreach Project.  This book heralds the writings of our most junior class, Standard Three. This is Alexandra Township life from the children’s perspective, the town that is their home.

A is for Alexandra
Osonhlamvukazi yabantwana (a children’s alphabet)

A is for Alex – by Jessie Louw and Gloria Phashe
Alex is a big place.  There are many people from different areas in South Africa who live there.  People in Alex speak many languages like Zulu, Sotho, Tsonga, Venda, Tswana, Northern Sotho and Xhosa.

Alex is called the 'Dark City' because before there was no electricity, at night-time it was very dark.  Some people in Alexandra are dirty because they live in the streets and eat food from the dustbins.  In Alex there are broken sewerages pipes because people pour things in which can’t pass through the pipes.  Alex has lots of thieves or tsotsis who steal people’s things because they don’t have money to buy their own.  Some people in Alex fight because they are cruel and jealous of one another and they don’t have peace in their hearts.  Many people in Alex drink beer and alcohol because they believe that, in that way, their problems can be solved.  In Alex there are many cars, especially taxis, that make street noisy.

President Mandela, Mr. Oliver Tambo and Mr. Sisulu lived in Alex when they were young. Alex is where our homes are, where our hearts are, where our lives are and it is where our love is.  Alex is where our families and our loving friends are.

B is for bioscope - by Shuma Maroleni

The name of the bioscope is Kings. It is very big. The people in Alex love to go to the bioscope on Saturday and Sundays.  Everybody pays R2.50.  We see many lovely stories, but sometimes people fight for places in the bioscope because they want to sit in the front.

B is for bathi - by Donald Gumula

We play bathi because it is a lovely game.  It is played by boys and girls in 2 teams.  We need tins and a ball to play bathi and we have to count up to one thousand to win.  We play bathi in the street, on the pavement or in schoolyard.

C is for Cows - by Gabriel Baloyi

There are quite a lot of cows in Alex. They stay in the kraal near the Jukskei River.  Sometimes they walk in the street and cause accidents.  Some people are not kind to cows.  They throw stones at the cows and hit them with sjambok.  When people get married they buy cows to pay “lobola”.  At a funeral they also buy cows to kill and eat.

D is for Disco - by Nomsa Dlamini

On Friday afternoon teenagers love to go to the disco.  At the disco they spend a lot of money on beers. When they drink too much they fight.  They sometimes even kill each other over girlfriends.  At discos when somebody wants to be your boyfriend he buys you lots of beer and says, “drink these beers”.  After the girl has finished drinking the beers the boy says, “I love you”. If the girl doesn’t say she loves him, the boy hits her. They play very loud pop music at the disco and they dance and jive.

E is for East Bank - by Nonelwa Fadana

East Bank is over the Jukskei River.  There are some big houses with nice gardens.  Some people have swimming pools and servants.  There is a big stadium for sports and a swimming pool.  If we want to swim we must bring towels and we must wash ourselves first.  In East Bank there is a shop called TM where you can buy beers, food and cold drinks.  There is a restaurant in East Bank.

F is for fruit sellers - by Lebogang Lekwadi

People who sell fruit in the street are called fruit sellers.  Some people’s fruit is not expensive, but other people’s fruit is expensive.  Fruit sellers get a lot of money because they sell their fruit in the street, at Pan and at the schools.  They sell many different kinds of fruit and vegetables, and even sweets.  The fruit sellers are women, men and boys and girls who don’t go to school.  Some fruit sellers come from Zimbabwe and Maputo and others are from Alexandra.

G is for Gandaganda - by Thabo Mosue

A Gandaganda is a tractor. It is yellow in colour and has big wheels. Men workers use gandagandas to clean Alexandra nearly every day.  A gandaganda needs a strong man to drive it because it is heavy.  It is very noisy and you can hear it coming.  Cleaners use gandagandas to dig holes for rubbish.

H is for horns - by Tumelo Machaba

When children have passed their December exams their parents celebrate with a party and invite their friends. They buy a cow and take the horns of the cow and give them to the witch doctor.  Sometimes they keep them for themselves and then they put the horns on their doors.  They say that they don’t want spirits in their house at night.  Some people put snuff and fat in the horns to chase away evil spirits and to heal the sick people in the house.

I is for Indians - by Marcia Kunene

Indians sell fruit, vegetables, sweets, cups, pots, books and food and anything you want they sell. Their shops are called Pops, Cornershops, Musco, Freedom, Economics, Pep, Shorty and Pick-a-Pair.  In the evenings the Indians pray in their language. Some people call them makula, but they don’t like that name. It’s not polite. They like to be called “Indians”.  There are two kinds of Indians: Muslims and Hindus. Muslim men wear skullcap and the women wear a scarf to cover their hair.  The Hindu women have a red dot on their forehead when they are married.  The Hindu men just wear anything.

J is for Jukskei River - by Bongiwe Kgaba

The Jukskei River runs between East Bank and West Bank. It is not a deep river but it has a lot of tadpoles and frogs.  When it rains the water passes over the small bridge.  We cannot swim in the Jukskei River because the water is dirty.  The people who live in the shacks near the Jukskei River throw their rubbish in the river.

J is for Jumble Sale - by Reneilwe Makwela

We have lots of jumble sales at Pan.  They sell clothes, shoes, toys and mattresses.  Some clothes, shoes, toys, are used others are new.  Some people buy at the jumble sales because the goods are cheap.

K is for Kitchen Party - by Mzwandile Malindisa

Kitchen parties are for adults. They have them on Saturdays or Sundays.  A kitchen party is a kind of ‘stokvel’.  People take turns to buy things for each other.  At a kitchen party they sell food, coldrinks and beers.

L is for Leotwana - by Boinelo Mashile

Many people like leotwana. Leotwana are the chicken’s legs.  Some people call leotwana 'walk-aways' and others call them 'golf sticks'.  We mix leotwana with aromat, curry, tomato and water and cook them.  Children can buy cooked leotwana at school and people buy raw leotwana in the shops.

M is for Malana - by Boinelo Mashile

Malana is delicacy.  It is the intestine of a chicken.  Another name for malana is “shoe string”.  We eat them with porridge.

M is for Mokhukhu - by Thabo Malatsi

Mokhukhu is a shack. There are lots of mokhukhus near Jukskei River.  Shack dwellers build shacks with corrugated iron, wood, plastic and nails. Some Mokhukhus have electricity but not all of them.  No mokhukhus have toilets or running water.

M is for Morogo - by Tumelo Mayenda

Morogo is spinach and there are many different kinds.  You can’t beat the taste of morogo it is so delicious!  People grow morogo in their yards or in the fields.  They cook morogo with water, potatoes, oil, tomatoes and peanuts or peanut butter.  Families eat morogo alone or with meat or pap.

N is for Ngaka - by Julia Ngobeni

A Ngaka is a witch doctor. Some ngakas are wicked and some are kind. Wicked ngakas do bad things like helping to kill people and destroy their homes.  They send their monkeys and cats to bring bad luck to people.  Kind ngakas give people luck, especially when they help people to find work and win money on the horse races.

O is for Ompi - by Ivan Nkosi

Ompi is Guy Fawke’s Day.  Childern do ompi on the 5th of November every year.  When it is ompi children wear their parents clothes and put their mother’s make up on their faces.  They wear pillows on their bums and tummies.  The children go from street singing and dancing for the older people.  The older people give the children money and some sweets, chocolate and chips.  The children sing: “Ompi pour us some beer and we will drink” and “Give some ten cents”.

P is for Pan - by Shuma Maroleni

Pan is a place where Alex people buy food and clothes.  There are Chinese and Indians with shops at Pan who sell watches, earrings and meat.  There is a wholesale shop called Masco where we buy uniforms, books and other things for school.  At Pan there is a big taxi rank.

P is for Pepe - by Winfred Mshumayeli

Pepe are jeans made in Japan and China.  The girls love Pepe trousers.  Most of them have Pepes because they think they are very beautiful. Pepe trousers look like bell-bottoms.

Q is for Queen - by Nicholas Mbatha

The Queen of Alexandra is the lucky girl who is chosen to be Miss Alex Times. Miss Alex Times is chosen every year in December. When a girl enters Miss Alex Times she must be beautiful and have a nice figure.  The chosen girl will win a crown and money.

R is for Red Cross - by Lebogang Pule

Red Cross is an organisation, which helps people who have TB.  How does it help them?  They sell stickers with the Red Cross on them and use that money to buy medicine.  The Red Cross has a nursing home for people with TB.  The Red Cross helps the people of Alex when there is a disaster.  They help with tents, food, blankets and medicines.

S is for Sangoma - by Francis Mkhonza

Sangoma is another word for witch-doctor.  Some sangomas kill people and some sangomas cure people.  Usually, sangomas believe in dead spirits.  They use some parts of the animals to make medicines.  When sangomas cure people , they throw bones on the floor and read that person’s life.

S is for Stjwetla - by Alfred Mogano

Stjwetla is a shack settlement. It is built very close to the Jukskei River.  There are different tribes living there: Tsongas, Sothos and Xhosas.  It is not easy for people to be clean at Stjwetla because there is no running water and there are no toilets.

T is for Technical College - by Gloria Phashe

The Technical College is one of the places where we go to learn.  Every day Std 5s from different schools go to learn art, handwork, computers and gardening. Secondary School students also go to the Technical College after school.  They make things using beads, clay and wood.  They don’t pay to go there.  They attend the Career Centre at the Technical College. Sometimes different schools have singing competitions and beauty contests at the Technical College.  People also use it as a church and sometimes as a wedding hall.

U is for United Nations - by Nthabiseng Phokoje

The United Nations is the organisation, which helped us during the election to count the ballot papers.  It helped us move from apartheid to democracy.  The United Nations is an organisation for the people and it works all over the world.  The people who work for the UN come from many different countries.

V is for Vili - by Edgar Mkhwanazi

A vili is a wheel. The boys find them in the scrap yard and love to play with them.  They push them with their hands and have races.  Some people burn a vili when it is cold and they sit around it and makes a terrible smoke.

W is for welfare - by Allwin Segooa

Welfare, the Itlhokomeleng Old Age Home, is where the grannies and the grandfathers live.  The people who are working in the Welfare look after them.  They give them food and clothes. The grandmothers and the grandfathers don’t have any children to look after them that is why they are taken to the Welfare.  The Welfare is in 8th Avenue in Alex.  They do needlework and handwork.

X is for Xhosa - by Xolisile Tshabalala

In Alex there are many different people who speak Xhosa.  Their language is very difficult to speak, write and read. The Xhosas come from Bisho in the Ciskei and the Transkei.  Some Xhosas are ANC and some are IFP.

Y is for Yard - by Pretty Duma

Sometimes in Alex there is one house in a yard. It may have a garden, trees and even a swimming pool.  In some yards there are many houses or shacks.  Sometimes the house has a tap and sometimes the tap is in the yard with three or four toilets.  The children play soccer and “bathi” (a game played with tins) in the yard. Some people have fruit shops in their yards. They sell vegetables, fruit and chickens. Sometimes there is a shoemaker in the yard.

Z is for ZCC - by Julia Ngobeni

ZCC stands for the Zion Christian Church.  Members of the ZCC drink tea without sugar.  They put badges on their clothes and they don’t eat pork. There are prophets in ZCC who tell people about their future. On Good Friday and Christmas they go to Moria. The Great prophet is at Moria. If you want the Great prophet to tell you about yourself or do something for you, you must give him some money.


NB: This booklet was reproduced with the permission of Dark City Museum in Alexandra.