Philippe Township, Cape Town, can only be described as a hell hole, where people live like rats and where the stench of portaloo toilets make Greenbelt look like a 5 star deluxe hotel! And yet, in the midst of all that looks filthy and rotten, lies real rays of hope – in the form of an ex offender and a group of 14 year olds – an “Ubuntu” club.  Third year secondary school young people from the local township go into their local primary (which houses 1300 primary kids), to peer educate:  on crime prevention; on keeping safe in the township; on not responding to peer pressure; on HIV & Sexual health.  In two’s, they take six classes each of the upper primary, and they teach, or peer educate - without resources or technology (except a black-board), and with a level of professionalism that would match a qualified teacher.  These young peer educators have been taught by an ex offender who for the past 18 months has been giving back to the community….. to put right a wrong done!  And it seems to be working.  I witnessed small children animated, listening, eager. 

But these peer educators are only teenagers.  And their sessions are so powerful I witnessed their recipiants – primary school kids- talking about crime in their area, about their fears, and some….. about being frequently raped by the males in their “shack”s at night, and being beaten by their fathers and step-fathers…..    In one case the child was weeping uncontrollably, in another she was stoney faced.  I was later told that in both cases, that these children will be further targetted in the township and may experience rape by other males – just for speaking out!

When the young people relayed the information about the rape allegations to the head-teacher,  he tried to appear shocked, but did not indicate that he would follow anything up.  He left it in the hands of the Ubuntu teenagers to handle it.  Nothing can take away the shock of listening to a child crying out for help as a result of rape, and watching teenagers, themselves living in the same environment, left with the responsibilty to try to deal with it.  I was later told that the child’s right to safety might come secondary to the family’s need for food – which the perpetrator provides! ”Its complicated.” I was told.  “The teenagers need to be taught to crisis counsel,” it was explained to me.  One adult told me that there was no point in bringing the father to trial. He would be thrown in jail and then the family would starve.

How long will it take for the black and coloured community in S Africa to remain in such conditions, in such complicated messes, not fit for animals, let alone humans…. ….