Heartbreaking-Poor people bear the brunt of lockdown

by Tintswalo Mnisi, from eMalahleni Empumelelwe Mpumalanga… When I heard that our South African extended the lockdown by two weeks, I was so devastated and I wished I could sleep and never wake up again. The first thing that came to my mind was about my neighbor who is staying next to the dumping site and making a living by begging around Empumelelwe eMalahleni and he cannot afford to buy food during the lockdown. The issue that is so touching to me is the fact that he is old enough to get a grant but his not even getting it. I called one of my leaders asking about the food parcel but she just said I have to wait until next week, which means the old man has to wait for next week to get something to eat and to me it is heart breaking knowing exactly that I can’t even spend a day without eating. However, I still have hope that the situation is temporary and the situation will eventually improve. I will continue asking for help and feed him with the little that I get. It hurts me because we have people making offerings to pastors instead of feeding the poor and I still thank God for giving us a leader who is choosing people’s lives over people’s personal interests because the economy can recover but lost lives can never be replaced.