Daily life in Mthatha, South Africa

MTHATHA, SOUTH AFRICA - FEBRUARY 7: Alizwa Nondonga (l), age 15, warms some porridge as her brother Anothando, age 9 prepares hot water for a bath early in the morning in their family house on February 7, 2024, outside Mthatha in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. They have to leave early to school as the have to walk about 45-60 minutes to reach the school. Their mother Tholeka, age 33, works part time jobs but the family mainly live of social grants, of about eur 25 for each child a month. The family face a daily struggle to eat, pay for school uniforms, clothes etc., and the government grant money they rely on only lasts for a couple of weeks. The rest of the month is a struggle, and luckily the children receive a free meal in school every day. An increasing number of South Africans are struggling to eat properly due to extreme poverty, unemployment, high inflation. More and more children are malnourished, stunted and turn up in hospitals, especially in Eastern Cape Province. Most residents in the village live on social grants and the unemployment rate is often 80-90 % in these rural villages. Thirty years of democracy in South Africa has brought small changes to rural people in South Africa, but the majority party African National Congress (ANC) relies on the rural and poor masses for votes every election, a time when promises of a better future is again promised to the people, and sometimes they receive free food parcels and t-shirts. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)