- A mother of four from Khayelitsha in Cape Town earns a living by pushing a trolley through rubbish looking for scrap she can sell.
- She uses the money to buy food, pay for school uniforms and even cover insurance in case something happens to her or her children.
Every morning before sunrise, a single mother of four pushes her trolley through the streets of Khayelitsha, looking through bins for cans and bottles.
She is not begging. She is working.
“It’s not easy,” she said. “I wake up early like someone with a job. I go around collecting what I can.”
She chooses streets close to home so it’s easier to push the trolley. “Cans are easier to manage. Bottles are heavy, so I don’t go far.”
The work is hard and dirty. “I dig in rubbish bins. I touch rotten stuff. But I can’t stay home while my children go hungry.”
She said thieves often steal the bottles and cans she collects. “I started hiding the cans because they used to steal those too.”
Come rain or shine, she has to be out. “Even when it’s boiling hot or windy, I go. I don’t have a choice.”
She said she gets about R400 to R500 for a full bag of smashed cans. A half bag earns R200 to R250. For bottles, a 100kg bag brings in about R1,000.
Her income depends on how quickly she fills her bags.
“The sooner the bag is full, the sooner I sell. I don’t get the same amount every month.”
Despite the tough job, she has no plans to stop. “I even pay for insurance with the money I make. If anything happens to me or my kids, I won’t have to ask for donations.”
Pictured above: A Khayelitsha mother of four is taking care of her kids by collecting scrap around the township sections in Cape Town.
Image Credit: Buziwe Nocuze
