Journey to Jo'burg: A South African Story

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But it's worth all the extra work because the story has so much depth and complexity and kids will enjoy learning and talking about this. I think it is a great read for a KS2 class and there are many activities in which it can be used throughout literacy lessons such as looking at characters in depth, retelling a story from a character's point of view, play scripts and report writing. We were able to complete a number of activities relating to the book such as, writing a diary entry as if they were Naledi, thinking of different items they could take on their journey and doing a conscience alley and role play by giving advice on whether Naledi and Tiro should go. Frightened that their baby sister Dineo will die, thirteen-year-old Naledi and her younger brother Tiro run away from their grandmother to Johannesburg to find their mother, who works there as a maid.

Not understanding how far away the city is, the two set off down the road with hardly any food or water. Trading Address (Warehouse) Unit E, Vulcan Business Complex, Vulcan Road, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE5 3EB. It isn't until they reach the city that they come to understand the dangers of their country, and the painful struggle for freedom and dignity that is taking place all around them. The opulent house of the white “Madam’s” for whom their mother works is a stark contrast with their own appalling reality and the realisation that their baby sister is dying from starvation not an incurable disease.They are portrayed as not exactly horrible people but somewhere near there - "I can't possibly let you go today. so simple and straightforward that it makes accessible even to quite young children the difficult and the profound. It is written from the viewpoint of two young children in South Africa who struggle to understand the injustice they and their families face. The physical journey is symbolic of their awakening to the wider realities of apartheid; they face danger and experience prejudice, but also meet kind strangers who help to keep them safe and tell them stories about the uprising of students in Soweto.

Naledi had never thought about it before tonight, but never, never, had she written about wanting to be…say, a doctor.

In a no name village, two children aged 13 and 9 decide to go to Jo'burg to bring their mother home - the only person able to maybe save their little sister, severely sick for several days. On their journey they experience the oppressive and harsh realities of the apartheid including the segregation by colour, the Pass laws that require all black people to carry a passbook at all times and the extreme poverty alongside so much wealth. Summary: A short, but engrossing journey of two siblings Naledi and Tiro, who journey from Johannesburg to Jo'Burg because their baby sister has become very ill. So they set off from their village and travel to Jo'burg, determined to bring their mother back to care for their baby sister.