Zanele Sekgobela

Participant

Zanele Sekgobela is a passionate storyteller, freelance DJ and voice-over artist, with communications professional experience and a strong legal foundation, through a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of South Africa. Her work experience in communications, administration, legal support, and environmental advocacy has shaped her deep understanding of community issues, compelling narratives and the power of media in advocacy. She is also dedicated to inspiring and uplifting others through her content creation, including her daily ‘Word of the Day’ motivational series on social media platforms. Zanele has worked across diverse sectors, gaining practical experience in legal support, internal and external communications, environmental advocacy, administration and storytelling. Her passion for advocacy is deeply rooted in her own lived experiences and a strong belief in the power of media to influence, heal, and drive change.

Cell No: +27 71 167 9549

Email address: zs.sekgobela@gmail.com

Thirsting for Justice in Hammanskraal

In the township of Hammanskraal, located just far north of Pretoria, water is not a given, it’s a daily battle. Residents begin each morning not by turning on a tap, but by checking whether the delivery trucks have arrived. Buckets and containers line up long before sunrise, as families prepare to queue for hours in hopes of securing just enough water to cook, clean, or simply survive the day.

This crisis has been simmering beneath the surface for almost two decades. It’s not a result of drought, nor an act of nature, it’s a man-made disaster. The water exists. What has failed is the system meant to deliver it. In July 2025, things took a turn for the worse. Many homes in Hammanskraal no longer receive any running water at all. The taps are dry, indefinitely.

At the heart of the issue is the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant, a key facility that was meant to provide clean, safe water. Instead, years of neglect and mismanagement have turned it into a source of contamination. Untreated or poorly treated sewage has been flowing back into the water supply, making the very lifeline of the township toxic. Promised upgrades to the treatment plant, phased for completion in March, May, and July 2025, remain incomplete. According to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s own admissions, those deadlines have come and gone, leaving the community in uncertainty and growing despair.

Thirsting for Justice in Hammanskraal goes beyond headlines and official statements. It is a ground-level, human-centered look at what it means to live without water in the 21st century. Through a blend of photography, video snippets, and voice recordings, this piece gives voice to the people whose daily lives are defined by scarcity, uncertainty, and resilience.

What makes Thirsting for Justice in Hammanskraal urgent is not just the lack of water, it is the erosion of dignity, of hope, of trust. Clean water is not a luxury. It is a basic human right. When that right is denied, consistently, and across generations, it becomes a matter of justice.

Thirsting for Justice in Hammanskraal is not just about Hammanskraal. It is about what happens when public infrastructure is allowed to rot, when government promises go unfulfilled, and when communities are left to fend for themselves. It is a call to action.

Art for Social Change

In South Africa’s townships, creativity often becomes a tool for survival and self-expression—especially in communities facing overlapping struggles like poverty, unemployment, and disability. Art for Social Change highlights how centres like the Empowerment Centre For The Blind in Kanana, Hammanskraal serve as vital hubs of dignity, learning, and resilience.

The members of Empowerment Centre For The Blind, many of whom are visually impaired, are engaged in a remarkable act of transformation: repurposing industrial waste into something both beautiful and functional. They collect discarded sponge offcuts from nearby factories and, using only their hands or basic scissors, shred the material down for use in the creation of pillows. This work is not just about recycling, it is about restoring dignity, providing purpose, and creating income in a space where few formal opportunities exist.

While Empowerment Centre For The Blind is not an art centre in the conventional sense, its work embodies the spirit of creativity. The act of turning waste into something that can be held, used, and sold, is itself a creative and deeply human process. With proper training, adapted equipment like sewing machines suited for the visually impaired, and sustainable funding, this initiative has the potential to grow beyond basic production into a fuller model of community-based creative development.

What drove the need to feature the centre in Art for Social Change is the intersection of marginalization and potential. Being visually impaired already presents significant social and economic barriers. Add to that the limited funding, creative development programs, and visibility often experienced in township communities like Hammanskraal. But even in the face of these challenges, Empowerment Centre For The Blind stands as a living example of innovation, resilience, and the untapped power of human hands.

Art for Social Change does not portray Empowerment Centre For The Blind as a charity, but as a local blueprint for what inclusive creative spaces can look like. If we want to build an equitable creative industry in South Africa, we cannot ignore the innovation already happening in under-resourced spaces. Empowerment Centre For The Blind is a reminder that impact begins when we choose to see, support, and sustain the work being done at grassroots level.

The Tap Is a Lie

The pipes groan, but nothing flows.

Children play with dust where rivers should grow.

A mother counts coins for water, not bread.

The tap is a lie; the bucket, her truth.

Promises spilled, but never poured.

We bathe in silence, drink in fear—

And still, they ask why we raise our voices.

Voices for Change

In hands unseen, a vision grows,

Where sponge and thread stitch silent oaths.

They cut, they shape, they make with grace—

Transforming waste, reclaiming space.

In Hammanskraal, where hope runs lean,

Art rises bold, where none has been.

A quiet spark that shifts the scene.