New Brighton ‘Kazi Hop’
By Julia Holmes
“But how come you seem so pleasant and clean but yet you come from the township?” Sick and tired of being asked the same infuriating questions, New Brighton resident, Joy Sibongile Mabengeza, founded the Kazi Hop, a student township bus party that aims to eliminate the negative connotations associated with township life. Offering students the opportunity to “mingle with the real people of the township” , Kazi Hop fans touring from as far as Sweden and Germany and have termed the bus party as one of Port Elizabeth’s “must do”events. Here’s why…
What exactly does a Kazi Hop entail?
The itinerary of a typical Kazi Hop entails a trip to Joy’s house and three local bars in and around New Brighton: Jeyaz Jayzz, Pattidos, Chief Nqoko and Oom Colas aka Qalane, a bar situated in Zwide. Patrons, who are usually local and international Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) students, gather at the McDonalds in Humewood, where they are transported to New Brighton via FNQ – a local bus company.
Catering to your taste buds in a proudly South African fashion, Joy makes use of local ingredients to prepare a braai of lamb, pork, wors and side dishes of Gwinya (vetkoek) , bean salad and cabbage salad. To “cheers” to the occasion, guests are offered Joy’s punch, which is pieced together by her secret recipe, and Mqombothi- home brewed African beer. Once the tummies are full, the bar hopping begins! A regular and devote Kazi Hopper, Alex Homes says: “For me the highlight of the Kasi Hop definitely has to be the traditional beer that is prepared for us and the local food that never disappoints”
Targeting “anyone and everyone wanting to have an amazing experience in the township” 80-130 people from a handful of cultures, backgrounds and nationalities gather. Joy explains how the patrons realise that township residents are “no different from them and also want the same things: love, family, food, a good job, and safe and secure environment for them and their families to live in”
Alex says: “The people who attend it make it unique for me as the crowd exemplifies diversity to the T”. NMMU Botswana born student, Kago Kedikilwe, acknowledges the hop as a means to “meet so many new people from different corners of the world and even make new friends” He says: “people never really explore the townships and it’s a different experience from the suburban lifestyle. The people are welcoming and always seem to know and respect each other.”
The importance of the Kazi Hop to the local PE community…
Joy recognizes the tour as not only an experience of local food and drink, but as an exercise in “building a level of understanding between people of different races and cultures”. She says that it helps them “highlight the many similarities between them and to just be normal around each other without these so called prejudges and misunderstandings”. Additionally, the Kazi Hop encourages “Community togetherness, the spirit of Ubuntu and mutual respect for one another”.
Kazi Hops are scheduled once or twice a semester, with the recent one taking place last weekend! After another successful tour, several requests have been made and one is most likely to occur after the Easter break, when students are back in action. Alex says: “Would I recommend the Kazi Hop to friends? Of course! Many of my friends have initially been sceptical of going into the townships but after the pub to pub crawls, many can’t wait for the next edition of the tour” And neither can we…
For more information contact Joy on 073 744 8670 / sbojo@hotmail.com
Julia Holmes: holmes.julianatalie@yahoo.com