Mpho, 44 - Beggar/Informal Traffic Director

“My name means ‘Gift.’ I was born, bred and buttered in Soshanguve. Life has been tough. I finished my matric, and I enrolled in a call centre training course. Unfortunately, after 6 months, the company closed. I was eager to work. I took jobs as a cleaner, but the cost of transport made it not possible to continue.

I began buying goods from a market in Pretoria and selling them at robots and other parts of town. Money was good, but at the end of the day you don’t come away with much because transport and stock are very expensive. There was lots of uncertainty with this job — I never knew how much I would earn or whether it will be enough to buy food and stock.

When loadshedding started, I started begging and directing traffic at the robots. For us, loadshedding is very good for us. When it’s not loadshedding, some people will often turn off the robots to increase chances of making more money. People don’t know that it’s not loadshedding. I can make up to R800 on a good day. But it’s not consistent. It’s stressful. All I want is a stable job with a salary, then I wouldn’t always be so stressed.

Although life is hard, I haven’t lost faith in people. I have felt the spirit of Ubuntu — in many ways. On days when I have no money for transport, strangers from the township have stopped to give me lifts. A woman once gave me a R2000 Checkers voucher — I will never forget that moment. I used the money to buy pap for my neighbours in the township. People only look out for themselves. They don’t help you. Never. It hurts me, but I feel I need to help others when I can. I don’t want to be like them.

Even though I don’t have much in this life, I’m proud that I’m an honest person. I’m kind. I get deeply frustrated with how people often assume I am lazy or a tsotsi. I know I look strange to many people, and maybe that’s why they judge me. At the end of the day, I just want to be seen as a human. I’m just out here trying to survive. That’s all.”