It wasn't quite what I had in mind

I know that unemployment is a big problem in South Africa, but what I saw in Alexandra township was way beyond my expectations. Naturally, you would expect to see mostly the elderly and scores of young people, especially high school learners, roaming the streets aimlessly on a Monday afternoon.

 But not in Alex, as it is affectionately known.There, young adults and the elderly gathered under the shades of their shacks, kids playing around with small bottles of water. "Here in Alex, unemployment rate is double the national figure of something like 46 percent," said Soul Foundation manager Kim Keiser. Soul Foundation works collaboratively with community leaders to clean the Jukskei river.

The Foundation conduct anti-littering campaigns from time to time. Moving through closely clustered shacks, smelly streams meandering through the shacks was a mission. Women were sitting on the bank of the Jukskei river, either washing or just chatting.

 "We don't have anything to do, we can't even watch our TVs because this is Dark City," said unemployed mother of two from Setswetla section. Asked what she meant by "Dark City", the despondent mother said, "we never had electricity around here, and never will we have our area electrified. We rely on candles." This township lack the basic ameneties of life.

The lack of pre-school education facilities, in particular, troubled me. I was devastated to learn that the Setswetla community's source of water was the Jukskei river, which was awash with smelly refuse bags.