Saturday afternoon braii in Promosa, 1971
Time Travel Scenario, March 1971
”13-year old Winstonia Hendricks moved to Promosa only some months ago and still most of her friends are in Ikageng. She hopes they will show up for a braai in her garden. Maybe also some of her new neighbours will come and they will have a nice time together. Promosa is like a settlers’ village. Two years ago the first trucks arrived with people from the old location, Wilhelm Klopperville. The authorities want people to be separated, one place for whites, one for blacks and one for coloureds. This is hard to understand for most. There are many frustrated and disappointed people coming to the new houses in Promosa. Why do we have to settle here?”
Facts, Apartheid
Apartheid was a way of dividing people in South Africa. Group Areas Act was first taken by the South African parliament in 1950 and implemented over several years. The acts assigned racial groups to different residential areas, the most developed areas were restricted for whites only and other racial groups were moved to different locations. In Potchefstroom one location was set up for the “blacks”, Ikageng, one for the “coloureds”, Promosa, and one for the “Asians”, Mohadin.
Goal
- Promote fellowship and unity between different areas of Potchefstroom, in this case especially between the townships of Ikageng and Promosa
- Increase the knowledge of the forced removal and how it affected people in Potchefstroom
Comments from learners taking part in the Time Travel:
- Awareness campaigns are needed to inform the youth about their past and how the past could be bridged with the present to shape the future.
- The youth and community members in general should be encouraged to make use of organisations as the Tlokwe Heritage Foundation and Bridging Ages to better equip themselves and the generations still to come.
- Today we enjoy freedom to do anything we want.
Floyd Dipale,
Potchefstroom and North West Time Travel Committee
