They are often denied government services because they do not have physical addresses, resulting in women giving birth at home and children failing to access basic education, sometimes being forced to resort to unqualified teachers.
“We are treated as outcasts. We have to use other people’s addresses to access maternal health care. Failure to that results in women risking losing their lives in the process of giving birth at home,” said Getrude Dlamini representing slum dwellers from Ngozi mine.
“We have also started a Grade Zero class that is taught by local children who have dropped out of school. We are therefore appealing to the city fathers to give us respectable accommodation”.
“We are a very respectful people who always stay away from crime. We earn our living by mostly vending and selling recyclable containers from the Ngozi mine dumpsite. Our problem has been that criminals lie to the police and say they stay in our area,” she added.
At the recent World Habitat Day commemorations organised by Amnesty International, the slum dwellers lamented the police raids that have become a common feature in their homes.
Post published in: News