Hell on earth for street children
Three street children said they are living under difficult conditions but there is nowhere they can turn to.
The three street children live on the streets of Kempton Park and Tembisa.
Even though two of the children refused to reveal their identity, their colleague said he has nothing to fear as surviving by begging and sleeping in the cold is like living in hell.
“I don’t care anymore because I have nothing to lose. I have suffered enough to want to hide my name, “said 13-year-old Thabang Mura.
Mura said he came to South Africa when he was still young and does not remember where in Zimbabwe he is from.
“I came to South Africa with my parents and settled in Tembisa. After realising that things were hard at home and that there was no future for me, I decided to fend for myself. I came to Kempton Park with the hope of getting a job, but after failing to get one, I decided to become a street child,” he said.
His friends say they are from the west of Johannesburg.
“Things were hard at home and I decided to move from one place to another. I later came to Kempton Park because I was told that things are better in Kempton Park because it is next to the airport. I was surprised to find that it is worse here,” he said.
When asked how they survive, they said they move from one restaurant to another, begging for food from residents.
“We usually sleep on empty stomachs because no one wants to share. Sometimes we survive on only water. But it is better during month end because that is when we get a lot of leftovers in many of the restaurants,” he said. When asked if they would like to go home and live with their parents again, all three children said it would be a once in a life-time chance.
“That will be great, but to be honest, I will never go home without money. In fact, I am praying for a good Samaritan to give us a job. This is not life,” one of them said.
But Mura said he would like to go back to school and become successful in life.
