Our CIEE residents and their group planned a community service trip to spend the day with the people of Philippe farms. We collected clothes from students at our Liesbeek Gardens residence and bought food to give to the residents at the farm. When we arrived at the farm the people were very appreciative of our efforts and were kind enough to share their story with us.
They work for the owners of the farm and receive 300 rand a month as pay. They then pay the owners about 150 Rand as rent to live on their land. A family is expected to live on 150 Rand a month (7.5 Rand = 1 USD). I alone spend about 250 Rand a week on groceries! Though they were appreciative of what we did for them, I still think about the people at the farm and how they would have to survive the rest of their months, years, and lives.
It is times like these when being here is a tough pill to swallow. I am not at any specific apple of culture shock, just feeling more human in a way. What inspired me most about the individuals at the farm was their willingness to share their lives with us and it is only right that their story is told.
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
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I appreciate your insight into a side of South Africa that is not as well-known, and I would like to hear more of the farmers’ story. I do remember a news story that surfaced around the time of the World Cup that investigated the poor living conditions of communities outside Cape Town and Johannesburg; it’s unfortunate that some areas have so much and others so little, but unfortunately these types of disparities are common world-wide.