The Ramafalo’s turn can’ts into cans
With no form of income or employment the Ramafalo family have had to start foraging through rubbish bins in order to survive.
POLOKWANE – While the rest of us pinch pennies and only buy the essentials when the going gets tough; the Ramafalo family make do with even less as they source food from other people’s rubbish.
The family faces the struggle of finding food to eat on a daily basis. With no form of income or employment for either Mpho or his wife Margaret, they have had to start foraging through rubbish bins in search of sustenance.
The Ramafalo’s is just one of many families in the city that dig through black bags on the sidewalk in search of food.
“Our day starts at around 05:00; we make our rounds in residential complexes. We have to be there early for the best pick as there are many of us who search these bags,” Mpho explains.
He says his five-year-old son, Neo already knows how to sort the different types of tins found in people’s rubbish and to put them in the right bags. The family collects tin cans to sell.
“It is important to put the right type of tin in the right bag as they are sold at different prices and we need to collect many cans to make a little money,” Mpho says.
