“I knew it was not okay for a child to work,” says 48-year-old Nomama. Like many women in Philippi, Nomama struggled to sustain her family on her modest income. Many caregivers in Philippi try to sustain their families on what they earn through manual work, some run small businesses selling alcohol or vegetables, sewing, or washing cars, but they hardly earn enough for their families to survive on. Dropping out of school prematurely is a way of life, and gang affiliations and violence are common. In this impoverished community, HIV and AIDS prevalence is high, and young people are suffering from alcoholism, unemployment, violence and drug abuse. A resilient child in a difficult situationįor most of the more than 200,000 people who live in the Philippi township, each day is a struggle to survive.
Sometimes we went to bed having had only water mixed with sugar for dinner,” he says. Sometimes I would go to play to forget that I was hungry. “We had to find a balance between clothes, stationery and shoes. “We were so many children and school uniforms and other needs were a problem,” Lusanda recalls. Growing up in community marked by the effects of poverty and a lack of opportunities, 21-year-old Lusanda had to take responsibility for himself early on.
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