http://www.timeslive.co.za/news/2012/05/21/pride-is-all-we-have-left

‘Pride is all we have left’

by Graeme Hosken

The 4000 Randfontein landfill residents, most of whom survive by scavenging for food, have resigned themselves to their fate.

“Our currency is plastic and booze. That’s how we live,” says Ursula Johnson.

For Johnson, the only reason to keep going is her three young children.

“They are my life. I survive for them,” she says. “I do what I can to keep them alive, to buy them food and clothes. What I earn from selling plastic bottles from the dump is not much, but it is something.”

To these people, you are wealthy if you earn R200 a week scavenging. But, with the dump’s security guards rationing scavenging times, forcing these men and women to alternate days, the prospect of earning more than R100 a week is slim.

“It is hard. None of us wants this. We all want out. We want out for our children,” says Johnson. “I want the best for my children. I want a better life for them, but I cannot give it. “It is too dangerous to send our children to the closest school. It is too dangerous to walk at night. It is so dark that you do not see someone walking past you. This is when criminals strike.”

With an icy wind blowing the putrid stench of rubbish and smoke from the dump over the settlement, Johnson pulls her children closer to her, closing the door of her tarpaulin-roofed shack.

A pile of plastic containers stacked outside her home is a sign of wealth.

“The more you have, the richer you are. Even though some have little, no one will steal. To steal here is a death sentence. Not for the thief, but for the collectors.”

The community is close and people look out for each other. Unemployed grandmothers act as child minders, those not scavenging sweep the “streets”, removing dangerous medical waste and used condoms, and fetching water for all from a single communal tap. The sick are fed and looked after by neighbours.

“We might be poor, ignored by the government and forgotten by others, but we are still proud. Our pride is all that we have left,” says Johnson.

Asked about government assistance, she laughs: “Like the people who throw out their rubbish and forget about it, the government has forgotten about us. They promise this and that, but nothing comes.”

For Elizabeth Ditsi, a grandmother of three, life is beyond unbearable.

“We have been forgotten. Not even the dump’s guards care any more. For 10 years no one has cared,” she says.

“For all of us, there are only five long drops. Things just get worse. The flies, disease, dirt, smell and cold.

“We are all dying slowly, even the children. They get sicker and sicker. There are no doctors near us. The nearest clinic is a 30-minute walk away, but we cannot go there because it is too dangerous to walk and no one has a car .

“Everything we have we get from the dump. Our food, clothes and houses. I just want freedom, proper freedom. I want someone to come and help my grandchildren. They do not have to help the adults, but they must help the children.”

Human Settlements spokesman Xolani Xundu said children were a priority when trying to address the immense housing challenges.

“Children’s rights and the provision of houses for young people is where some of our biggest priorities lie .

“Our biggest challenge is getting children out of squatter camps to areas of safety. While we have multiple strategies to ensure that informal settlements are upgraded to appropriate human standards, the housing backlog remains huge and is increasing.”

SOBERING STATISTICS:

HEALTH

* 1 in 5 children malnourished
* 1 in 3 experience hunger
* 1 in 8 children infected with HIV globally live in SA
* 51 8000 children under the age of 15 have HIV
* 39% of girls aged 15 to 19 pregnant

SECURITY

* 10000 to 12000 children arrested monthly
* 1200 to 1400 children detained at correctional services facilities monthly
* 520000 in foster care
* 14012 in child and youth care centres
* 54225 children victims of serious crimes such as murder, rape and assault
* 29% of sexual offences victims aged 10 and younger
* 4000 child neglect cases reported to police annually

EDUCATION

* 660 000 children out of primary and high school
* 40% of pupils finish high school
* 32% of reported rapes committed by teachers
* 27% of pupils feel unsafe at school
* 19% belong to gangs, 15% carry weapons, 9% carry weapons at school
* 16% high school pupils threatened/attacked with weapons at school

HOUSING

* 1.7 million children live in informal settlements
* 100 000 child-headed households