The Face of Poverty

from All Africa

Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)

By Onalenna Modikwa
Selebi-Phikwe

The plea for assistance of any sort is plain on the desperate faces of the destitute Motlhabane family of Botshabelo Township.

The situation is so pathetic that the signs of surrender to the biting economic times are evident to every passer-by.

The two makeshift structures that could collapse any time are home to the 24 family members. Two family members died and the other one was buried in July this year. Their parents - father and mother - passed away in 1992 and 1996 respectively.

Upon entering their unfenced yard, one is greeted by a broken plastic chair, which was once white, but has since become dark brown. The hope for a moment of happiness from a stranger who enters the home painfully fades away as the family members learn that the 'Samaritan' has not come to deliver any good news of assistance.

Eventually 27-year-old Dikeledi Motlhabane narrates the painful story of every orphaned and poverty-stricken family. One thing particularly worrying is that she is also pregnant and is due for delivery in January next year. But the conditions in the home are not conducive to welcome the newborn baby.

"Our mother originated from Bobonong while our father was from Sefhophe but we were born and bred in Selebi-Phikwe. We even do not know the relatives of our mother but we know some from our father's side," added her elder sister, Elina.

As such, the possibility of the family fleeing the biting effects of poverty to their home village is non-existent. None of the family members is working and others stay at the cattlepost. They are sometimes rescued by the piece jobs that they are able to lay their hands on.

The room that they mostly rely on for accommodation is worn out without a proper door and is also used as a kitchen. Big logs serve as rafters and on top of them are loosely placed iron sheets with large stones on top to prevent them from flying away during harsh weather conditions. The other one that stands next to the 'kitchen' is just hollow on the other side was broken by the recent storms but it is still used as a bedroom.

An old bed is visible through the wall and the broken door. The roofing is also similar to the first house. The two houses are made from clay bricks, which have been weather-beaten.

There is no toilet so family members relieve themselves in the nearby bushes and not very far from Boitumelo Primary School. There is no potable water, and they fetch it from the remaining standpipe after others were closed down.

"We just go to the bush, all of us, and we have never been approached by council officials to alert us about the various environmental concerns. There is nowhere else we can go."

Motlhabane said as the council is expected to close down all the standpipes next year, their situation will be worse and that they cannot make any contingency plans because such plans come with costs.

The family eats once in a day and they rely on one food basket that is given to the four school-going children. Motlhabane noted that life is very tough because even the basket lasts for only two weeks and then they are left to fend for themselves. She added that they couldn't cook more than once in a day because they economise on the meagre food basket so that it does not run out quickly. She stated that the situation adversely affects the school-going children who are the main beneficiaries of the food basket but nothing can be done.

"Our school-going children were initially given school uniforms by the council but it stopped last year without any explanation so we are struggling to provide. Each one fends for her children. Similar situations happen when the festive season approaches and children need new clothes. Those who could not be bought new clothes because of lack of money will have their turn next time."

She, however, said they are not just folding their arms as they go out every morning to search for jobs to try and make ends meet. When the rain comes, the family requests their neighbours to accommodate their children in fear that the collapsing walls could injure or even kill them.

"The council is very much aware of our plight. Any form of help from the public, private companies, commercial banks and even the government sector will be highly appreciated. They should look into our desperate faces and have compassion or pity for us."