Interview with Zimbabwean Olympian who ran against Usain Bolt

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games opened in London on 27 July 2012. GroundUp interviewed Brian Dzingai who raced against Usain Bolt in the 200 metres at the Beijing Olympics. Dzingai is fom Zimbabwe, but is currently located in Paris.

Veronica Washaya

News | 1 August 2012

Helping Khayelitsha’s children escape gang violence

The youth of Khayelitsha have been infected with a terrible "disease of gang violence"--as ‘Big Guy’, a radio presenter from Radio Zibonele called it--that is destroying tomorrow’s leaders. It is not hardened gangsters who are involved but children, some as young as 13.

Axolile Notywala

Opinion | 1 August 2012

My Vote Counts campaign launched

This past Saturday, 28 July, saw the launch of the ‘My Vote Counts’ campaign. The event took place at the District Six Museum in Cape Town and was attended by more than 40 social activists, all of whom participated in their personal capacities. The occasion was marked by speeches from veteran activist Zackie Achmat, director of Cape Town-based social justice organisation Ndifuna Ukwazi, and well-known cartoonist Jonathan ‘Zapiro’ Shapiro.

Fritz Schoon

Opinion | 1 August 2012

Gangsterism out of hand in Khayelitsha

Between Premier Helen Zille calling for the deployment of an army and some Cape Town gangs deciding to end the violence, Khayelitsha is singing a different tune with teenage gangsters taking the violence to a new level.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 1 August 2012

Zimbabweans work together to repatriate the dead

There is a large Zimbabwean community in Cape Town. When members die, their friends and family usually want them to be buried back home in Zimbabwe.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 1 August 2012

Cape High Court rules closure of refugee centre was unreasonable and irrational

On Wednesday 25 July, Judge Dennis Davis of the Cape High Court ruled in favour of continued access to the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office (CTRRO) for new asylum applicants.

Veronica Washaya

Brief | 1 August 2012

Playing United was a dream come true for Ajax star

GroundUp interviewed 23 year-old Ajax defender, Aidan Jenniker.

Margo Fortune

News | 1 August 2012

Cape Town’s determined small business owners

Most young people living in Cape Town's townships are unemployed and have little chance of getting a job.

GroundUp Editor

News | 25 July 2012

Selling building material

Lucas Manya works at a stand selling building material in Makhaza, Khayelitsha.

Nokubonga Yawa

Brief | 25 July 2012

Immigrants at work: IT repair shop in Gardens

Admire Siya is just 25-years old and from Zimbabwe. He has set up an IT shop in his home in Gardens.

Veronica Washaya

News | 25 July 2012

“I don’t do this for fun” - Road-side window cleaner

Many drivers get irritated with the youths who, without asking for permission first, wash their windscreens at traffic lights.

Nokubonga Yawa

News | 25 July 2012

Hope amid the horror of joblessness and exploitation

Hope springs eternal in the human breast. So wrote the much-quoted 18th Century English poet, Alexander Pope. And, although this has all too often described the
futility of chasing after rainbows and never finding a promised pot of gold, hope continues to sustain millions of people in situations that, to the more fortunate, might seem hopeless.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 25 July 2012

From bad boy to legitimate business owner: The Corner Lounge Story

Nkululeko Tuntubele is the owner of Corner Lounge, a cosy bar-lounge in the hub of Gugulethu at NY 138. Officially opened this year on 31 March, the lounge is a container previously used as a hair salon.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 25 July 2012

Feeding her family with a meat stand

Nonyameko Sowazi, also affectionately known to her customers as “Madlamini,” runs a “binnegoed” stand at the bottom of the Nonqubela station in Khayelitsha.

Mary-Jane Matsolo

News | 25 July 2012

Where Cape Town’s homeless live

Nestled underneath a concrete highway, the District Six Haven shelter is a modest, two-story house where 80 of the area’s homeless live.

Allen Jiang and Audrey Leasure

News | 25 July 2012

Immigrants at work: Making ends meet as a cab driver

Tinashe Nhidza is a 35-year-old Zimbabwean taxi cab driver operating in Cape Town.

Veronica Washaya

News | 25 July 2012