Kind people living in government-forsaken community
The community of Jan Hofmeyer feels totally alone as many have not had running water for six months despite many promises by officials.
The small community of Jan Hofmeyer, near Brixton, is buckling under the stress caused by a months-long water outage.
Several residents who spoke to Northcliff Melville Times confirmed that they have not had any water piped into their homes for months. The toll this is taking on the community is extraordinary as they do their best to collect water from roaming tankers in order to survive.
Yola Minnaar is a community volunteer who works tirelessly to help those who are battling in her ward. She says the hardship is too much to bear, especially for the elderly and infirm. “There are so many in our area who are struggling with something, be it finances, old age, health, or all of them.”
She and others do what they can but it is never enough and it is pushing this community to breaking point.
Maria Molepo (78) has a sore back and knees necessitating the use of a walking stick to move around. “It is terrible having to collect water, just terrible as I can’t carry big buckets. I have nobody to help me at home but those around me help as much as they can, but it’s hard.”
She describes having to ration water depending on what she needs to do with it each day. “I have to choose between washing clothes and bathing a lot of the time as doing both uses too much water. I also have to make sure I can flush my toilet to stay clean.”
She could not remember the last time water was piped into her home. “It does not help to be angry. People in charge don’t care about us except when it’s an election. We are poor so we don’t matter.”
In her rural home in Mpumalanga she says the water stopped running over 23 years ago so she is completely defeated and feels abandoned by the government.
“My neighbour only has one leg so we try to help her as she can’t even carry 5L. This water problem is causing so much stress when life is stressful already. Maybe the president can come and look me in the eyes, but I know he won’t. Nobody will.”
Adri Koekemoer (45) lives in her mother’s house with her partner, three children, and two grandchildren. There are only two who are working so the household budget is tight. “We don’t have the luxury of going to the shops to buy water, we depend on running to the tanker when it is here and filing up whatever containers we have.”
Her house has been without water for six months she said. “Sometimes the tanker comes twice a day, sometimes not. It also runs out of water and there is nothing you can do. It is really awful and I feel humiliated having to queue for something like water.”
She leaves the house before 5am to go to work in a laundry and only finds out what the water situation is when she returns home. “We do our best to use grey water from doing dishes or washing clothes to flush the toilets but it is not always enough. But what can we do?”
Johannesburg Water was contacted in relation to this story on March 20 and again on March 27. No comment was received to the many questions posed by the Northcliff Melville Times. The inquiries were to get some clarity on the unbearable conditions these and other residents of the area are enduring.
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