Itumeleng is one of the many children in the building. The future for the children here is very limited, without any money its hard for them to even attend school
At the first look it might seem like no one takes care of the kids, you see them run up and down the stairs, play together and laugh out loud, but then you realise its the exact opposite. Their is a amazing and genuine bound between the women in the house, and all of them keeps an eye out and make shure the children are okay
Many of the residents is unemployed and don't have anything to do with their live. Alcoholism and other addiction is not unusual in this place
Most people in the building lives under the radar and outside the system, they come from neighbouring countries like Mozambique and Zimbabwe where the unemployment is skyhigh and education is worse then in South Africa
Over 400 people lives in the building, and theres hardley any space, the sounds from all the people makes it impossible to get a short, quite moment to think, and maybe thats not a bad thing
The ones who lives absolutely worst and was unlucky to end up in the basement, deep down, under all dignity. There is just a few, small windows to let the sun in and to get into the rooms they live in, you have to balance on some rocks so you don’t get your feet wet. The moisture and mould makes it hard to breath normal. And its not unusual that some of the old pipes in the building is leaking, so they might wake up and find that the whole floor is covered with water.
Even thou the situation and environment is so bad, the children is taken care of as good as possible. The mothers makes sure that the children is fed and care for them. Just hoping they will have a better life when they grow up
Some of the Moth children playing on the balcony, they skipping rope and singing songs. One of the songs goes "The cockroach is in my house, the cockroach is in my house!"
Busi is washing her children in one of the shower booth in the building. There is just cold water, and many of the toilets in the room don't work, so the place stinks of human feces
Ntokozo smoking a cigarette, trying to keep his head straight. In the back, two of hos friends are passed out. The weekends in Moth Building is filled with heavy drinking, and music playing from friday morning til' monday
Many of the over 400 resident that lives in here don't have their own room. Instead they use curtain as walls
Sheila and her daughter Magdalena has lived in MOTH in six years now, and to keep it clean and neat in the small space, even thou it looks like a prison outside the cosy curtains, is something that Sheila cherish high