Photo: Jessie Knott
which is the closest town to the tourist destination of Kosi Bay and a border crossing into Mozambique.
Except for a few brick houses and shops, most houses are built of traditional materials and do not have running water, electricity, sanitation or waste removal services (see Plate 5-2).
Network coverage across eMpumalanga is very poor.
To receive or send SMSs during the day, the closest place for a reasonable chance
of connectivity is on the road in front of the nearby game reserve. There was evidence to support entrepreneurship as a common livelihood. The desire to leave the area in order to progress in life was found among a number of younger people. Box 5-1 is an extract from a description of the area by one of the CLIQ participants.
Box 5-1: “The area where I live” by MusaM21 (2009) [eMpumalanga] the area where I live, it is
the place which doesn’t have mountains and dams, it has a lot of forests and grass lands.
At [eMpumalanga] we build our houses with small stones which are placed by small sticks and we use mud for plastering. Those who are in the middle classes, build normal houses which have four to six rooms - we don’t have flats and mansions in our community.
Basically by 1984 the apartheid
government dispersed our families from their lands and they built a game reserve which is full of elephants and other wild animals.
Some community members get employed there.
In summer there is a lot of rain and it’s too hot - we used to sleep under trees, listening to music. The young boys and girls used to go and swim in rivers and lakes, where maybe sometimes they fish for their families. Most of the people get money by selling different products to the community and others sell handwork locally and maybe they sell them to the tourists who visit the game reserves.
Others, they are taken by tourists to go overseas for further education or employment.
Although I’m living in such a community which is full of challenges, I really enjoy to live here. I would be a light behind the darkness; I have to change that bad habit which says “there are no rewards on education”.
Local stakeholders in the eMpumalanga research process (aside from the 33 local CLIQ participants), included the eMpumalanga Development Centre non-profit organisation (MDCnpo), as well as P.E.A.C.E. Foundation (PF), an NGO based in Johannesburg, and Vuvuzela, a Durban-based IT company.49 Up until the final dissemination workshop in 2011, we worked with five different MDCnpo chairpersons and two centre managers, as well as four telecentre facilitators. The telecentre was situated within the local development centre (LDC), which was run by the board of the MDCnpo. In 2008, the LDC included a community hall, catering co-operative, bakery, crafters’ association, accommodation block, crèche, sewing co-operative, social welfare office, and the centre manager’s office. The MDCnpo rented accommodation to the team during our stays, with catering by the catering
cooperative located within the LDC. The telecentre, established in March 2008, occupied two adjoining air-conditioned rooms in the LDC, using one room as a reception area and the other for the ten computers, with desks and chairs.
The Department of Social Welfare and PF were involved in the set up of the LDC and the telecentre, although the telecentre equipment was provided by USAASA. In 2008, internet connectivity was via General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) satellite organised through PF, but the internet connection was changed to Telkom Satellite in 2009 due to the slow nature of the GPRS connection. The internet bill is paid for by the telecentre. The telecentre was open on week-days and sometimes on Saturday mornings. From 2008 to 2010, the cost of computer use was R20 per hour (and increased to R30 per hour in 2011).
Two telecentre facilitators worked in the telecentre from 2008 until mid and late 2009 respectively. They were replaced by another local facilitator in late 2009 and a CLIQ participant in early 2010, respectively.
49 The names of community organisations running the four telecentres that took part in CLIQ have been changed. MDCnpo is a pseudonym.
Figure 5-1: Participants’ map of eMpumalanga (2008)
5.1.2 eNingizimu Area and Telecentre
eNingizimu is situated in Ward 67 in the eThekwini Metropolitan municipality, just over 10 kilometres from the nearest large town of Amanzimtoti and about 30 minutes drive from Durban, via reasonably good roads (see Plate 5-1, p103). eNingizimu has a long history as an education hub, linked to the establishment of a mission station in the 1800s. The area appears typically peri-urban with a mix of brick housing, traditional housing (built from mud and wood), and more temporary structures made from corrugated iron and other materials commonly used within urban informal settlements. The history of eNingizimu as recalled by participants (see Table 5-1) reflects the political violence of the 1980s. From the 1990s onwards, the timelines shows regular development initiatives, the provision of service infrastructure and the relative political prominence of the area.
Participants drew maps of their area in two groups and then compared their maps with great interest (see Plate 5-3). This was helpful to participants who were new to the area, as well as to fieldworkers.
Table 5-1: Timeline for eNingizimu (2008)
Year Events (updated in 2009) 1954 Oldest CLIQ participant was born.
1959 President Mugabe was schooling at [eNingizimu]
College
1980 There was a fight between ANC and IFP 1982 Landline was installed in the area.
1983 Indian shops were vandalised because of violence in the area
1990 People started using cell-phones Igugu labanguni school was built
1991 Political member killed by KwaZulu police.
1992 There was a war in eNingizimu 1993 Electricity install in eNingizimu
1994 People vote for the first time for democracy 1996 Mandela & Jacob Zuma visited eNingizimu
Tarred road was constructed Telecentre was built in the area.
1997 The new township was built 2001 Apostolic Church was built 2003 Drug abuse by youth
The name of Amanzimtoti College was changed to [eNingizimu] College
2005 Community garden was started in area 2006 New school for disabled children was built 2007 Free tap water was installed in the area
Clinic was built at KwaNomlando office Hardware store was built in the area Toilet was built in the area
People were killed by the serial killer 2008 Foods destroyed the houses in eNingizimu
Nursing school was opened called Promise Health Care
People who were affected by floods received a grant/voucher
2009 There was a vitamin campaign They got internet in June or July
Source: eNingizimu participants, July 2008 (updated October, 2009)
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