Hunger crisis looms in Durban as lockdown continues
Community members in Blackburn Village, say hunger is one of their worst challenges during the national lockdown.
The informal settlement beside the N2 freeway in Durban has over 2 000 households.
Most residents work piece jobs, therefore, live from hand to mouth.
Father of two, Ndumiso Hlophe fears this hunger will lead to crime.
"People have started doing crime. They go into people's homes and steal food, so we face a lot of challenges. People are so hungry they have restored to eating sugar cane," he says.
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Ayesha Ali says she cannot get through to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).
"I asked 'Where must I get the food hamper from?' they said 'You know what, the number that you had called, you need to carry on calling and hopefully maybe they will get back to you' That is the response I got from one of the SASSA employees, which was very rude and heartbreaking," she says.
Ward 35 Councilor Nicole Bollman says she's had to work with different organisations to collect food hampers for the community.
"We had the residents of Izinga, three NPOs, religious organisations and I worked together resulting in a hamper distribution of approximately 3 000 hampers, and I think at that time is possibly one of the bigger ones that had happened in eThekweni," she says.
