Photo by Arnaud Thierry Gouegnon

The Ivorian community in South Africa religiously supports their national team, The Elephants. When Mr and Mrs Gaba opened the House of the Ivorians, it became a home away from home for many men and women from the Ivory Coast.

Here, they eat, drink and socialise with other exiled Africans from Liberia and Benin. Mrs. Gaba serves local dishes from the Ivory Coast in the restaurant and the house enables many foreigners to get on their feet when they first arrive in the country. More importantly, the patrons come here to support their national team who qualified to play in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The atmosphere is vibrant when football fans gather in solidarity for their team and the cheers will hopefully only get louder as the soccer tournament gets into full swing.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Publication rights to this feature are available from Africa Media Online.