Rethinking Townships

By Brittany Davis

Everything happened so fast and the only memories I have are blurry from the shock of it all. The hard details I pieced together from accounts of others.

The road I was driving on was less than optimal: one lane each direction, just enough room for two cars with no wiggle room and an edge with a 6 inch drop off. A bus taxi swerved into my lane avoiding another car on the side of the road and I swerved out of his way, and off the road completing 2 full rotations before skidding to a halt.

I am embarrassed to say that as soon as I came to, my first thought was, “I’m near a township – are my doors locked?” I had driven by many townships that were decorated with signs such as “high hijacking zone.” The thought of being stuck in a not very good part of town frightened me. Attempting to drive the car proved purposeless. My front tire had popped and there was no fixing it inside of the car. Still shaking, I opened the door and assessed the damage. My driver’s side front tire was completely deflated and the rim on the back tire had seen better days.

Before I could even start worrying that I had no idea how to install a spare tire, 4 men from the township started fixing the tire. Many women noticed that I was still shaking and consoled me with hugs and kind words. In just seconds, I had gone from a stranger in a car accident to family. The kind people that I met today sat with me until I felt comfortable driving, rode in front of me to direct me to the nearest garage to inspect the car and changed my entire perspective of the humanity of townships.

So thank you kind residents of Warwick, I owe you more than you know.