In a place often defined by struggle and desperation, a small community at Khomasdal Stadium is quietly rewriting its story one vegetable garden at a time.
Among worn and torn tents and harsher living conditions, residents of the Khomasdal Stadium, who were moved there during the peak of the Covid-19 virus, have turned their struggle and hardship into hope.
Referring to themselves as the “homeless but not hopeless”, many of them have started planting vegetables around their makeshift homes at the stadium, a simple but powerful act of resilience.
One of the residents, only identified as Denzel, said the government found him sleeping under a bridge around the city before he was moved here.
He said he had to start growing vegetables to feed himself rather than wait on the government to provide him with all his needs.
“My brother, as for me, I am grateful for the opportunity that the government has given us to stay here. I was staying in the streets before Covid-19, but now I have a small shelter here I call a home,” he said.
“While here, I needed to feed myself. Hence, I started planting this maize you are seeing here. This is the only way we can support ourselves while we wait on the relevant people to get us a lasting solution,” he said.
For many, gardening has become more than just a way to survive.
It is a way to stay occupied and hopeful.
Meryna Bock is another resident at the stadium.
In front of her tent, there is a small garden of chilli and tomatoes.
To her, the lack of stable income forced her to start one.
“We don’t have jobs and we don’t have an income that we can depend on monthly. I need to feed my little ones here, and the only way to do that is by having a small garden. This makes life easier for me because now I will have to only worry about how I should get the mealie to prepare porridge,” she told this publication.
Another resident, Sylvester Gevanni, lived in abandoned buildings before the authorities relocated him during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said life at the stadium, despite its challenges, has given him a sense of stability.
“I’m grateful. At least now I have a place to stay,” he said.
“I keep myself busy by planting vegetables and fruits,” he added.
Photo: Heather Erdmann