A Borolong family reels from poverty, sickness

The 50-year-old, dizzy with hunger and fatigue is shouting something at the top of her voice while the younger one feebly parts her lips trying to respond.The 50-year-old is Segametsi Edward while the sickly bed-ridden one is her younger sister, 37-year-old Lechani Edward. It is not possible to know whether Lechani is reclining on the ragged bedding which today include a new blanket handed over by Member of Parliament (MP) Fidelis Molao because she is sick or she has been weakened by incessant hunger.

Even in egametsi, one can see misery etched in her features. Segametsi is Lechani's caregiver in this home of three rickety mud huts where they reside with their elder brother. The brother is equally haggard with weather-beaten features.As The Monitor arrives for an interview Segametsi is coming out of the bath inside her own hut.The sister is reclining inside her hut while the bedraggled brother is sitting by the fire trying to fend off the cold breeze that has enveloped this area next to Borolong Primary School.