Mfuleni is a relatively new

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

about 32 kilometres from central

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

. It is a predominantly Black township, although there are also some

Coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. Sout ...

members of the community. Mfuleni is a suburb of

Blue Downs Blue Downs is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It forms part of the Oostenberg subregion of the City of Cape Town situated on the eastern outskirts of the city and is also located on the Cape Flats, a flat expanse of land east of Cape Tow ...

area and is close to the sprawling township of

Khayelitsha Khayelitsha () is a township in Western Cape, South Africa, on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The name is Xhosa for ''New Home''. It is reputed to be the largest

and also next to the new suburb of Malibu Village. Around 52,300 people live in this township. Most were moved there from the late 1990s following flooding and fires in different townships across the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

, such as

Philippi Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian col ...

, Nyanga and Khayelitsha. Hence, the mixed nature of the community here. Unemployment,

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

and crime are some of the most pressing problems in this poor township. Recently, the Department of Local government and Housing with its partners established a new housing project which built an additional 165 houses.http://www.westerncape.gov.za/Text/2008/9/mfuleni_project_compressed.pdf Only 43% of Mfuleni residents are employed.

References

{{Cape Town suburbs Townships in the Western Cape Populated places in the City of Cape Town