A Day In The Life And Home Of A Child In An Informal Settlement

Life In A Formal Settlement

This morning I woke up and it was soaking wet out side from the flood last night. I don’t have proper shoes I only have broken sandals I have to wear. I got no breakfast this morning because my mom had a early work shift. As I got to class I couldn’t concentrate so well because I was craving some food. My teacher called me up to see her so she could talk to me. I walked to my teacher and she asked me why I wasn’t concentrating I said that I was starving. My teacher gave me a little piece of food to eat.

As I walked back home 3 kilometers from school the bus I take home didn’t come. I walked home over stones, bricks and sand. My feet were pretty sore and red. When I got home my mom was cooking some food for my two younger sisters and I. We only get little portions of food so we can have food for the next night. I had to go fetch some water at the tap so we could have something to drink. It was very cold that night, we don’t have blankets or duvets to sleep under. The heavy rain started to pick up and the wind was blowing a little bit into the shack.

I wish that I could get a better education and a house for my family and I. I want to study Maths in the future, but my mom can’t make enough money for a good educational school. My mom works at a supermarket down the road from where we stay. My sisters and I sell fruits and vegetables on the weekends. We don’t really make a lot of money. Someday I hope I can stay in a house with a proper roof, a toilet that flushes, a place to cook dinner, breakfast and lunch and a warm bed with duvets. I hope my wish will come true one day.