According to The Straits Times, Khayelitsha underwent a population explosion due to Apartheid, which relegated the African population to the suburbs as it was seen as a dumping ground. Apartheid may have ended 20 years ago, but here in Cape Town, the sense of apartness remains as strong as ever. Khayelitsha is the largest and fastest growing slum situated on the periphery of the city of Cape Town (30-35km from the vibrant Central Business District) and next to the N2 highway leading into Cape Town. It is now home to around 1 million residents, with over 70% of whom are unemployed and living in shacks built out of timber and sheet metal.

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As reported by The Guardian, over a quarter of households have no access to electricity, while each outdoor tap is shared between around twenty families, each toilet between ten. Due to the lack of clean water and sanitation, many people from this township have to walk long distances in the dark night to do their business. A research found that between 2003 and 2012, an average of 635 sexual assaults on women and children traveling to and from the estimated 5,600 toilets in Khayelitsha were reported each year (Source: The Reuters). This is also one of the reasons for high HIV prevalence in young woman in Khayelitsha.

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You can help improve the situation. By donating to this good cause, our light bottle not only can help enhance the safety of woman and children at night, but also decrease the number of people trying every possible option to obtain light, even the deadly dangerous and illegal extension of electrical circuits.