Reitsanye: The face of poverty

I was touched by the reality that he had just emerged from the ground where he had slept beside his pregnant sweetheart, two years his junior. At the age of 37, Reitsanye has already resigned himself to his fate: a life of abject poverty. As he finally emerged from the rickety structure, his eyes darted all over the place as if he was searching for clues to his troubles. He did not expect any visitors that time of the day, especially newshounds. His sweetheart, Obonyemang Senkile, is heavily pregnant with their fifth child.

From a tender age to adulthood, this father of four children has never known peace. He has been fighting incessant battles against poverty and he has been a perennial loser. Now he is purely the epitome of poverty, hopelessness and emptiness.