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Showing posts from January, 2021

The struggle of raising four children as a single mother

Image: Authored by everydayfeminism.com Mdunge Skhumbuzo The haze of vetkoek is evaporating from the one-room kitchen. At 5 a.m., the last born, Themba (8), was already awake to watch his mom cooking at the ember light of the prima stove. While sleeping on the floor, Themba unfolded a small hole in his blanket because he did not want his mom to see that he had already woken up. Tholakele Ndlovu is a single mother who is raising four children by selling vetkoeks at the Siyajabula High School.   The journey started 20 years ago when Tholakele’s husband, Sbonelo Ndlovu, died in a car accident. She raised her four children in the RDP house located in the KwaNyuswa village. This area is decorated by small hills that also slide to the meadow turfs, where cows & goats are usually sent off to graze. The names of the other three siblings are Anele (13), Nonhle (16), and Vusumuzi (20).  The teaching of ethics   To all her children, Tholakele has implanted the spirit of hard work. She always