alexandra

News from Behind the Scenes: Nanama Keita Experiences Jo’burg

Nanama Keita, a sports journalist from Gambia, describes his once in-a-life-time experience of being in Johannesburg with Twenty Ten during the World Cup in South Africa

By Nanama Keita - 3 July 2010 - Latest news

Township Guesthouse

Alina Thonjeni, a 69-year-old single mother to four children, has exactly the sort of entrepreneurial spirit necessary to benefit from the influx of tourists during the World Cup. She retired from her job in order to convert her modest but well-kept home in Alexandra township, Johannesburg, into a guesthouse.

By Nikki Rixon - 28 June 2010 - Business and life, Photo

Ice Cream Factory Fire

The former Chico’s Ice Cream factory on the outskirts of Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, which illegally housed more than 400 people, burned down after a fire on Friday. They had erected cardboard partitions and formed a second floor from wood to create a highly flammable ‘shantytown’.

By Nanama Keita - 21 June 2010 - Photo, Text

Ice Cream Factory

Alexandra is a poor, densely populated township that was established in 1912. It borders, and stands in stark contrast to, Sandton, the wealthiest suburb in South Africa. Situated in the industrial side of Alexandra is an old ice-cream factory that has been taken over by locals. They have built two floors filled with one-room dwellings made from recycled tin and wood, dangerously connected by narrow wooden planks.

By Nikki Rixon - 18 June 2010 - Photo, Rich dreams, poor realities