Shelter dwellers tell of hardships ahead of homeless summit
Neria Molebatsi‚ 62‚ who has been living at the No 2 Struben Street Homeless Shelter‚ a City of Tshwane-adopted entity‚ says life in a shelter has been an emotional experience for her.
“I have been living here since my son passed away. He was the only person taking care of me back home at Hammanskraal‚ but now I am on my own‚ and being here with other people is the only thing that keeps me sane‚” Molebatsi said.
Molebatsi is one of 19 elderly woman who are housed in the woman’s quarter at the shelter‚ which also accommodates men‚ children and unemployed youth.
Even though the shelter provides a roof‚ shower‚ beds and kitchen facilities for over a hundred people‚ the dwellers have to provide their own food‚ healthcare‚ toiletries and clothes.
"I buy my own food‚ even though I struggle to make ends meet. I come and cook here for myself with these stoves."
Molebatsi says her main concern is the lack of security at their facility. “The rooms we sleep in don’t have locking doors so the boys walk in and out of our rooms as they please. I am just staying here because I have no where else to go."
For 20-year-old Lethabo Nkambule‚ her only concern is her six-month-old girl.
“I had to come here because I cannot raise my kid in the streets. I want to go back to school and complete my studies so I can move out of this place. I don’t like it at all here‚" she said.
The shelter‚ which is situated on the busy intersection of Es’kia Mphahlele and Struben Street‚ is painted with decorative Zulu artwork on the outside‚ but‚ the interior is bleak and dirty.
The women’s bathroom showers do not have doors‚ or proper taps‚ leaks flood the floor and there is no electricity. The kitchen has one working light which makes it hard for dwellers to cook.
Members of political parties‚ including the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and Freedom Front Plus‚ who went on a tour if the shelter on Tuesday‚ ahead of a homeless summit in Pretoria central‚ vowed to help the situation.
"I am going to take everything which I have seen here‚ which has disturbed me from a woman’s point of view‚ and report it to Premier David Makhura. The situation here is heartbreaking‚ to say the least‚ but we will escalate the matter and talk to our colleagues to help these people as much as we can‚" said EFF Gauteng MPL Mandisa Mashego.