Sifiso Mgidi lives differently from other boys his age. For the past six years, the 15-year-old, who dropped out of school, has made his way every day to a rubbish dump, where he makes a living salvaging recyclable objects to sell, sometimes without any luck."I had to drop out of school because I didn't have school shoes and we had little to eat at home. Both my mother and sister are unemployed," he said.Sifiso, who spends the entire day at the dump, makes between R50 and R120 on good days.On the bad days, his uncle, who works at a nearby farm, provides the family with food."I only go home once the people who weigh our things have arrived and paid us.story_article_left1"My uncle also gets mealiemeal from work every month, but it is just not enough, despite my mother's grant of R300," he said.Sifiso, who lives in Chris Hani squatter camp, near Emzinoni township in Bethal, Mpumalanga, is among a group of about 250 people who survive by scouring rubbish dumps for items to sell.Locals call the area Emadotini - place of garbage and dirt.A successful day for Sifiso and others working at Emadotini is when they are able to recover cables from a burnt transformer that has been dumped there."That is when we make good money," said David Mbongwa, 46, who brings his niece Nhlanhla along to help him.Mbongwa said he once worked for a company that was contracted by mines in the small town of Kinross near Secunda."What can we do? There are no jobs. The company I worked for told us the mine terminated the contract and disappeared without paying us. So I have to be here. At least I get R50 every day and we eat," Mbongwa said.The dump looks like a war zone and the people look despondent and exhausted .They collect anything from cow heads and empty bottles to corrugated iron and old furniture. Because of the carcasses, vicious dogs frequent the area, fighting each other - and biting any person who comes too close.But people, particularly the men, also fight, especially when the rubble trucks arrive. Then the pickers exchange belligerent words over who should have access to the rubble.Most of those who work at Emadotini live in shacks in Emawagini (from the Afrikaans word wag) because they are still waiting for RDP houses.Pauline Methula, 57, who recently recovered from tuberculosis, said she didn't have the strength to go to Emadotini. "I cannot stop coming here [Emadotini]. It is a place that puts food on the table."Both my daughters are married and stay far away. I live by myself."I tried to apply for the grant, but I was told that I don't qualify," she said.Sifiso said his mother had promised him that he would go back to school next year, but his co-worker Ben Mahlangu, 18, would have none of it."I don't want to go to school. All I want is a job. "School will not put food on my table," Mahlangu said, to the amusement of his colleagues, who burst out laughing in approval.Former spaza shop owner Sam Ntibande now runs a car wash. He used to clean more than 10 cars a day - and more on weekends - but now only one car comes in each day, bringing him a meagre R50. He says he only manages a meal with what he makes...