Joburg is thirsty for change

In Coronationville, Westbury and Sophiatown, the sound of running water has become a luxury. For weeks now, taps have run dry.

- BELINDA KAYSER-ECHEOZONJOKU

Mothers are forced to wake up at dawn to queue for water tankers that often arrive late, if at all. Children go to school without a proper bath. Elderly residents, some on chronic medication, struggle to carry heavy buckets up flights of stairs.

This is not the life that residents of Johannesburg deserve. We live in one of Africa's largest and richest cities, yet many people are living like they are forgotten.

Take the story of aunty Alice, a 76-year-old pensioner in Sophiatown. She lives in a small two-room home and depends on neighbours to help her fetch water from a tanker parked several streets away.

On days when nobody is available, she is forced to go without washing or cooking, or to pay someone from her small pension to carry a bucket for her.

"I never thought I would live to see the day when we would beg for water in Johannesburg," she says quietly.

Her story is not unique – it is shared by thousands of households across our city.