Tuesday, 3 March 2015

My Visit in Sir Lowry's Pass Village

Sir Lowry’s Pass village is a small and very poor community in the Western Cape that has been largely forgotten. The people here struggle with many of the same issues we find in other townships in South Africa. The lack of education as well as the alcoholism and HIV/AIDS problem have contributed to very high unemployment statistics. Sir lowry’s pass Village has about 40% of adults without  jobs. Housing and sanitation are huge issues and, It is not uncommon to find a family consisting of between 5 and 8 members spanning over 3 generations all living together in one shack (informal housing made predominantly of wood, cardboard and corrugated iron). Many of the mothers are single parents and often there is only 1 breadwinner in the family, Needless to say, most of the people in Sir Lowry’s Pass village are barely surviving.


(informal housing made predominantly of wood, cardboard and corrugated iron) Picture : by Neo Esitang

Housing is one of the traditional areas of concern for public health, though it has been relatively neglected over recent years. But housing is important for many aspects of healthy living and well-being.  The home is important for psychosocial reasons as well as its protection against the elements, but it can also be the source of a wide range of hazards (physical, chemical, biological).  It is the environment in which most people spend the majority of their time. “For the past 5 years, Transnet had a very close association with the people of Sir Lowry's Pass community empowerment project ,as their vision is to try and improve the lives of the residents of the community. Regular food drops and clothing or toy donations from staff members are highly appreciated by this poor community , said Magriet Britz .”  

(Living conditions of Sir lowry’s Pass Village) Picture: by Neo Esitang

The Sir Lowry’s Pass firewise Initiative, has launched an upliftment project aimed at transforming the lives of the community of Sir Lowry’s Pass Village. The community is mired in poverty, project volunteer Magriet Britz said. “The time is right to implement the plans, there is virtually no employment in the area at all, because of little land being available for the development of industry and manufacturing,” she said. “The area lends itself to tourism, which has been identified as the industry that can help the village come out of poverty.” This is an important project, as there is little employment potential, unemployment is high, education levels are poor, and there is a lack of skills in the area.


From Right: Firewise Project Volunteers, (Shadrick Mowers, Hendrick Mouers, Neo Esitang, Magriet Britz and Ronita Plaatjies)  Picture: by Thomas Mackenzie.

This is a group of individuals who have common interest to help the community. They are active, and provide a variety of monthly volunteer events from feeding the homeless, trips to orphanages, visiting senior centers, Reading to Kids, Habitat for Humanity, and other great events. Feeding the hungry, donating presents to the poor, and performing errands for the elderly are all ways that people can donate time towards the community. Working together will help kids learn to solve problems and make decisions and successfully contribute to their community. They connect local concerns with global issues and gain an awareness of others. All this will serve them now and years later as they transition out of school and into the adult world. 



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