This is the story of two men interviewed by NSJ participants. It shows the …..

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Peter explaining his desperate situation.: NSJ Group 1 

PETER  lives in Meadowlands Zone 1 in Soweto outside Johannesburg. He has a wife and three children, one of whom is still at pre-school. He is unemployed but everyday he is expected to provide food for his family and pay essentials as may be required from time to time. The situation has become a daily struggle which on some days bears little fruit but on others nothing entirely making his journey home at the end of the day one filled with disgrace as he has to put up with a  household that will go to bed hungry.  Peter says everyday when he leaves the house he has no clue which direction of the town to head for and whether he will return home with anything to feed his family. Desperately he has found Flora Centre in

Peter lost his job in 1980 when his employers relocated to another place. He said things were tough in the 80s, but  far better than  today’s -  a statement he kept repeating punctuated by “things are bad” throughout the interview. Ben finds the situation he is in as nothing more dehumanizing in the world  because it affects the loss of one’s dignity. He says daily he prays that it will change and someone will offer him a job. He believes that will restore his dignity. He  said the most devaluing situation is that noone  cares to understand the pain and humiliation this brings to them as they are often painted with the same brush and  label  or treat  them  as lunatics.

He said  while he feels society is grossly cruel to their situation he can understand why those in positions to change things  choose not to do so because unless one has been exposed to their situation it would be hard to understand the physical and psychological pain and wound to their loss of dignity. Peter said to wake up every morning and walk several kilometers to beg and dig into rubbish bins for survival is the last thing a man could do.

“A man would never just give his dignity away,” he said,  fighting a flood of tears. He added: “You resort to begging and scavenging when everything else has failed.” in-spite of all the unbearable hardships Peter is subjected to he would never go any any other route but beg and scavenge compared to stealing and mugging people. 

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Ben arrived in Johannesburg with no support system.He like several thousands of people in his situation of being jobless found the only way to survive was to wander in car parking lots to beg for money. This generosity from motorists and shoppers sometimes worked but often it did not . When it worked he would collect a few cents but when he got lucky some  sympatheic  person would offer him some odd job to clean or paint houses for which he could get R50 ($7) or a little more. On hard day the most he would make was R5 (under one dollar) which he would use to buy offal to feed his family. He spends most of the  wandering about the parking lots -his favorite being Flora Centre, a shopping complex in the up-market suburb of Florida. His other point of call for sustenance is rubbish bins where he has to scavenge for what shoppers or diners may throw away. For Ben it is a case of one man’s left over in a rubbish bin is his feast.

When approached for an interview first he looked uneasy - a condition  the situation has placed him in. Even striking a simple conversation made him jittery and unwilling but with a lot of coaxing and reassuring that it was to accord him a chance to tell his story so that there could be understanding by all and sundry who could help he opened his space. After explaining the nature of our mission he opened  a floodgate to the gory and heart lending details of the suffering that he and many thousands like him who have fallen into the cracks  endure everyday.
Ben’s accounts exposure  flows as follows. His work environment as is of those he worked with or still work there exposes them to harmful dust deep down in the mine shafts gave rise to a variety of ailments, which later forced him to take early retirement. His health has been deteriorating over the years but he managed to pull through in spite of extreme poverty. Last year (2006) he was diagnosed with TB and had difficulty paying for his treatment. A doctor at Mtata advised him to come up to his former employers in Johannesburg to so that he could lodge a claim for his illness. Because of poverty, he had to hitch his way to the big city situated over 800 kilometers away. He literally spent seven days trying to reach Johannesburg.
After arriving in Johannesburg Ben went straight to TEBA, an office responsible for the hiring of mine workers and all their issues there of. He was told to return after five months because the office could only attend to 2050 people a month, which means the list was very long. He said there was no way he could return home without the money, so in the meantime, he had to make ends meet on the streets and shopping malls through begging and scavenging, but his wish was to find a job.
This year, South Africa has experienced the coldest winter characterized by snowfalls and strong winds. Ben said he survived the cold by God’s grace. Later, devout Christian widow offered him her carport to use at night. He also said the woman gives him something in the mornings and before he goes to sleep. The house is not very far from the Flora Centre. Ben has had three children before the eldest died. He said none of them is employed and all, including his wife, are looking up to him for financial support, which is another reason why he could not return home without his money.

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Driving the machinery of each Nordic SADC Journalism (NSJ) training programme are individuals who work behind the scenes to fulfil the needs of the participants.

Dickson: unavoidable and indispensable to NSJ participants

Dickson Kwame Yeboah is one of the five non-management personnel who works painstakingly to ensure that the wheels turn smoothly.

This presentation gives an insight into the small parts that complete the NSJ working cycle.

Click on a picture to view their stories

Thomas	Dickson	Thelma	Sibongile	Nomsa

Useful Links

www.nsjtraining.org - Learn more about the Nordic SADC Training Trust

www.sadc.int - Find out what SADC is.

www.flickr.com - View and upload photos.

www.youtube.com - View and upload videos.

Highlights

• He is a jack of all trades
• Starts work at 4 a.m. - 7/7
• ‘Participants are my brothers, sisters’
• Hopes to return to Ghana one day

When a course is running at the NSJ Training Centre in Johannesburg, Dickson, the caretaker, wakes up as early as 4 am cleaning the rooms, the compound and doing just about every piece of work there is to do.  When there is no course he stays alone at the centre. Obviously, he prefers it when there is a course running because he has more company.

Approaches the day’s work as a boxer would an opponent; knocking it out

With patience, different nationalities blend

Dealing with the many people of different nationalities requires patience and Dickson seems to have plenty of it.  He never quarrels with the participants.  “I have learnt to take people as  my brothers, sisters and mothers,” says the stocky Dickson whose physique belies his gentle and affable character.

Once a boxer, always vigilant

Dickson used to be a boxer in his native Ghana but he quit because, his father told him it was a dangerous sport.

From his boxing and knock out days in Ghana, Dickson has found peace in Johannesburg but hopes to one day return home and set up a business. 

Highlights 

• Has made friends with people from different countries
• Not satisfied until trainees are safe back at NSJ
• Finds peace in listening to Reggae

After working for the government Thomas felt that “it would be wise to work in transportation.”

Made wise decision to be here      Thomas next to his VW Combi

He is employed by Westgate Taxi Association which, is based in Johannesburg. The company has been contracted by NSJ to transport participants. Thomas is one of the many drivers who make these trips.

Thomas encounters no language barrier between him and the trainees from different countries.

Highlights:

• Has big dreams in catering
• Loves the exposure to different cultures
• Committed to cooking for your enjoyment

If there is one thing that Online Journalism participants cannot complain about, it is the food. This is because Sibongile ’Bongi’ Biyase the cook, caters for all.

Employed by NSJ since 2005, Sibongile aims to become a full time qualified caterer.

Motherly Bongi prepares for lunch: ” Food is very important.”</em>

“I like working with NSJ because I get exposed to different cultures. Sometimes, it is difficult to communicate but the Online Journalism course participants have made my work and life easy,” says Bongi with a motherly smile.

She is committed to cook food that everyone enjoys.

“ I don’t want people to be displeased with what I put on their plates. Food is important. It gives you energy and no one can work on an empty stomach,” she says.

In this video, Brett says that through the NSJ, Channel Africa has been able to recruit journalists experienced in other languages other than English.

For more on the NSJ/Channel Africa partnership watch the video…
(4:58 Sec. - 9.75MB)

Highlights:

• Nomsa portrays the hardworking African woman
• Keeps the NSJ Centre clean
• Finds her job enjoyable and challenging

She is from Soweto,  the famous township in Johannesburg, South Africa. Typical of an African woman, Nomsa, a mother five, wakes up as early as 4 a.m. to prepare her children for school after which she takes a taxi to the NSJ Training Centre in Florida.

No time for leisure: Nomsa at NSJ’s Training Centre in J’burg

Nomsa says, work at the centre is both enjoyable and challenging. She has no difficulties working with NSJ participants despite their coming from diverse backgrounds.

While it is a trend for some participants to leave their beds undone and their belongings scattered, Nomsa ensures that everything is in order. She emphasises the need to keep the training centre clean, just for the participants’ comfort.