PODCAST | 60-year-old Alvina looks back on 30 years of democracy, says ‘life was safer during apartheid’

11 March 2024 - 10:08
By Thabo Tshabalala
Alvina Mahlangu talked about her experience growing up in South Africa during apartheid, her first election, and why she believes crimes and violence against women and children were 'lower' in the country during apartheid. File photo.
Image: 123rf Alvina Mahlangu talked about her experience growing up in South Africa during apartheid, her first election, and why she believes crimes and violence against women and children were 'lower' in the country during apartheid. File photo.

Alvina Mahlangu was born and raised in South Africa in the 1960s when apartheid was in effect. She is employed as a housekeeper for a media company.

Gogo Alvina, as she is affectionately known, spent most of her early years in Amersfoort, a tiny town in Mpumalanga, where she was born. She was unable to pay for school fees, which caused her to drop out of school in grade 6.

Mahlangu began her career as a nanny and quickly developed a love for it.

She talked about her experience growing up in South Africa during apartheid, her first election, and why she believes crimes and violence against women and children were “lower” in the country during apartheid.

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