A blind couple who mostly rely on money they get from
begging outside stores in Louis Trichardt, Limpopo, are battling to make ends
meet.
Willie Chimuka and Fungai Pepukai moved to South Africa
from Zimbabwe in 2018. The couple has four children. Three live in Zimbabwe
with Chimuka’s parents and one lives with them.
The couple previously attended Kapota, a special school for
the blind in Masvingo.
Chimuka, 43, said he usually sat near the entrance to Spar
while Pepukai sat outside Jet, but since the lockdown, they have not been able
to collect enough money for food and rent. When Groundup met the couple, they
were on their way to Makhado Police Station to request permission to return to
their begging spots.
“We really appreciate the government’s efforts … We were
prepared and had everything in place [for the lockdown] but now the extension
is a challenge to us. We pay rent on the 15th of every month. This money is
budgeted but the challenge is if we pay rent we are going without food for the
extended days,” said Chimuka.
“We can not sit home and relax. All we need is permission
to go back to our usual begging spots. If we do not, the family is going to go
for days without food. Every month we send money and some food back home. Our
parents are just peasant farmers and they cannot do much to support our
children,” said Chimuka.
Chimuka said that the police advised them to stay home as
movement will endanger their lives and those of others.
Witness Tiva from Limpopo Department of Social Development
said the department was running a programme, distributing food parcels to those
in need. He advised the couple to visit a local councillor who would take the
matter up with the social workers in the area.
GroundUp approached a social worker at a local shelter who
said they were only allowed to assist people who stayed at, or were willing to
move into, the shelter at Makhado Showground for the duration of the lockdown.
But the couple told GroundUp they would not be comfortable leaving their
belongings at the rented house.
It is unclear where Chimuka and Pepukai will get their next
meal. Ground Up
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