Malixole Sikhungo
CAPE TOWN - There was a time when I was colloquially labelled a "'bergie" or "pharaphara" in Cape Town.
Had I been in Johannesburg, it would have been "Sgidla Waar", which loosely translates as “where do I sleep, tonight”, or a "hobo" if I lived in other parts of the world.
Every granny, child and person has a fixed idea of someone who fits this category of our society that we meet at most sets of traffic lights or at your front gate, begging for anything that can be used for survival.
What springs to mind when you think of these people?
I'm guessing that crime, drug addiction, property devaluation or plain nuisance come to mind.
These are just some of the stereotypes I faced a few years ago, before I enrolled for and later graduated with a Law degree including 10 distinctions.
The Cape Times has invited me to write a monthly article, a space to unpack questions around (better) solutions to this rise in homelessness that affects us all.
In this first article, I want to introduce myself and look at some of the key factors that led to my life on the streets, so that we can start to see our way through the stereotypes we have of people who are homeless.
Two decades or so before I became the proverbial "Bergie", I was Malixole Sikhungo.
I was a bright, school-loving child born in the Eastern Cape. How did I go from that to sleeping rough on the streets?
While drug addiction is often a key contributing factor to homelessness, it is not the main cause. Often the addiction is a symptom of homelessness, a coping mechanism to deal with the extreme reality of a homeless life. There are as many homeless-causing factors as there are people who are homeless out there.
From unstable households and dysfunctional families, to a lack of job, a deficit in education, limited opportunities, a legacy of drug addiction and or gangsterism, to ultimately a loss of belief in self.
However, in my humble opinion, all these social ills are inextricably linked to broken family relationships. In my own case, I faced a combination of poor family relationships, limited job opportunities and a history of drug-abuse.
It all started in the last few years of high school. Like the majority of teenagers who become addicts, whether you are affluent or not, it began with a cigarette and wanting to fit in. A few cigarettes later, it was marijuana.
My circle of bad influence grew bigger and my bad judgement spiralled. Like many facing the open labour market after finishing school in the Eastern Cape, I came to the Western Cape in search of greener pastures.
I soon fell in with the wrong crowd again, and things got out of hand when I got hooked on methamphetamine.
My small immediate family was headed by a widowed mother. This meant that I had to live with distant family members in Cape Town. Struggling to find work in Cape Town, I was dependent on my cousins for a roof and basic needs like food.
I don't like to play the blame game, but the environment was not ideal for personal growth. On pay day, the wages were spent quickly on alcohol, leaving very little for purchasing groceries for the rest of the month.
I decided to make a plan – my only option, without a job or family, was life on the street. As strange as it may sound, at that point in my life the challenges of homelessness were significantly better and more manageable than continuing to live in the alcohol-fuelled home of my cousins.
After a few years on and off streets in and around Cape Town, I heard that U-turn Homeless Ministries were looking for candidates to join their rehabilitation programme.
I applied and was accepted. If you've not heard of U-turn, it's a non-profit organisation which equips people to overcome the plethora of personal challenges that lead them to homelessness. U-turn played an important role in moulding me into the person that I am today and gave me a new family and network.
Straight out of their rehabilitation programme, I secured my first job in a very long time at St Stephens Bible Church as a parking marshal.
Two years into that new chapter of my life, I enrolled at the Unisa to study for a law degree (LLB).
Fast forward towards the end of my third year, a new chapter started unfolding – I secured an entry-level job as a paralegal at Dommisse Attorneys Inc. It's a niche commercial and regulatory law firm based in Cape Town. I worked with Dommisse for five years until I completed my degree in June last year.
I am now looking for a law firm to do my articles and I hope to eventually be admitted as an attorney.
My journey may sound like a dream – from sleeping on doorsteps of shopping malls and the St George's Cathedral to becoming a professional in a prestigious profession. I share my story to break the barrier of stereotypes.
The person you see at the traffic lights can someday turn their life around if given the right platform. Instead of an occasional hand out, the kindest way to help is with constructive and long-term assistance. It could start by as little as rolling (cautiously) your car window down, and not the other way round.
Cape Times