Sanitation - toilets, water, drains etc...... something we take for granted in England is very different in South Africa.
Toilets
Toilets are known as the 'long drop'. These are just holes in the ground with a wooden box to sit on and if you're really fortunate, a piece of carpet or cloth to help avoid splinters in your bottom !
The toilets are often in blocks of two or three with a very low dividing wall between the seats. The walls and doors on the toilet blocks are often broken and often non existent. Quite often the owners chickens and small animals also live in the toilet block because it provides shade from the sun and protection from the wind.
Water
Water in the area around Mtyu is in short supply.
A visit to the local river is a daily necessity for homes that do not have water storage tanks and metal roofs on their houses. Often the women will walk for about a mile or so to collect a bucket of water from the river.
Houses with metal roofs are able to store rain water during the wet season for use throughout the year. The traditional houses with grass roofs cannot collect the water and therefore have to collect it daily from the river - unless the river in dry.
The water tank is to the left of the picture. The water is collected from the roof of the building out of shot to the left. It is possible to see the metal roofs of the houses in the picture.
Unfortunately metal sheet used for roofs is very expensive and often cannot be afforded by the local people.
This building has a grass roof and is used as a kitchen (with an open fire in the middle) to provide food for a family of 6. This building is known as a rondavel - it's made of mud bricks with a grass roof. | 