Fighting for survival

At least 10 people have set up home in the veld, on the rear banks of the Brakpan Dam, where they live on limited means one day at a time.

The Herald was alerted to this small destitute community by Veronica Dyson, DA ward councillor for the area.

Dyson, who had received reports of people living in the veld from Brakpan North residents, visited the site for the first time on Tuesday morning.

The Herald, a health inspector from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and members from the EMPD’s Equestrian Unit accompanied her.

The little camp, which is a stone’s throw from Talbot Street, Brakpan North, comprises of two separate areas.

One area, situated in a clearing under some trees, is occupied by a family of eight, who live and sleep in four tents and a car.

Two small, friendly dogs were seen playing around the tents and an old dirty bath tub.

“We have nowhere else to go,” said one of the men.

This man, who is in his early 30s, has been living here with his family for the last four months.

According to him, his mother and step-father are both employed, but there is just not enough money to support them all.

“All our money is for food. There’s just not enough for rent or anything else,” he said.

His uncle, who is mentally disabled, has been forced to sleep in a car since his own tent was damaged in a storm.

The man also has a 13-year-old sister, but he insists she does not live with them.

“She goes to school, and will sometimes come here in the afternoons, but she sleeps at my aunt’s house in town,” he said.

“My mother would never let her stay here overnight.”

The young girls clothes were spotted drying on a makeshift washing line erected between two trees.

The other area, closer to the dam’s edge, is shared by two friends, who each have their own tent.

One is a qualified electrician (50) and the other a boiler maker.

They have been living in the area since December.

“My reputation is too high for me to beg on the streets,” said the boiler maker.

“I will never stand in the road and shake a tin.”

Despite their unfortunate circumstances, the residents were issued with a seven-day notice to vacate the area.

“It’s illegal and they just can’t live here,” said Dyson, who was visibly distressed throughout the visit.

She described the situation as a “very sad reality faced by many.”

“These people are absolutely destitute and we need to help them,” she said.

“I am going to try and get hold of welfare and see if we can help them.”

Jan Smuts Park is also home to small number of people living in tents.

A 44-year-old woman, who lives with her husband (52), told Dyson that the little income she gets is from selling fish she catches in the Brakpan Dam.

The couple originally hail from Estcourt, in KwaZulu Natal.

Her husband worked as a mechanic and their two children, aged nine and 10, are in foster care.

When asked if she was scared to sleep at the dam at night, the woman replied, “I am scared all the time, but I pray every night. God has kept us safe this long.”

For more photos, view the gallery here: Home is a tent