Forster, 55 - Gardener

“I was born in Zimbabwe, in a small village. Life was simple but happy. It was difficult in lots of ways. I used to leave every morning at 05h00 to walk to school. It was 11km away. I did complete my education up to grade 12, despite these challenges.

After school, I worked different jobs. I was a shopkeeper, a contractor in Botswana doing plumbing and construction, and later I was a security guard back in Zimbabwe. Life got bad in Zimbabwe. The economy got bad. It was difficult to survive. I decided to leave Zimbabwe in 2001 to find a better life in South Africa. I didn’t have a passport, so I had to do many crazy and dangerous things to enter South Africa. At first, I did whatever small jobs I could find. A kind man then gave me a job as a gardener. That was the beginning of my life here.

It has not been easy. I lost my wife shortly after our third child was born. I raised my children alone for 6 years. Luckily, I had support from people in the community, who helped to look after my children while I worked. That’s how it works. It’s the African way. If someone is struggling, they all help each other in whatever way they can.

In the early days I was arrested many times and even deported twice. I was living undocumented and life was scary and every day was uncertain. I did eventually get asylum status, and I now work here legally. It is a big relief.”

There have been two families here in South Africa who have been so generous to me. They have helped me to send my children to school and treated me with great kindness. The one family even paid for me and my children to go on holiday to Durban. They even gave us spending money. It was their kindness that helped me get through some very difficult years as a single father.

My current employers did all the paperwork and stuff to allow me to work here. Every year they help me with renewing my visa. For all their help, I will be forever grateful. They helped me in the hardest years of my life, and they are still helping me.

I am most proud of my youngest child who has now completed matric. My other children are also succeeding in their lives — one is working here as a teacher’s assistant, and another is working in Dubai. What keeps me going is my faith. It’s my work, and my children. I believe in prayer, and I hold onto the hope of seeing my children be successful, and have a life that is easier than mine has been.

So, I’m hopeful. I’m motivated every day to provide for my family. I do miss life in Zimbabwe. If things got better there, I’d go back for sure. It’s my dream to retire there, on a small farm, have chickens and goats, and be living a peaceful life — just like my father did.”