Elizebeth Nonyane of Soshanguve is a widowed mother of six children. She has no job, no income, and is forced to live off the social grants of others.
She fears for the day her children grow up and her mother passes away, because the grants will dry up and she’ll have no way of feeding herself, at all.
Nonyane’s life changed dramatically when her husband, the family breadwinner, suddenly fell ill and passed away in 2014.
Since that day she became a dependent for a roof over her families head on her mother, who receives a state pension – eking out a survival on grants the State pays to (barely) sustain her children.
The RDP home the family was about to receive was lost because the property was in her husband’s name, and title did not pass to his family. Their pleas to the City of Tshwane for support fell on deaf ears.
Jobs are scarce, and Nonyane is yet to find one despite years of effort.
She and her family are among millions of South Africans trapped by the circumstances of her poverty – many of whom fall outside the social security safety net.
It is people such as her that would qualify for a Basic Income Grant. It would be the first step towards her reclaiming her dignity.
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