[WATCH] Madala Hostel: The struggle against sewage

Residents of Madala Hostel in Alexandra are living in unsanitary conditions: open sewage, overcrowding, and a lack of basic amenities. Constructed in 1971 during the apartheid era, it was originally designed to accommodate 5,000 male migrant workers from rural provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and the Free State, who came to Johannesburg seeking employment.

• Alexandra
• City of Johannesburg
• Department of Human Settlements

The Madala hostel in Alexandra, Johannesburg. Picture: Sphamandla Dlamini/EWN