TSHIVHILWI – The gift of life seems to be a hard and narrow path for the sickly and unemployed Ndalammbi Makhale (54) of Tshivhilwi village, northeast of Thohoyandou, and his family. Ndalammbi, his wife Rosinah (38) and kids Mmbangiseni (18), Ndivhoniswani (15), Elekanyani (10) Mpho (2) and Murendeni (8 months) are the most tragic victims of poverty and they now view life as a burden.

Meat, bread and tea are a once-in-a-blue-moon luxury as the family does not have a direct and reliable source of income. The children have no school uniforms, shoes or proper clothing and three of them have not paid their school fees in full. The family does not have blankets and it is very painful for the kids to sleep in the cold floor without warmth. Ndalammbi and his wife do odd jobs like selling fire wood and working in the field to keep the family fire burning.

“There is no use cryingh because we have to face the harshness of life as it is. We do not even know where we will get our next meal because we did not get customers for the fire wood. We have to share the little handouts we receive from the community to continue with life, otherwise we would starve,” said Ndalammbi while preparing Gukulume (a mixture of water and salt to be eaten with porridge) for his family.

Although the family has an RDP house (without any furniture) Ndalammbi says he is not convinced that the poor are getting the treatment they deserve from the authorities.

“It does not make sense to have a house while we do not have anything to eat. I work hard to provide for the family but the income is not even enough to buy a bag of maize meal. How could life be so harsh to us, especially the innocent kids who never committed a sin?”

Mpho and Elekanyani get the child support grant and their joint income is R360 which almost does nothing for the family. The youngest kid, Murendeni, has no birth certificate because her mother says she does not have money to take the child to the Home Affairs offices.

Rosina poured her plea to Mirror: “What we need is food, clothing and other donations as we have suffered for so long in silence. We are trying very hard to make ends meet, but our efforts seem fruitless and unrewarding. We heard that many community members were assisted through Mirror and we hope this is our chance to get a new life…”

Oscar Nkhumeleni of Tshivhilwi Civic Association says he is aware of the hardships of Ndalammbi and his family and his organization has been working tirelessly to fight poverty in the village.

“We are in the process of identifying all villagers who have the same problems as Ndalammbi and his family. After completing the list, we will send it to the relevant authorities and Ndalammbi will be among the people who need urgent assistance…”

Community members who would like to assist the Makhale family can visit them at Tshivhilwi – Tshilonwe, near Mukula or alternatively call 072 351 0164.