A day in the life of South Africa: a decade after the end of apartheid, life in a South African township remains a challenge.

Crash! The noise awakens Emma, who springs out of bed and rushes to the window. The family dog is harking furiously in the front yard. Emma peers out the window, but sees nothing. Things are OK--for now.

Emma, who shares her home with 22 foster children, goes back to bed, squeezing in next to her 3 youngest children. There are only three tiny rooms in Emma's house, so the kids share beds and mattresses that are scattered on the floor. Emma's large foster family lives in Blue Downs, an urban township 15 miles outside of Cape Town, South Africa's second-largest city. The contrast with beautiful Cape Town is shocking. Blue Downs is crowded and dangerous, and filled with poverty and crime. Nearly 60 percent of the township's residents are unemployed. Emma often sits in her gravel-strewn front yard talking with neighbors, who, like herself, struggle to make ends meet. But for Emma's kids, this is their neighborhood, their home, and the only life they know.

Evils of Apartheid

Blue Downs is a reminder of what South Africa was like under white rule. Beginning in 1948, the white minority (less than half) government passed a system of laws known as apartheid (uh-PAHR-tate). These laws separated South Africa's people by race, into whites, blacks, "coloreds" (people of mixed race), and Asians. The small minority of white South Africans controlled the country's government, economy, wealth, and land.

Nonwhite South Africans were barred from voting, denied their rights, and forced to live apart from whites in squalid townships like Blue Downs. Anyone who protested was thrown in jail. Nelson Mandela, a black South African who helped lead the protests against apartheid, was imprisoned for 28 years. His plight became known to the world, and Mandela became an international symbol of South African injustice.

The protests grew stronger, and the white government began to dismantle (take apart) apartheid. In 1994, South Africa held its first free and fair national election. Mandela, the hero of the resistance (protest) movement, was elected President. He and his successor, President Thabo Mbeki, both pledged to build better housing for the people. But new housing costs money, which is scarce. Change has come slowly. So far, it has not come to Blue Downs at all.

In the meantime, township residents have had to solve their own problems. With virtually no police presence, residents have set up security patrols and courts. It is not uncommon for someone merely suspected of committing a crime to be beaten--or even killed--by an angry mob.

Luckily, Emma lives in a part of Blue Downs that is relatively safe compared with some neighboring communities where violence is common. Although many of

Emma's children were abandoned or homeless, they all found their way to Emma's house--and safety.

"People know I love children and love looking after them," Emma says. "Social workers bring me kids. Even parents bring me their own children."

Hopes for the Future

On a bright, sunny morning in late January, Emma's children start their day with a hot bowl of porridge. After breakfast, they join friends for a game of soccer--South Africa's national pastime. (School is on summer break, even though it's January, because South Africa lies in the Southern Hemisphere.)

Despite their poverty and the problems surrounding them, the kids have great hopes for their futures.

Dominica, 10, wants to go to college and then become a nurse or a doctor. She wants to help others, she says, the way Emma has helped her.

Caroline, a high-energy 12-year-old, wants to be a martial-arts movie star, despite being nearly deaf and born with a deformed foot.

Tommy, 14, is the oldest in Emma's family. He dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. But when asked what his favorite sport is, he quickly responds, "WWF wrestling!" At 5 o'clock, Tommy and the entire family watch TV to see wrestlers like Sean Michaels and Hulk Hogan body slam each other.

Later in the evening, the kids gather in the family room for dinner--usually rice, potatoes, and carrots. Once or twice a week, if there's extra money, meat is served.

Emma's family mirrors the condition of South Africa itself. Ten years after the end of apartheid, South Africa has come a long way. But poverty, education, jobs, housing, and crime remain serious problems.

Emma admits that caring for so many children makes a hard life even harder. But she says she could never turn away a child. "How could I?" she asks with a smile.

When the writer of this article said goodbye, Tommy asked if he had a wife or at least roommates. Told that he had neither, Tommy asked, "Aren't you lonely all by yourself?." When you're surrounded by the love and good fun of 22 brothers and sisters, it must be hard to imagine living alone. JS

Your Turn

WORD MATCH

1. apartheid    A. less than
                half
2. minority     B. take apart

3. resistance   C. protest

4. dismantle    D. enforced
                separation

THINK ABOUT IT

1. What type of government ruled South Africa until 1992? What type of government does South Africa now have?

2. What is a foster parent? What special qualities does it take to be a foster parent?

SOUTH AFRICA

FACTS TO KNOW

LAND AND PEOPLE: Located at the southern tip of the continent, South Africa has an area of 471,444 sq. mi. and a population of 44 million. On both counts, it is about twice the size of Texas.

LANGUAGE: 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, and Ndebele.

RELIGIONS: Christian, 68%; Muslim, 2%; Hindu, 1.5%; other beliefs, 28.5%.

GOVERNMENT: Long ruled by a white minority government, South Africa is now a fully-integrated democracy. Thabo Mbeki has been President since 1999.

ECONOMY: South Africa is the richest and most industrialized country on the continent. It has large amounts of gold, coal, diamonds, and other minerals.

PER CAPITA GDP *: $10,000

LITERACY: Males, 87%; females, 86%.

LIFE EXPECTANCY: Males, 53 years; females, 54 years

* The value of all products produced by a country in a year divided by the population. (GDP stands for "gross domestic product"; per capita means "per person.")

QUESTIONS

1. South Africa has how many capitol cities? --

2. Which geographical feature forms part of the border between South Africa and Namibia? --

3. Which city is located closest to 30[degrees]S, 30[degrees]E? --

4. Which river separates South Africa and Zimbabwe? --

5. South Africa completely surrounds which country? --

6. South Africa's Kruger National Park is located on the border with which country? --

7. In which city does South Africa's legislature meet? --

8. About how many miles is Kimberley from Cape Town? --

9. Which named line of latitude crosses the northernmost part of South Africa? --

10. Cape Town is located in which province? --

Words to Know

* Apartheid: A system of laws that separated people by race. The end of apartheid led to the first elections open to all races in 1994.

LESSON PLANS

OBJECTIVE

Students should understand

* Ten years after moving from an apartheid regime to a multiracial democracy, many South Africans still face daunting social, political, and economic challenges.

TEACHING STRATEGY

Ask students to locate South Africa on a map or globe. Begin a classroom discussion by asking students to identify other examples--historical or contemporary--where the citizens of a country were legally separated along racial, social, or religious lines. Or was the experience of apartheid South Africa unique?

BACKGROUND

South Africa's third democratic general elections since the end of apartheid will take place on April 14. On April 27, the nation will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of its transition from an apartheid state to a multiracial democracy. But political freedom has not translated into social or economic freedom for most South Africans. The national unemployment rate hovers around 40 percent. And the scourge of HIV/AIDS kills about 600 South Africans every day.

THINKING SKILLS

MAKING CONNECTIONS: Many South Africans are too young to have experienced the worst evils of apartheid. How might their experience be different from young African-Americans who are too young to remember the struggles of the civil rights movement? (This is a big question. It might be helpful to discuss South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and speculate whether such a body would work in the U.S.)

ACTIVITY

DIALOGUE: Instruct students to write a dialogue between themselves and a South African youth of their own age. What questions would they have of each other? Encourage students to act out their fictional dialogue, either alone or with another student.

STANDARDS

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* People, places, and environment: How South Africans struggle to overcome an AIDS epidemic, high unemployment, and limited educational opportunities.

* Power, authority, and governance: The challenge in South Africa of providing services to the nation's poor while maintaining democratic institutions.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Naidoo, Beverly, No Turning Back: A Novel of South Africa (Harper Collins, 1998). Grades 6-8.

* Denenberg, Barry, Nelson Mandela (Scholastic, 1991). Grades 6-8.

WEB SITES

* South Africa www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sf.html

* African National Congress www.anc.org.za/

WORLD MATCH ANSWERS

1. D

2. A

3. C

4. B

SOUTH AFRICA MAP ANSWERS

1. three

2. Orange River

3. Durban

4. Limpopo River

5 Lesotho

6. Mozambique

7. Cape Town

8. 400

9. Tropic of Capricorn

10. Western Cape