LANGA AWARDS

21 Apr 2016

Langa revives community awards

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After a 5-year lull, the Langa Community Activist Awards are back!

The campaign puts responsible citizenship in the spotlight, and will turn Langa on its head, as the search to find the township’s top activists begins.

Umbon’ Omhle is a non-profit youth organisation active for the past eight years.

It has taken on the hefty task of managing this socially significant campaign with the goal of celebrating those individuals and organisations that are adding value to their communities.

Umbon’ Omhle’s Thulani Nxumalo says that this campaign aims to promote community activism and participation, and will demonstrate how the work of activists go towards creating a ‘safer and more self-reliant society, that reflects the principles of humanity.’

“The Langa Community Activist Awards is an important initiative and ties-in well with our vision of creating new possibilities for the community through inter-disciplinary engagement, promoting knowledge of self, skills development and the use of art, culture, sport and technology.

Through this initiative, we will honour people who consider active participation in society a must. We also hope to encourage other members of the community to get involved and help bring this campaign to life.”

Nxumalo says that people are doing great things in Langa.

Umlibo Kantu, Vuka Nomtobhoyi, and the Brothers For Life, are just some of the many locally run organisations that are making a significant community

“By shedding light on the work of activists in the community, the campaign also has the power to motivate ordinary people from Langa and other communities to encourage community members to also become agents of change,” he continues.

Langa provides the perfect setting for the Community Activist Awards campaign, particularly since the township has a long history with positive social action.

In 1937, when authorities refused to provide for a secondary school in the area, a group of parents and clergy successfully put pressure on authorities to change their decision so that pupils could aspire to pursue tertiary education and careers.

But stories like these have been forgotten, and therefore highlight the importance of programs such as this one to allow for meaningful engagement with the active members of our community.

This year’s campaign rolls out a series of street events dubbed the Langa Home Cooked Streets and culminates in a final award event later this year.

People can look out for the posters that provide profiles of these members of our community. Nominations are welcome.

The first ‘Home Cooked’ event, happening on 1 May, serves as an information day and a dry-run to test the event as a voting platform, and will involve a number of individuals and organisations already active in the community, as well as giving locals the chance to get in on the action.

Inspired by the wildly successful and highly-inclusive ‘Open Streets’ initiative, the streets of Langa will come alive in an event that promises to be a feast for the senses.

Nominated activists will have the opportunity to share their projects and products, and potentially solicit investment into their causes.

Further ‘Home Cooked’ events are planned for later this year and will also include an International Activists Symposium to encourage activist movements from around the world to participate in this initiative somehow.

“People need to realise that they should be their biggest investment, and we should start nurturing that investment by taking better care of ourselves, our environments and of each other.

An activist is really someone who takes responsibility to make their world a better place.

Activists are progressive and think out of the box because they actively seek to gain the knowledge and skills needed to make a positive difference in our world,” says Nxumalo.

For example, if you are unhappy about something in your neighbourhood and want to see it changed for the better, and you actually do something about it , then you are an activist.

Maybe you realise that there is no wheelchair access at your local community centre, and you write a letter to your municipality to have them installed.

Or you form a scholar walking group, to help community kids get to and from school safely.

For more information on how you can participate, or support the Langa Community Activist Awards initiative, or to nominate a community activist, please contact Thulani Nxumalo on 076 971 9268 or thulznxm@email.com and Gracious Diko on 063 128 5431 or graciousdiko1980@gmail.com

R14-million facility first in the province to be built with a Child Play Therapy Room

16 Days of Activism: Department launches child-specialist Langa local office

 

 Photo By iStock

 

4 December 2017

The Western Cape Minister of Social Development, Albert Fritz, today launched the Department’s 37^th local office, in Langa Township.

This R14-million facility boasts world-class amenities for the public, and is completely accessible for people with disabilities. A key feature of the facility is its particular focus of providing services to children.

The facility is the first in the province to be built with a Child Play Therapy Room. This room enables specialist Child Protection social workers to assist children who have been physically, emotionally and/or sexually abused.

As we commemorate these 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Child Abuse, Minister Fritz stressed the importance of social worker services being accessible to the communities that need them most.

“We are building these facilities within communities so that you, our social workers, can be directly accessible to children and families. This is not only our pledge during these 16 Days, but throughout the year.” said Minister Fritz

“This is why we took the strategic decision to reconfigure this Department in 2011. We have transitioned from 1 head office and 16 district offices, to a head office and 6 regional offices, overseeing 37 local offices. That’s what service delivery is about - being rooted in communities”, said Minister Fritz.

The DSD Langa local office will render specialist services to the community, including;

• child care and protection services,
• probation services,
• substance abuse interventions,
• And family and parenting support services to the surrounding community.

We encourage the public to social work assistance by visiting any of our DSD local offices, or by contacting the DSD hotline on 0800 220 250.

Coach children in Langa, Cape Town

Creating global communities: East London to Langa

29 Mar 2017

The women and men of the University of East London’s (UEL) Hockey Club enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity last year to travel to South Africa to coach school children in the township of Langa, near Cape Town.

The UEL students ran youth hockey camps for up to 100 youngsters a day, offering equipment and support. The trip culminated in a tournament where the children received jerseys donated by hockey clubs in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Belgium.

It was a life-changing experience, said the trip’s coordinator, physiotherapy undergraduate Ciara Gormley. And it was made possible because of Going Global, a UEL scheme that provides bursaries for students to travel abroad for short study or research trips.

Ciara said, “It was a huge learning curve for me, and my trip undoubtedly enhanced my personal development and future employability. It was an absolute privilege to travel as ambassadors for the University.”

Going Global was founded in 2010 with an eye towards providing UEL’s diverse population of students, many of whom are older and have families and jobs, with an opportunity to enhance their studies with a short-term foreign travel experience.

For many, it is the first time they have travelled abroad. Most UEL students are eligible to apply, and trips are organised entirely by students. 

Students can go just about anywhere and do just about anything. In 2015-2016, students honed their photography skills in Finland, researched textile businesses in Bangladesh and practised sports therapy in Ohio. Altogether, 109 students travelled to 26 countries last year thanks to a Going Global bursary.

For Ciara, the trip allowed her to both better herself and make a difference in the lives of South African children.

She says, “There’s no comparison with the experience you get from going a trip like this. Academic work is great, but the personal development you get from going somewhere like South Africa is life-changing.”

MillionPlus

Coronation supports five schools in Langa

Coronation invests in mobile digital classroom to support learners in Langa

24 Jan 2022

 

Issued by: Coronation

 

This International Day of Education, Coronation CEO Anton Pillay highlighted the need to break down the barriers to a good education in South Africa.

 

Investing in Education: Coronation CEO Anton Pillay spends time on the Atlas DigiBus, a state-of-the-art bus equipped with digital teaching resources, which will support five schools in Langa township in 2022.Photo credit: Jay Caboz

As the world marks the International Day of Education on 24 January and as learners across the nation settle into the 2022 academic year, Coronation Fund Managers is announcing its support for the Atlas DigiBus mobile digital classroom initiative for five Langa schools in 2022.

“Notwithstanding the impact of Covid-19, the lack of access to crucial resources threatens the prospects of millions of our youth,” says Coronation CEO Anton Pillay. The resource deficit affects many learners in various forms, such as overcrowded classrooms and a lack of equipment, books, and technology.

“As a business that actively champions education in our nation and through our hands-on experience of supporting our disadvantaged communities, we are now collaborating on an innovative solution that enables us to bring quality education directly and safely to children in townships,” says Pillay.

In partnership with Atlas and Cognizant, who brought the idea to life, Pillay says: “Coronation is excited to now be the key funder for the operation and management of the Atlas DigiBus, a state-of-the-art, mobile digital classroom. It will deliver a world-class curriculum to thousands of learners across five schools in Langa.”

Driving change in education

The 42-seater Scania bus has been repurposed as a mobile classroom equipped with 40 laptops, two teaching stations and an online tracking system. It will offer children access to excellent academic support and peer-to-peer learning six days a week, leveraging off the expertise and materials of Bishops Diocesan College.

It will support the development of children at Mokone, Siyabulela, Moshesh, Thembani and Zimasa Primary schools with programmes that cover the most critical subjects facing these young learners. It will employ up to five new staff including a qualified teacher. To double up efforts, Coronation will also be providing two student teachers who will assist full time on the bus to ensure that each learner receives the attention and guidance that they need. “We foresee a valuable transfer of skills between the teachers, as well as mentorship and knowledge sharing,” commented Pillay.

Bridging digital and social divides

Celebrating International Day of Education with the theme “Changing Course, Transforming Education”, Unesco has called for greater digital education equality. According to the organisation, the day provides a platform to showcase the most important transformations that need to be nurtured in education and enables debate around how to strengthen education, steer the digital transformation, support teachers and unlock the potential in learners and students.

“With education being at the heart of the work we do to uplift our communities, we get to engage with many learners and students. It is because of them that we remain steadfastly committed to Coronation’s purpose of investing in our country and its people for the long-term,” says Pillay.

He explained that it’s why Coronation is excited about the immense potential of the Digibus as a holistic solution to the critical needs of our learners and teachers alike. “We will also be able to introduce parent information programmes, staff training, coding and high school revision programmes to name a few.”

“Delivering a quality education to every South African child is critical for the future of our country.” – Anton Pillay

“At Coronation, we believe that by investing in education, we are investing in our next generation of leaders and contributors to society. Along with our partners in the Atlas DigiBus, we aim to give learners the boost they need to reach their full potential and look forward to achieving tangible improvements in learner results,” he concluded. 

“The initiative is a potential gamechanger, which could assist in improving the level of education in South Africa and providing much-needed opportunities for the nation’s youth.”

Coronation supports a variety of education initiatives in disadvantaged communities around the country in partnership with various non-profit education organisations and other partners, and has done so for 20 years.

Langa township will become the pilot for a $1-million program to boost community-led tourism in Africa

Millennials’ search for experiences over luxury is driving Airbnb’s growth in Africa

 

 Photo By Business Events Africa

 

By Lynsey Chutel

Published October 19, 2017

In the last five years, more than 2 million people have found holiday accommodation in Africa through Airbnb which now has over 100,000 listings on the continent.African hosts earned $139 million in the last year, according to a new Airbnb study.

By opening up the homes of Africans to visitors, Airbnb has also opened up a previously untapped market. Travel in African is known to be expensive, and along with pricey flights, luxury hotels and five-star safari lodges used to be among the few choices tourists to the continent had. With Airbnb, tourists can live, eat and experience life as a local, appealing to the millennials driving the experience-over-stuff economy. What’s more, it’s opened up tourism not only to international visitors, but curious young Africans, too.

Airbnb claims African hosts have made an average of $1,500 a year. In Airbnb’s most popular city, Paris, hosts made an average of 1,970 euro (about $2,400) each year.

In South Africa, specifically, Airbnb has contributed $247 million to the country’s economy. Cape Town is the most popular among guests with 17,000 listings. Many of these homes are owned by Europeans as a holiday home or property investment, meaning the profits don’t necessarily stay in the country.

To counter this, Airbnb has launched a program that focuses on empowering hosts in the city’s townships—black-only neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city segregated during apartheid. Cape Town’s Langa township will become the pilot for a $1-million program to boost community-led tourism in Africa.

Still, Airbnb’s success is largely skewed toward African destinations that are already popular like Cape Town and Casablanca. It reflects how their tourism authorities have marketed them, says Diane Audrey Ngako, the founder of Visiter L’Afrique, a digital tourism and cultural platform for travel to Africa.

Ngako puts Airbnb’s success in Africa to its ability to sell an experience of Africa that international travelers see as authentic. Tourists know that much of the continent has a critical shortage of basic infrastructure, so they come looking for culture rather than comfort.

France is the single country with the highest number of Airbnb users looking to explore Africa, with 13% of guests identifying as French. Next is the US contributing 12% and the UK 10%. African travelers make up 29% of Airbnb guests, a quarter of whom are South African.

Tourists from South Africa may be looking for the same experience as international tourists or travelers from the African diaspora in the US and Europe. African tourists, however, want comfort.

African travelers want the perfect hotel, the perfect view and the perfect cocktail to go with it, says Ngako. Young Africans who are able to travel want a comfortable holiday that is also aspirational, which is why destinations like Cape Town appeal to them.

🌍 Quartz Africa Weekly

LANGA HOUSING

FNB lifts housing spend to R2bn

 

 

 

19 Jul 2006

 

First National Bank (FNB) on Tuesday increased its investment in housing to just under two billion rand this year, with the unveiling by government of Phase 2 of the N2 Gateway housing initiative in Cape Town.

FNB has partnered with government to deliver about 3,000 bonded houses in Joe Slovo settlement, part of Cape Town's Langa township. Today marked the official hand-over of part of the N2 Gateway's Phase 1 rental housing stock to beneficiaries.

The bank is committed to investing about 600 million rand towards the project, which will benefit people earning between 3,500 rand to 7,500 rand per month. House prices range from 150,000 rand to 250,000 rand per unit.

FNB's involvement in the N2 Gateway housing initiative brings the bank's total investment in housing to 1.7 billion rand this year. This translates to 7,049 housing units.

The bank recently launched an 800 million rand commercial property and housing finance deal to build in excess of 3,000 homes in Glen Ridge, Soweto, last month.

In May this year, FNB invested 368 million rand to build in excess of 1,000 houses at Cosmo City near Kya Sands north of Johannesburg. Of these, 702 were built in partnership with 702 Talk Radio. – I-Net Bridge

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Langa Junction

R60m shopping centre to be built at Langa station

 

Photo By GroundUp

Published Jul 24, 2014

Roy Cokayne

Langa, one of the busiest train stations in Cape Town, is to get a new R60 million shopping centre that aims to cater for about 45 000 commuters who use the station daily.

The new 5 000m2 project is being developed by Nu-Way Housing Developments and sister company Krisp Properties. Ground was broken earlier this month on the site for the new centre, which is scheduled to open in February.

About 100 jobs will be created during the construction phase and 200 permanent jobs will be created once the centre opens.

It will be the newest commuter-based retail development in the country and forms part of the extensive recent urban upgrade of the Langa station and its surrounds by the City of Cape Town.

Architect Boets Smuts of Smuts & De Kock Architects said the development of the centre and the upgrading of the area by the city went hand-in-hand. “It will be the first convenience shopping centre for Langa. There is a need for centres like this so people don’t need to take a train to town to do their shopping. Convenience centres are rising in townships all over South Africa,” he said.

One of the country’s leading food retailers has been secured as the anchor tenant of the centre, which will have 11 other stores, two ATMs and eight smaller spaces of about 15m2, specifically aimed at entrepreneurs and small, medium and micro enterprises.

Jordan Mann, an executive director of Krisp Properties and Nu-Way Housing, said the newly built overhead commuter bridge linking Langa Junction with the station and the Epping industrial area meant a high volume of foot traffic for the centre.

Mann said the plan was for the centre to be a hub for public transport commuters.

“The railway has been upgraded into a modern transit station, which serves commuters very well.

“We are creating a shopping experience for commuters and residents in the area. We are also addressing a major need for retail in the area. The community and retailers have been very keen for us to get this centre up and running,” he said.

The developer’s presence in the area spans back to the early 2000s when Nu-Way developed 300 housing stands in the community.

Mann said the town planning for the shopping centre was completed at the time and it was always their intention to put a shopping centre in Langa.

It had also earmarked adjacent land for the future growth of the shopping centre, he said.