Our First Community Action Reserach Workshop

On Saturday , September 19^th 2009 we participated in a workshop to look more deeper at the problems we experience in Ikemeleng and to make a plan to take action .

We held this workshop in the Rustenburg Library .The workshop was facilitated by the coordinatos of the Monitoring Action project Eric Makua and Bobby Marie. The group from the community was: Phindile Boitumelo and Thobile Norman Rasta, Lynda Mathafemi, Maggy Masega and Pule Shawe

We started the workshop by introducing ourselves and making sure everybody understood

what the workshop was about and what we wanted to come out of the workshop.

1. Mapping the Physical Environment

Bobby explained why mapping was important. We cannot make a journey from one end of the country without having a clear map. Similarly we cannot began to solve community problems without first mapping all the problems.

The group then proceeded to draw their map.

2. Listing the Problems from the Physical Environment

Next the group put red dots on points were aware of any problem that affected the community

At the same time the group wrote down these problems they identified on a Problem List

• The river is polluted with waste water from the Xstrata Mne.
• The council does not collect rubbish and this is a health problem to the community in particular children
• The dust from the Mine slime dams cause illness among people
• The Noise form the blasting underground disturbs the community
• -People have no place to keep cattle, they keep it in their yards. This creates terrible smells and is a health hazard to the community
• The river where children play and where we wash our clothes has Bilharzia

3. Mapping our Social Situation

The group then mapped out the problems that families faced. They first drew a family on the center of a chart and then drew pictures of the problem. They discussed each picture and wrote down the problem the community experienced.

• The shacks we live in are very hot in summer and very cold in winter
• We don’t have pre- school and crèches to accommodate all our children
• We don’t have toilets and this is a health hazard
• There is a lot of crime in our community and we don’t have a police station
• We don’t have a proper system of drinking water. The water tank provided by the municipality is not sufficient and we are forced to buy water and use the river.
• There is an influx of casual workers who stay in our community because the mines don’t provide housing for them
• We don’t have electricity
• Large number of people don’t have ID’s and therefore cannot get grants and pensions
• The counsellor does not communicate with us
• We have not sports facilities
• - We don’t have any training facilities for the very large number of young unemployed people
• - We don’t get any basic services from the municipality, water, refuse collection, electricity, postal services, roads
• Large numbers of people are unemployed and the mines employ only a few people from our community

4. Selecting the most important problem

We then looked at all the problems faced by the community, both from the physical environment around them as well as from the experiences of family life. We chose the top 3 problems. We did this by each person in the group voting for what he or she saw as the top problem.

The voting narrowed down the list to six problems

• Jobs in the mine
• Dumping area
• No toilets
• Stock farming in the community
• No training for unemployed people in the community
• Drinking water

The group then discussed this to further narrow down the list. First they agreed that the issue of Jobs in the Mine was being taken up by other groups in the community and that it was a very complicated problem. They then voted again, each person had two votes, to arrive at the most important problem.

They arrived at the decision that the problem of “dumping areas” was the most important problem.

5. Action Planning

We then analysed the problem.

• We first stated the problem in full so that everybody was clear what the problem was
• We then wrote down all the root causes of the problem
• We agreed on what we believed will solve the problem i.e. the remedy.
• Finally we wrote down all the actions which will resolve the problem. We talked about how we will make sure that our actions are powerful and the municipality does not ignore our demands.

Problem

• Dumps in our Community is causing health problems especially among children

Cause

• No proper dumping area
• -No refuse removal system
• Community lacks education on how to deal with waste

Remedy

• Create Dumping areas
• Set up a refuse collection system
• Educate the community
  

Action

• Study the problem in more detail and draw up a report
• Discuss the findings with the community and involve them in the actions to bring about change
• Request that the Municipality set up a system
• Campaign to ensure that the Municipality does not ignore the people ‘s request

6. Implementation Plan

We agreed that we will begin with preparation of our report. This report would involve the following tasks

• Drawing a more detailed map of the location of the dump
• Taking photographs of the dumps
• Talk to the peopel around the dumps on how they feel and what health problems resulted from the dumps
• We will then meet to develop our first draft of our report
  

These tasks will be done by the end of September. We will present this report to the Monitors Workshop in the first week in October 2009.

Life in Ikemeleng -Thobeli Norman Aka Benjy

Norman aka Benjy, Rasta lives in Ikemeleng.
He is a trainee monitor on the Monitoring Action Project ( See Link)

No Jobs

After so many attempts made by the employment forum, building the relationship with the mine management and National Union of Mines (NUM) was not a fruitless exercise.

in the month of June 18^th we met with Aquarius where Mrs. Moraka was present. The community requested good working relationship. We inform Mrs. Moraka about all our attempt and persuasion to draft a list of unemployment rate in Inkemeleng. On 23^rd June 09 we handed the list to Mrs. Moraka who referred us to meet with ward councillor to attach his signature on the list. We consult with the councillor to inform him what Mrs. Moraka has told us, and that his participation will be kindly needed.

After we meet councillor we both draft the letter that to be submitted to her, so she could involve the management .Mrs. Moraka was very happy about our plan and insisted that we need to stand firm about our point ,and appreciated what we did. She committed that she will talk to Murray and Robert to review the policy on recruitment on labour. We then decided that we will meet on agreed date

Xenophobic Wars?

As mining is depending heavily on migrant workers , this results in Rustenburg being one of the towns affected by the influx of people who comes from different places in search for employment . Thus emerges places like informal settlements that become the nearest places for the employees to live in. The one reason being not enough accommodation for them.

As our village of Ikemeleg is one of the places that has been affected by this migrant workers, tension between the non citizen with the citizen is very rife when coming to sharing the little resources that we have as community.

As we are living in this situation where by we still have to queue for water for almost a day this is were you hear of the most hatred talks amongst the Africans. Whereby people boasting of being better than others in terms of being citizens. Whereby you hear people who are entitled to vote expecting to be the first one to be served.

People who are doing business in Ikemeleng are not good in the way they relate with others because they claim that they pay tax while others don’t pay, seeing it unfair because they stand to lose while others benefit unfairly.

We are high lighting this issue while it is still time for we expect serious measures to be taken to redeem this plague of hatred amongst the Africans. Because all this fuels tribalism and gangsterism.

We feel again that ignoring this will be a serious blunder, for we feel that delaying in implementing what was in the national anthem called services delivery will also contribute to that dilemma, As we will hear people who did not qualify to vote accusing the voters by voting for nothing as they suffer the same conditions .This is the situation we are living in ikemeleng.

Rumours of War

The latest protest in Ikemeleng leads to Mayoral Attention

THE people of Ikemeleng vowed to themselves that even if they lose their life it will mean victory to their future, as its being for a long time they were scared to fight for what is the right to live.

It all started from Friday the 7^th August 2009, when the community gathered themselves to meet in order to come up with what could be the best strategy to raise their concern in the way that they could be heard. It was on this meeting where resident thought that the best way was only to block the road leading to the town of Kroondal so that no one can pass through. People had had enough about all stories that the ward communities brought to them. They complained that they could no longer tolerate the excuses that were made every time about them not being able to forward this and that due to lack of finance, which are not the problem of the community.

All the people who were attending the gathering agreed that the holiday of Monday 10^{t, h}, would be the last day to plan for how we forward our grievances’ to the executive mayor of Rustenburg.

On Sunday the 9th the ward councillor then decided to call a mass meeting of which many view it as a plan to stop the communities plan to protest. This meeting was not well attended. And truly it was his plan all the way. He told everybody in the meeting who was ready to block the road that they will meet the mighty hands of justice. But that didn’t even scare not one of the people. The people believed as they heard through the media that it was their right to fight for their right if they were peaceful.

On Monday again whistles blowers were busy gathering everyone to the play grounds as had been agreed. And this became the biggest gathering ever of the community and was a test to their future. Everyone was there to hear for him/her selves what was going to happen the next day. Everybody who came to the meeting supported the protest with their whole heart, shouting it’s time for revolution. We agreed that by 2 in the morning whistles blower must start by awakening everybody, so that they would assemble at our play grounds then from there, we would go to block all the entrances to and from Kroondal which we finally did peacefully.

During our demonstration police came but instead of any words, we heard sounds of the shooting guns and all hell broke loose. Everything went another way round, people then started to stone every passing cars to make sure that damage was encountered. Then they started chasing us with their machines

Some people got arrested and others were slightly injured. But at the end of the day the mayor did come and promise to come again on Friday, were by he will hear the community crisis.

The people also assured him that any failure on his part will lead to another serious protest, and that he should not undermine us. That was the protest that brought the attention that the community has been looking for, in order to know what’s holding back their development.

Were are waiting patiently again for him to come and make more promises, but this time they should be kept, or else he will hear again by rumours of wars.

Life in Ikemeleng - Phindile Boitumelo

Phindile Boitumelo lives in Ikemeleng.

She is a trainee Monitor in the Monitoring Action project.

If we can be Lucky

On the 27 July on Monday at Ikemeleng Rustenburg, we as the youth forum had a feed back meeting with Murray and Roberts Cementation. They said that they had no work for us. We told them we had a plan .As the Ikemeleng youth forum we think that we can start a contract that can cut Murray and Roberts cementation costs.

We planned to do sweeping, work with the R.D.O, clean and to assist with the cleaning of the 4x4 cars that work underground. We also said we could help with safety underground.

To cut the costs of this mine, we will do something like,if the other company was charging Murray and Roberts e.g. R 50 000, we the Ikemeleng contract will charge R 45 000,so that it can cut Murray and Roberts cost . This will be something in Ikemeleng because more that 95% of the Ikemeleng youth are not working . This causes our youth to be in the big problems like girls are forced to sell their bodies and boys are stealing. So if we can be lucky to get this contract it will be better life for ikemeleng youth. We will live better if this mine gave us a small chance.

It was Painful

On the 6^th July 2009 at Rustenburg village at Ikemeleng, Kroondal, as a monitor I go around making a research about our dumping area at our community,. We have four dumping area that are very dangerous for our children. The dumps can cause many diseases in the community like t.b and cholera, because some people throw dead dogs and cats on the dump. I Phindile Ngobeni go to the clinic and talk to Mr Baloyi, I ask him about different diseases that can be caused by unsafe dumping areas. He tells me that there are many diseases and germs in the dumping area.

Our children are playing on the side of these dumps. Some of them collecting tins to sell it as scrap. Some of the children have parents, but they are suffering because they have no job. Some of our people are washing on river side were people through the pamper napkins in the water. When the water flows people are washing and bathing with the water. The water has bilharzias.

At one dump we found a newborn dead child on the dumping area, It was painful just because it is the first time in our community to see something like that.

This visit made me realise that we that we can form Ikemeleng environmental project so that we can recycle . We need help to support our community.

Children with no Identity

At Rustenburg in a village of Ikemeleng we have more than thirty to thirty five orphans. Some of them are still attending school but some of them are not attending school because they don't get grants, they don't have identities and birth certificates. Others don't have families to help them apply for those documents. At Tirelong high school next to Ikemeleng the orphans who are attending school there they get grants because the teachers are helping them to call the social workers, and people used to go there to offer the orphans the food every year during the month of June. There are people who used to come there and offer blankets and track suits.

Those who are not attending school, it’s not easy for them to get help because the councillors are not taking action. Even if they go to the councillor to explain the problem, he is not doing anything. Dipuo a 22 year old says she was asking the councillor two years back to help her with the forms to get the identity document and she didn't get help till this month of July 2009. So she is collecting tins to get money that can help her family to live. Her two younger brothers do not attend school because there is no money to buy the uniform. She can't go and look for a job because she doesn't have an identity document

No Case No Police No Arrest

On the 29 May 2009 it was on Friday and I was at L&R Chauckes Tavern to see what is happening there. But it turned out to be a “smackdown” where people stabbed with knives and bottles. It was okay at first then all hell broke loose. Some guys aged 16, 21 and 24 years old started a fight. The two guys ganged up against the 24 year old guy . The 16 year old guy stabbed this guy with a knife however this guy managed to escape and he grabbed two bottles and broke them and he attacked the 16 and 21 years. The 16 year old ran away and the 24 year old guy felt brave and he tried to fight with the other guy but the 24 year old guy stabbed him half dead. The ambulance had to be called.

At around 6 am in the morning a 15 year old girl was raped in front of her home.

In both these incidents no police came, no case was opened and no one was arrested

From a Dump for Farmers to a Dump for Mining Corporations

Story based on interview with Marcus Mputle 2008.

There are no signboards that show the name of our village. To get to us you must get to Kroondal and take left at this sign. We are a community without a name and are only referred to as a mining squatter camp. But you wont miss us. At the entrance to our village you will find our traditional church. When our parents first settled here 50 years ago they gave ourselves a name: Mabeleng

Many of us were born here in this area . My parents moved here from Luka not very far away in Rustenburg. I am now 33.
This place in the days of Apartheid was where white farmers and local businesses stored their black labour, because they did not want them living next door to them in Kroondal the little town close by.
I attended the farm school set up by the Germans until primary level. There was no high school. The Germans said that primary school was sufficient for us to be able to communicate well so they did not build a high school. I had to travel very far past Bleskop to attend high school. All this was in the apartheid days. But after 10 years of democracy there is still no high school in our community.)
In 1995 the mines started to expand into our area. The mines did not build houses for their workers. They gave them a a ”living out allowance” but there where no houses to rent. So the mine workers built shacks in our area. Many workers only get casual work in the mines. They too find rooms in our area. So very quickly our village grew very large and overcrowded.
Today we call ourselves Ikemeleng. People from all over our province the North West Province , from the rest of south Africa as well as other countries began to settle here. Many of them have now been here for over ten years

We have many problems in our area . There is no permanent water supply. Twice a week a water truck contracted by the Kroondal Municipality fill these tanks with water. If you are not around when the tank is filled, then you don’t get water. Many families are forced to buy water from private sellers. These sellers bring the water from Mfedikwe in Blesskop, a neighbouring village. If you don’t have money then you are forced to use the water from the river. The majority of the families use the river to wash their clothes. People know that this water is dangerous but they say that they have no alternative, so they continue to use the water from the river. A lot of sickness comes from this river especially among school children who play in the river on hot days. The river has Bilharzia.

There is no rubbish removal in our community. So you will find piles of dirt all over. There is no drainage system to take away water that people use at home for washing dishes, cleaning and bathing, so we have little pools of standing water all over.
There is no sewage system. Some families have chemical toilets. Some have built pit toilets. Many who rent rooms in other peoples yards are not allowed to use the family toilet. They are forced to use the bushes near the river. When you walk to the river you have to be very careful.
We have many health problems. There is a mobile clinic which comes twice a week. Mothers with babies and old people have to stand outside in the sun for long hours before they get attention. When there is rain there is nowhere to shelter.
There are two grave yards in our community. People die quite regularly. But nobody looks after the graveyards. There is also a family graveyard. This family has been here a long time. A road was built next to the graveyard. But the family refused to move their graveyard. So the graveyard stands on the side of the road. There was a very old graveyard here. But the mine needed this ground for an open cast mine. They moved the graves to Boitokong about 10 km away. They said that most of the people buried came from there. There was no discussion with us. We don’t know who they consulted. Maybe the councillor. My father’s brother was buried here.





A crèche for children has been set up by a member of the community. However, most people cannot afford to send their children here. So when parents are not around the children are left with neighbours or they entertain themselves.
There are shops and other services. But we pay higher prices for all the goods we buy then if we bought it at the Spar in Kroondal. But to get to Kroondal we have to pay taxi fare or we have to walk a long distance with our groceries.
We are surrounded by mines. There is always dust from mine dumps. People don’t know if these blasts and dust and smells affect them. They don’t care. Their day to day life in Ikemeleng is so hard they don’t think about mine problems. There is so much unemployment. People will be happy to get jobs in the mines regardless of their health problems.
Our young people are passionate about soccer as young people are all over Africa all over the world. We have two soccer teams. Our problem is that there is no league. SAFA never comes to villages like ours. We also have a problem with our football pitch. it is used as a road for cars and has pathways created by people walking through. There is no fence and our goal posts were stolen for firewood. But our teams are very well disciplined. We train every Tuesday and Thursday. We organise our own challenges with teams from other villages. This is usually for money between R200 – R400 prize money. We do win sometimes. We use the money to pay our taxi costs and keep the remainder for the team. Sometimes we have a braai with our prize money.
We asked the councillor why the municipality would not fix up our ground. They told us that our area was not licensed. We don’t know what that means. But it is so easy. The mine simply has to come with a caterpillar and level out the ground , bring in a few trucks of sand. The mines have a lot of money, but nothing really comes to the people. What we cannot understand is that they say that this is an informal area. How long must an informal area live before it grows into a formal area? Some of us have lived here for about 30 years. Many have been here for 10 years They say that this area has not been proclaimed. It has no licence, so they can’t develop it.
People don’t trust the councillors. They say that that the ward counsel is always a place where people fight for positions. The councillor makes promises and never delivers. The political parties only come here during elections time for our vote. During elections we are not informal or formal.
But we are people we go on with our lives as best as we could. We are organising the young people around soccer. We are talking to the mayor and the councillors all the time. We are confronting the mines to give our people jobs. We are slowly building our community.

Igemeleng Youth Soccer Tournament May 2009:
We are doing it for our selves
In November 2008 the community of Igemeleng , an informal mining village just outside Kroondaal in Rustenburg, staged their first soccer tournament. Now the youth of Igemeleng are planning a Youth Soccer Tournament for May 2009. There will be two competitions in this tournament one for girls and the other for boys.

An informal network of Joburgers are planning a fundraising feast to raise money to support the Igemeleng youth event. If you are keen on participating in this fund raising event please contact Bobby Marie by email bmarie@iafica.com or cell 0824426850
To learn more about the Igemeleng Community as well as the soccer tournament they organised see the video page on

Video: Report on Our First Soccer Tournament

Video : Life In Ikemeleng