“There’s No Better Teacher Than Experience”: Rich Family Goes To Live in Township With R3k Budget
- A wealthy white family from Pretoria left their luxury Wapadrand home to spend a month living in a Mamelodi shack with only R3,000 to experience township life
- Julian and Ena Hewitt moved with their two children to live next door to their domestic worker, using public transport and solar cooking while managing on a tight budget
- Netizens praised the family's eye-opening experiment, with many saying this experience helps bridge divides and creates a better understanding of different living conditions
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Source: UGC
A wealthy white family from Pretoria made the bold choice to swap their comfortable lifestyle for a month of township living on a tight budget. Julian and Ena Hewitt, along with their two children, moved from their luxury Wapadrand plot to experience everyday life in a Mamelodi shack.
Content creator @distrust1em2all, who regularly posts content related to current affairs, shared a throwback video of the couple who chose to try living in a township with just a R3,000 budget in early April. The video shows the family doing everyday tasks like laundry and cooking in their temporary home.
View the TikTok video below:
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Family's motivation behind the move
In an interview featured in the video, the Hewitts explained their reasons for the unusual living experiment:
"We live in different worlds in South Africa. We live in little pockets where we're unaware of what goes on around us. We want our children to grow up in this country, and we don't want them to be unaware of the way other people live."
With only a R3,000 budget for the entire month, the Hewitts quickly faced the daily challenges that millions of South Africans deal with. They turned to solar heating as a cheaper cooking method.
Transportation also proved difficult and expensive.
"I'm getting around by taxis, and we were lucky we got a taxi quite quickly today, and it's very pricey. There's not a lot you can do on such a tiny budget," one of the Hewitts explained in the video.
Leah Gambule, who had been working as the family's domestic worker for four years at the time of the experiment, was pleased that her employers chose to experience life from her perspective.
Source: TikTok
Mzansi reacts to the family's experiment
South Africans had mixed but mostly positive reactions to the family's township living experiment:
@IAMbiggy joked:
"Is it possible for me to go live in a mansion in Cape Town to better understand how the elite live? 👀"
@Motheo Moiloa was touched:
"These are real South Africans.🥺"
@khumbulanimuthwa highlighted the value of their experiment:
"Forget what everyone says, there is no better teacher than experience."
@Momo shared her own reality:
"I have been working for the Department of Health, it's been 8 years, and I earn R2100."
@Beverly Larsen praised the initiative:
"It is good to see how others live and the challenges people face to treat others with humility ❤🕊❤🕊❤"
@Kinny_k suggested:
"Please call the president and his cabinet to come and live with R2100 they give to the elderly."
@ẙo̊ůn̊g̊k̊i̊n̊g̊🇿🇦 expressed hope for wider change:
"If all rich white South Africans can copy or learn from these two, maybe they can understand our pain and maybe give back what they're forefathers stole so we can all grow as people."
Other inspiring township stories
- Briefly News reported on a man who inspired South Africans by sharing his journey from living in a shack to building his own home through dedication and saving.
- A young lady left many people impressed after she flaunted her stunning R6,000 shack makeover on TikTok.
- A kind-hearted woman moved South Africans when she helped a young boy who was left by his mother to fend for himself in a Rustenburg shack.
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Source: Briefly News
