Shack dwellers experience a bleak winter

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June 27 2006 at 10:06AM

Sarah Ndlovu was already freezing in the weekend’s bitterly cold weather when strong winds ripped the roof off her shack and brought the mud walls crashing around her on Sunday.

Now HIV-positive Ndlovu and her 21-year-old daughter spend their nights with neighbours at the Siyanda informal settlement near KwaMashu while she struggles to rebuild her shack, only a small portion of which remains covered by a piece of the broken roof. Ndlovu is one of thousands of shack dwellers in KwaZulu-Natal who are experiencing a bleak winter in their makeshift homes.

Her sole source of income is the baskets she weaves for craft and curio shops. The only help she receives is from two women who market the baskets.

“I wish someone would help me fix my home,” she said.

S’bu Zikode, chairperson of Abahlali Base Mjondolo (Shack Dwellers’ Movement), said many residents of informal settlements would suffer terribly this winter.

He criticised the government for not doing enough to provide homes for such people, and for not providing them with warm clothing.

To help keep someone warm this winter, blankets can be donated to the East Coat Radio Winter Warmth Campaign.

Blankets can be dropped off at Durban Deliveries’ offices in Umbilo, the iTalk Mega Store in Ordnance Road, Durban, and at the Gift of the Givers in Prince Alfred Street in Pietermaritzburg.

o This article was originally published on page 2 of The Mercury on June 27, 2006