Being Near Family
I have my own house in Khayelitsha. First we rented it from the City Council, then they gave it to us in 1985. But a lot of the time I go to my daughter Zodwa and her children in their shack in Grassy Park, because Zodwa wants me to be near her. And I must be there, because it's often hard for me to walk or even get up, because my legs are so sore with arthritis.
For money, we have my government pension and the little bit I sometimes make from sewing at GAPA, and Zodwa's disability pension. She can't talk easily, because her tongue isn't loose. It is attached to the bottom of her mouth. And then she was burnt very badly, also. It was when she was very young, when my husband was still a policeman, and boiling water fell on her.
Zodwa always wanted to be a nurse. She is good with children and good at caring for people who are suffering. But she could not be a nurse and the thing that makes her happy now, she says, is being with her family.
The Cost of Living
Things are alright now for me, because my grandchildren Luyanda and Zanele live with me. Looking after them makes me happy. I don't like them going to aftercare, because they get cold food there and they come home with tummy bugs and then their tummies run. It's better for them to be here with me. I make sure they get ready for school and catch the bus at seven o'clock. They go all the way from my house in Khayelitsha to Mitchells Plain. It is far, but they go because it is a better school there.
The bus fare to school costs R72,50 for one child per week and there are two of them, so it is a lot of money. This month, they had to stay home for a week because we didn't have money for the bus. I feel worried about that, because they will not keep up in their subjects. I want them to learn, to learn a lot. They mustn't suffer as I was suffering.
I want them to go to school and go into higher classes than me, because I had a hard time. We haven't had any complaints from the teachers but we haven't seen their school reports. They won't give us reports unless we pay school fees, but the fees cost R400 a year for each child. We never paid that because we did not have the money.
Games and Laughter
When times are good, we have rice and meat or chicken, or sometimes even fish and chips. When things are bad, we eat only mieliepap. Sometimes there is nothing at all. Sometimes our neighbours help by giving us a bit of mieliepap or rice, and we do the same for them
. My granddaughter Zimi does not live with me, but she also comes to me after school so I am looking after the three children. We play a lot of games and they do things that make me laugh a lot. Sometimes they play hide-and- seek. I hide something away, like my belt, and they have to find it. The other day, the game was that if they found the belt they could beat me with it. 'You can hit me,' I told them, but it was a big joke and we all just laughed.
Felicia Mfamana’s Family
We lived in a shack for many years and when it rained, the water poured down the walls. The place was full of water. We were desperate to get a house. I applied, then waited. Every year, when we went to ask, it was just promises and promises. It took 24 years, but eventually I got this beautiful house in Khayelitsha.
We have two bedrooms with two beds inside each of them, and two shacks in the backyard where the bigger boys in the family live. There are 11 of us altogether. You see, I am a good mother to my adult children and to my grandchildren. They love me because I love them so much, which makes them happy.
I'm not young any longer but I am doing well in caring for them, and they are not wild children. They listen when I talk. This is not because I am strict. My secret is to pray. 'Please God, help to make my children good to everybody,' I say. 'Thank you, God, that you are helping me.' It is working.
By Jo-Anne Smetherham