When 85-year-old Simon Seshibe and his 67-year-old wife, Rahab cannot get their diabetes medication at their local clinic in Sebayeng village northeast of Polokwane, they face a costly search for supplies that sometimes leaves them without treatment for days. The…
When Tshikota resident Dipou Moyo recently suddenly lost consciousness in the middle of the night, she was fortunate to have a relative who could drive her to Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital at 2am. “If he was not around, I could…
41-year-old Richard Lebea, who has lived with asthma since childhood, says living next to a wastewater treatment plant and an illegal dumping site on the outskirts of Seshego township in Limpopo is taking a toll on his health. For years,…
Residents in Musina, Limpopo, are concerned about their health as sewage continues to flow through residential streets. Unreliable water supplies force some households to spend hundreds of rands per month buying water. Musina resident, Norah Ndlovu says she fears children…
Residents of Makhuvha village near Giyani in Limpopo say they have been struggling to access clean water since a communal borehole stopped working in March last year, forcing families to buy water or collect it from unsafe sources. Christine Mashel…
Tshegofatso Molamo has spent more than a decade trying to understand why she lost her ability to walk after medical complications during childbirth in May 2012. She says doctors at two hospitals in the province have been unable to provide…
Thirty-year-old mother of four, Ndanganine Mudau, has battled for more than a decade to obtain a birth certificate for her 12-year-old daughter, denying her access to a child support grant as the family battles to meet her growing needs. According…
A Musina mother says she was trapped in a violent family home with her four children after being unable to find a shelter to move her children to, and could not afford to leave while unemployed. Makwanela* says she eventually…
A Limpopo mother says her seven-year-old daughter, who has a developmental disability, was raped by a person known to the community, yet the family is still waiting for an arrest. The incident happened on 21 August at Makaepea village in…
Residents of Mafarafara village outside Burgersfort in Limpopo are again struggling to reach healthcare after a makeshift bridge across the Steelpoort River, also known as the Tubatse River, was washed away by heavy rains. The community-built crossing, made from corrugated…
Residents of Mafefe village in Limpopo are being screened for asbestos-related illnesses as government moves to address contamination from abandoned mines that closed more than 30 years ago. The intervention follows the death of 48-year-old Mampuru Thobejane, whose father, Chief…
Traditional healers say patients they refer to public clinics can fall through the cracks because the two health systems don’t communicate effectively. Nozuko Nkunzi, a traditional health practitioner from Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, says South Africa’s plans to integrate…
Parents in Musina, Limpopo, say drug addiction is taking a toll on families, leaving some afraid in their own homes and struggling to get help for their children. Their concerns come after the Hawks uncovered a suspected crystal methamphetamine manufacturing…
Residents of Matswale township in Musina say persistent sewage spills and the stench from overflowing wastewater continue to disrupt their lives, more than a year after the Public Protector found that authorities had failed to properly maintain the town’s sewage…
For 34-year-old paraplegic athlete Moloko Pula, getting to hospital for medical care means travelling from her rural village to Polokwane and relying on public transport that does not always accommodate her wheelchair. Pula, who lives in Ga-Semenya village in the…
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