Thembisa

Tembisa is a large township situated to the north of Kempton Park on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1957 when Africans were resettled from Alexandra and other areas in Edenvale, Kempton Park, Midrand and Germiston.

Etymology

The name Tembisa comes from the Zulu word "Thembisa" meaning "Give Hope" or roughly translated to "There is Hope". It came about when black settlers of Johannesburg were being evicted. When the township was created it was a beacon of hope for those who were suddenly homeless.

History

The township was founded in 1957. After the Afrikaner-dominated National Party gained power in 1948 and began to implement apartheid, the pace of forced removals and the creation of townships outside legally-designated white areas. The Johannesburg council established new townships for black Africans evicted from the city's freehold areas.

In 1956 townships were laid out for particular ethnic groups as part of the state's strategy to sift black Africans into groupings that would later form the building blocks of the so-called "independent homelands". It is the second largest township in Gauteng following Soweto.