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Family 231, South Africa
$90

Family 231

Family 231, South Africa
Home of

Family 231

Family 231, South Africa
Monthly income
$90
$90
Monthly income

The family lives in South Africa. S is 30 years old and unemployed. Her boyfriend R works with horses. S has four children, the youngest one is disabled. They live in an informal setting and their home has no electricity, no bathroom and no toilet. The family has never been on vacation and dream of living in a proper house one day.

S, her four children and her boyfriend R live in an informal settlement in South Africa. R, works with horses and S is unemployed. She used to work, but lost the job and started a relationship with a man who would later leave her with four children, the youngest one disabled. The family receives aid from the state. Their major costs are food (70%) and supporting the disabled child. They eat once a day, nearly the same food, all other meals they have to skip due to the lack of money. They didn't eat meat during the last month, only soya, provided in the aid packages. The house is a wooden / cardboard / corrugated zinc structure with roof covered by a piece of plastic. It has no electricity, no bathroom and no toilet. They use a bucket in the bedroom and empty it out in the bush when done. Their shower and kitchen sink are also buckets. All three buckets are shared with neighbour families. Tap water is available at a bit of a walk outside the house, but it's not safe to drink it. For cooking and warming the house the family uses firewood in a moveable grill can, they burn the wood outside first and then bring it in when it turns into coal. The family has never been on vacation and dream of living in a proper house one day. R, also wants to buy a used car. He estimates it will take him 1.5 years to save enough money to buy it.

Photo by: Angie Skazka
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