Africa At Work: Images Of South Africans Making A Living
All eyes are on Africa’s young and growing work force. Sub-Saharan Africa’s youth population of 15- to 24-year-olds is around 200 million, a figure that is expected to double by 2045, according to the U.N.
South Africa has attracted more than its share of media attention recently over work and business-related issues.
Here are a few examples of what ordinary South Africans do for a living in the formal and informal sectors. It’s part of our AFKInsider series, Africa at Work.
Fishmonger with catch of the day
An employee sells fish so fresh it’s still looking at you at Food Lover’s Market in Sunningdale, Cape Town.
Adderley Street flower seller, Cape Town
The light catches a woman’s head scarf as she appears to spin a large bunch of flowers into an arrangement at the Adderley Street Flower Market in Cape Town.
South African bead and jewelry makers
Energy workers
Workers at a Sasol petrochemical plant in South Africa. Sasol is an energy and chemical company in Johannesburg
Dancers
Dance Umbrella is a festival with a 27-year history presenting new contemporary choreography and dance in Johannesburg. It showcases choreographers and companies from all over South Africa including community-based youth groups, young up-and-coming choreographers, and new commissioned work.
Source: DanceForum
Farmer
Building the ‘New York Of Africa’
Construction has begun on a Chinese-financed 84-billion rand city in Modderfontein, Eastern Johannesburg. Chinese firm Shanghai Zendai plans to develop the 1,600 hectares of land into the “New York of Africa.”
Source: AllAfrica
Biodiversity stewardship
South African government officials work and representatives from World Wildlife Fund South Africa and BirdLife South Africa work with landowners to assess the biodiversity value on their property as part of a biodiversity stewardship program.
Source: WWFSA
Lining up for work permits
Zimbabwean nationals line up outside the Home Affairs office in Johannesburg to renew their special work permits.
Source: TimesLive
Fighting poachers
Alpha and Arrow go after a pretend poacher during take-down training at the Battle Creek K9 Breeding and Training Center in South Africa. There are an estimated 100 dogs doing anti-poaching work in South Africa.
Source: Toronto Star
Street braiders
Informal hairdressers weave braids into the hair of clients who, minutes before, were passers-by on a street in central Johannesburg.
Source: DailyMaverick
Beautification
This wall mural at the corner of Fox and Rissik streets in Johannesburg is the work of an artist known as Faith47. The title of the work comes from Virgil’s Latin poem “Aeneid.”
“Una salus victis nullam sperare salutem” translates to “The one safety for the vanquished is to abandon hope of safety. Surrendering to the knowledge that there is no hope can bring deep courage.”
Sources: StreetArtNews, B-Street.com.
Competitive cycling
Riders appear tiny as ants along the route during stage 3 of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike stage race. The route included an area from Oak Valley Wine Estate in Elgin to HTS Drostdy in Worcester.
Source: Bicycling.co.za
Photo: Dana sanchez
Librarian, Sea Point, Cape Town
Childrens’ Librarian Roni Snitcher conducts a weekly award-winning children’s program, “Pram Jam,” at the Sea Point Library in Cape Town. Toddlers learn to love reading through songs and interactive games. About 50 to 120 moms and nannies show up each week with their children for Pram Jam.