Livhuwani Hamisi pleads for an RDP house
Hamisi is one of 13 people living in a small shack and says her whole family depends on her for support.
LIMPOPO – A family of 13 members at Madodonga in the Kutama area, continues to live in an unstable shack, even after many attempts to have government build them an RDP house.
Livhuwani Hamisi (38) stays in a shack with her uncle and 11 minors.
The corrugated sheet shack is so tiny that it is almost impossible for all the members of the family to squeeze in.
“It’s hard and painful sharing a shack with 12 other people because the room is too small,” she said.
Their shack is old and in bad condition.
The roof leaks, the windows are broken and the front door no longer closes properly.
When it rains heavily they go to the neighbour’s house.
No one in the family is employed.
“We all depend on the R1 140 from the child support grants I receive for my three youngest children‚” she says.
Hamisi gets piece jobs in a nearby village doing washing for people.
“The shack we live in is not safe. If we could only have a decent house‚” she lamented.
“It is painful to see my family suffer like this in front of me and I always wonder who will take care of them when I die. Our living condition is shameful. It is difficult to survive but I will do whatever it takes for my children and grandson not to go to bed with an empty stomach‚” she says.
Hamisi said that she first registered for an RDP around 2017, but her application was unsuccessful.
No reasons were given as to why her name was not approved for a house while a lot of other people, even those who had proper houses, got RDP houses, she said.
She tried to submit her name again at least twice when the ward committee visited her at home.
She said the municipality must provide them with a temporary shelter while they are still considering whether or not to build them a house.
The shack on the rafters is so flimsy that it is possible to see the sun and the sky from inside the shack.
In the rainy season, the shack is filled with water which enters through the roof.
At one stage, the water damaged the main electricity box and it had to be replaced.
“Now we fear that if the rain comes again and find us still living in this hut, the electricity box may explode and kill all of us in a fire.”
Chief Ntanganedzeni Kutama said the royal council was aware of the hardship of Hamisi and her family.
The royal council had been working tirelessly to fight poverty in the village, he said.
“We are in the process of identifying all the poor families who have the same problem as Hamisi. After completing the list, we will send it to the relevant authorities.”
If you can help in the meantime, contact Hamisi on 071 140 3175.
