A day in the life of the homeless

Last week, we accompanied a Group of MES volunteers on their soup drive. MES is an NGO which houses, feeds and assists the poor and destitute in the City.  

Loaves of bread and soup cooked by a chef of a top Sandton Hotel are handed out to the homeless every week, with the hope of not just giving them a meal for the night, but creating an opportunity for them to enter the MES programme.

Many opened up about how they ended up on the streets. They told stories of suffering and struggle. 

Thabo grew up in Alexandra. He sold socks for a living before he ended up on the streets of Hillbrow. He had dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.  He says he’s ashamed of how things turned out. 

Thabo says while he didn’t make a lot of money, he made enough to survive and send some to his family back home.  His business began to fail when he started spending his earnings on feeding his drug habit. 

He’s been living on the street for seven years. “I have two beautiful children. I really miss them and wish I could see them.” When asked why he doesn’t return home to them, he replies: “Have you looked at me? I cannot go back home looking like this.”

Sibusiso from Orange Farm ran away from home. He says he fears his family and neighbours might see him in footage or pictures. He too admits to a drug addiction and says its his lifeline. 

“Without the drugs I worry, I stress and might even go mad.” The park he finds shelter at is called “Dope Hill”. It was given the name by locals as many Hillbrow residents openly use drugs in the park. Nyaope is the drug of choice.

The men outnumber the women on the streets of Hillbrow.  Dressed in baggy jeans and tattered tops, some of the women can easily be mistaken for young boys. I wondered about their safety on the streets. 

Mbali is originally from Soweto. She’s been living on the street for seven years.  “I was living a good life. I had a job and then drugs took over my life. I quit my job. I started stealing from my family. I lost their trust and fled.”  To survive she sells drugs. “We’re in the jungle and only the strong survive.”

She says some women sell their bodies to survive. In exchange for sex, men have offered her R50, but she says she always declines. She chooses to sell drugs instead. “It’s a drug which looks like grandpa powder.  It’s rolled like a zol. I sell it for R3.”

Those living on the streets of Hillbrow say the drug habit is hard to kick. Many of them long to go home, but say a drug rehab is far too expensive.

Guarded, they are hesitant to allow people into their spaces. Many of them collect cans and plastic bottles. 

They hold onto, what many consider rubbish, as we hold onto our valuables. It’s another lifeline for them. They say they sell it to recycling depots to earn a few rands to spend on drugs and food.

This is the life of the homeless. We pass them every day. Oblivious to the daily struggle. Oblivious to their stories.