Journey to Jo'burg: A South African Story

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When I sent two copies of my first children’s book to nephews and nieces in South Africa in 1985, they never received the parcel. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

So the pair bravely decide to walk to their mother who works as a housekeeper and nanny in the big city, Johannesburg. In the process, Naledi learns about Apartheid from first hand experiences and stories from her friends. The next day, the children meet with Mma and ride the train back to their home village, telling her all about their journey and what they have learned. During the journey, they become aware of the harsh realities of apartheid; facing danger and prejudice.It might be hard, at first, for them to keep the characters straight, since I even struggled with that as an adult.

The majority of people in South Africa were black, but they were treated as second-rate citizens who couldn’t aspire to more than being the servants of those in power. This was a brilliant read and a great introduction to children in KS2 about life in South Africa for black people, the Apartheid and segregation. Similar themes include class divisions by race, segregation and apartheid, police abuse and brutality, the fight for civil rights, protests, etc.The tale centers around siblings Naledi and Tiro's journey into Johannesburg to get their mother when their little sister falls ill.