It is 16 years after the demise of the old order, but the Rambau family outside Louis Trichardt has not tasted any of the fruits of democracy.

The family lives in a dilapidated one-roomed mud hut.The family of seven looks normal by day, but come evening, they all cram up like sardines in the one-roomed mud hut. The tiny structure cannot even accommodate a single bed. They have tried everything to get an RDP house, but Lady Lucky seems to evade them always when houses are allocated. Even the local civic structure cannot explain why the family has not benefitted from the RDP programme.

Helen Rambau (34), a mother of five says, she is fast losing hope that she will ever get a house in her lifetime. “I have waited too long and the fact that I voted makes me more bitter that I used my vote to put people into power in order to enrich themselves. I have nothing to show and I am unemployed,” said the fuming Rambau. To add insult to injury, Rambau’s husband, who is a Mozambican, cannot get an identity card, even though he has been in the country for many years.

“We live on hand-outs and we are at the mercy of our community. This cannot go on forever; we need shelter and employment,” she said. Rambau said it was very embarrassing to share a hut with her husband and her grown-up children. “We do not have privacy here. Poverty has stripped us of our dignity and we feel like nothing in this community. The situation is affecting my relationship with my husband as we do not have enough time to be together because of the children,” she said.

The eldest daughter, Rofhiwa (19), a Grade 11 learner at Hanyani Secondary School, said they had become the laughing stock of the community because of their poverty. “We have experienced the worst poverty since we were born. We are just studying hard at school in order to pass and change our situation, as no assistance has been coming our way so far. This situation is sad and poverty at its worst,” she said. She said their situation was also affecting her studies and her siblings. “We sometimes go without food and we are at the mercy of Good Samaritans. We cannot afford school uniforms and this lessens our self-esteem, which also affects our performance in class,” she said.

The civic leader, Mr Stephen Shirinda, could also not explain why the family has not received priority when houses were allocated to the poor. “We know about her plight and we assisted her when her other hut burnt down. We are still doing our best to see to it that she gets shelter for herself and her family. This is a sad state of affairs and, coupled with the poverty engulfing our community, only government intervention will help in her case,” he said.

Rambau said she would accept any form of assistance. Those who would like to open their hearts and help the family can do so by phoning her at 073 651 1631 or 084 418 4055.