A cry for help: ‘They call me crazy’
Mpho Mudau has no job and hardly has help offered to him because people say he is 'crazy'. CV caught up with him and asked him about the life he leads.
LIMPOPO – To go to bed on an empty stomach is nothing unusual for Mpho Mudau of Gogobole.
Mpho lives in a dilapidated shack with no proper windows and a leaking roof that often gets blown off by strong winds.
He told CV he suffers from mental instability and lives alone. If you peer into his shack, you will see no bed, neither pots nor a stove, only a pile of flimsy, torn blankets. People often see him walking aimlessly around town, talking to himself.
Due to his mental state, he has no job and hardly has help offered to him because people say he is ‘crazy’.
Mpho, however, has his clear-minded moments, when his senseless talking actually makes a lot of sense.
CV caught up with him and asked him about the life he leads.
Mpho told CV that he had just about given up on life as it held nothing precious for him anymore.
“Life is tough here. I sometimes go without food for three days at a time.”
He has not bothered to apply for an RDP house as he does not have an ID.
“There are some villagers who don’t deserve to get RDP houses, but they have been allocated houses, while I practically live out in the open.
“I have learnt to accept life as a bitter struggle because there is nothing else for me to do.
“I thought life would change in the democratic government, but the poor get poorer as the rich get richer,” he said, and hearing the “crazy” man speak like this feels unsettling.
He then gets a far-off look in his eyes and the conversation ends abruptly.
What he clearly needs though is donations of food, clothes, blankets and a decent shelter.
Those who wish to open their hearts and assist can visit him in Gogobole or call 083 503 4907 / 060 645 5813.
