Page 48 - SCAT Rural Voice II - 35 Stories for 35 Years

Access to Justice
HeRscHeL
ADVICE OFFICE
sterkspruit is a small town about 45km south-east of Zastron, 80km north-east of Aliwal North, and 24km from the Lesotho border in the Joe Gqabi municipality of eastern cape.1 It has a total population of 1,893 according to the 2011 census of which 73.5% speak isiXhosa, 14% sesotho and 4.3% english.2 The town’s name is Afrikaans and means ‘strong stream’. surrounded by the Drakensburg mountains, sterkspruit is a small scenic rural town consisting of many villages. In 2014 the town’s clinic and post office were burnt down during protests for housing.3 Herschel is a settlement in the Joe Gqabi District Municipality about 26,2 km from Sterkspruit. Founded in 1879, it was named after the astronomer Sir John Herschel who worked in the Cape Colony from 1834 to 1838.4
The Herschel Advice Office, contrary to its name, is located in Sterkspruit. This LDA deals with paralegal cases from sterkspruit and all surrounding villages including Herschel. The organisation also supports a bee project run by community members.
Mpopi Mthiya meeting with clients at the Advice Office.
Herschel Advice Office.
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1. 2. 3. 4.
sterkspruit Travel Information. (2019). Retrieved september 26, 2019, from https://www.eastern-cape-info.co.za/provinces/ town/616/sterkspruit
census 2011: Main Place: sterkspruit. (2019). Retrieved september 26, 2019, from https://census2011.adrianfrith.com/ place/287032
EWN. (2014). #Elections2014: Violence flares in Sterkspruit. Retrieved September 26, 2019, from https://ewn.co.za/2014/05/06/ eastern-cape-Preelection-violence-deepens
Raper, P. (1987). Dictionary of southern African Place Names (Vol. 46). https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2015.1113434
FAst FACTS
NaMe: Herschel Advice Office
LeD By: Mpopi Mthiya
MaiN cHaLLeNGes faceD By tHe coMMuNity: mine workers’ rights, unemployment, land claims, domestic violence
MaiN actiVities: Paralegal support; labour disputes; economic empowerment aDDress: Dikwenyama street, sterkspruit
coNtact: Phone: 051 611 0104 cell: 072 342 2756