Hard hauling father’s fight for food
'When we don't recycle it means we don't have money to feed our children.'
With his worn-out shoes and make-shift trolley, a father of five heads out onto a dangerous road to gather recyclables for the day.
As the icy late winter winds blow through Randfontein’s nooks and crannies, the father pushes on as the half load he is pulling behind him could mean the difference between empty or full stomachs for his family.
Somewhere else in town, his wife carries the same heavy load to double their chances of having enough money to buy food for the night. The children, supervised by the eldest, patiently await the return of their parents, not knowing if tonight is one of those nights where plentiful conversation is the only dish that their parents will be able to serve for dinner.
This is the burden that Thomas Maseko has been carrying since 2008.
He collects recyclable materials such as plastic and glass bottles, paper and boxes and sells them to companies that reuse the materials. Thomas said he and his wife never skip a day’s work.
“When we don’t recycle, it means we don’t have money to feed our children. I can’t let my children and wife starve because I’m too lazy to go to work.”
He said that a full bag of recyclable materials can stand up to three meters tall and this heavy load could secure food for up to three days for the entire family. However, the big bags are hard to fill.
“On a good day, the bag will be heavy, which means I’ve collected a lot of plastic. About a year ago I had a very heavy load of recyclables and it caused my trolley to collapse.
But I am blessed because I found shopping-trolley wheels the next day and could build a new one.”
With these wheels, the legs of an old ironing board, an old wooden pallet and some wire, Thomas built himself a trusty ‘steed’ that can carry the heavy loads that eventually feed his family.
He now walks with this trolley from the Randfontein Dumpsite, where he lives, to different parts of town to gather these goods. On a Monday and Tuesday, he roams the streets of Greenhills; later in the week he will visit Finsbury and his final destination is Toekomsrus, which he scours on a Friday.
“I take weekends off to spend time with my family, because no matter how much money I bring in, at the end of the day their smiling faces and extreme abilities are what make my life worth while,” Thomas said.
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