The plight of Gogo Nobude and other old people living in townships

Nobude Ngqola is 82 years old and lives in a leaking shack with her eight children. She has been terrified to leave her home ever since she heard about the Covid-19 coronavirus. Siyabonga Kamnqa visited her to talk about life under lockdown, her fears as an older person and her hopes that a house will improve her situation.

The tiny passageway leading to Gogo Nobude Ngqola’s shack in the densely populated TR Informal Settlement in Site B, Khayelitsha, is difficult to navigate. Washing hanging from fences and shacks built metres from each other makes it difficult to move freely.

Despite the warnings on social distancing, women sit in groups in the shade busy with their laundry. They are not wearing masks. It’s an unseasonally hot day for May.