Access to clean drinking water remains a luxury for many people living in the Eastern Cape.
“All sorts of diseases and germs live in this water we drink, but we’re desperate.
We’ve been living like this for years.
We keep hearing about this listeria, but we don’t know how else to survive.” Ndeleni and other community members took the Saturday Dispatch to the stream they draw their water from.
It appears to be run-off that flows from a train goods shed a short distance away.
Buyisile Kosani said he drinks the dirty water, because walking to town to access taps from a garage was too much for him.
“I didn’t know about this, and now we’re worried because the water we drink comes from a river we rely on.
“Cows, donkeys and horses also graze there.
“Before this tank, we didn’t have water for years.
We’re trying to survive”, she said.