Videos

Voices: South Africa – Why Poverty?

This Story Tent video was collated by STEPS for the Why Poverty? series. The series is a project of The Why,an NGO that initiates, produces and distributes cross-media projects about key global issues to ensure that all people have free access to independent journalism. Previous projects have included Why Democracy?, Why Poverty?, Why Women? and World Stories.

The Story Tent short films were made especially for the conference “Towards Carnegie3: Strategies to Overcome Poverty and Inequality in South Africa”, held at the University of Cape Town. A tent was set up in Tembisa for a week with permission from local leaders, and residents were invited to come tell their stories, which was then filmed. Over 70 people came and the final selection of stories provides a remarkable insight into what it means to be living under conditions of great poverty in South Africa.

Building SA: One village at a time

Places like Naledi Village can easily be forgotten. It’s nestled on the foothills of the great Maluti mountain range in a picturesque part of the Eastern Free State, concealing deep scars in an otherwise beautiful landscape.