ETHEKWINI Municipality awarded certificates to 55 homeless people who had undertaken a skills development course during the lockdown.
The city currently has eight homeless shelters across Durban with about 2500 people living in them since the national lockdown.
Andile Vanzi, 25, was one of the people who had completed the course while living at a temporary shelter at People’s Park.
“It may not mean much but it does feel good to complete something in its entirety and have a formal piece of paper to prove it,” said Vanzi.
The course focused on basic computer skills, including software and hardware functions.
Vanzi, who has a strong Xhosa accent, is from Eastern Cape, Mthatha.
He came to Durban in 2014, shortly after completing his matric to study.
He said a couple of bad decisions left him destitute and living on the streets.
“I did get a job which allowed me to live in a shelter but I lost the job and was forced to go back to the streets,” he said.
ALSO READ: Durban has plans for permanent solution for its homeless, says Deputy Mayor
The City of Durban has faced criticisms in the past for not providing free homeless shelters. According to homeless people, the shelters cost between R30 to R40 a day.
Belinda Scott, Deputy Mayor of Durban, said last month the city was looking for buildings that would be turned into free homeless and wellness shelters with the Bellhaven Memorial Centre being earmarked for this venture.
The Durban council did approve the establishment of sleeping places, which will be located at Albert Park (Block AK and the old Tropicale Restaurant site) for R8 and R11 million respectively.
Living on the streets, Vanzi lost all his personal documents including his Identity Document and matric certificates.
To further illustrate this reality, all the certificates handed to the homeless people had blank spaces because they did not have ID’s with them.
Nomusa Shembe, Senior Manager of the Safer Cities project, said this was a first step of a long journey to be reintegrated into society for homeless people.
“We are committed to seeing them through this journey. Unfortunately with Level 3 and people being allowed to go out now, we have had cases of homeless people not coming back to shelters and falling back into old habits,” she said.
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