From Climate Change to Hope: A Perspective from South African Informal Communities

Climate change have become a major concern that continue exacerbating communities' vulnerabilities, particularly in South African informal settlements.

This is evident in one of the informal settlements in Dali Mpofu (also known as Ma Seven), located in the larger Thembisa area. Informal conversations with some members of the community revealed that they are faced with multiple vulnerabilities that tend to impact their lives and livelihoods heavily.  

Climatic and Non-climatic Factors Exacerbating Community Vulnerabilities

Across community members who were part of the informal conversation, the overflow of the river due to heavy rainfall was highlighted as one of the major concerns that required serious attention. This challenge has been aggravated by the deposition of sewage and waste substances into the river The resultant flooding damaged household property and led to the loss of important documents such as identity and matric certificates.

The loss of these documents posed additional financial strain on the community, as they had to replace these documents. Despite community members not mentioning any death related to heavy rainfall, they stated having a fear of losing their lives amid heavy rainfall.

Heavy rainfall exacerbated their vulnerability to other non-climatic factors, for instance, they stated that the occurrence of heavy rainfall disrupted their power supply, this led to other challenges such as having to wait for the heavy rainfall to stop for the service providers to avail themselves to fix the power outages. Additionally, community members have to sort a means had to repair property damages, which subject many to borrow money, posing financial strain on a community already grappling with access to financial capital.

Sewage runoff was also one of the issues they highlighted to be increasing their chances of contracting various diseases and further limiting their access to water. On the other hand, the community is dependent on the government to collect their portable toilets, however, during heavy rainfall, the government struggles to collect the portable toilets, which impacts the overall sanitation of the community.

Members of the community understand the importance of addressing the impacts of climate change, however, they stressed that to address the impacts of climate change within their community, it was important to address their socioeconomic conditions including access to employment opportunities and food to mention a few.

This can be corroborated by a quote from one member who stated “I understand the impacts that climate change has upon my life, however in my own opinion I feel like if you want to address climate change it is important to address the socio-economic conditions facing people. Without addressing people’s socio-economic challenges, it might be difficult to talk about climate change with some members of the community”.

Age and climate Change Information

It is also important to note that for some older (>60 years) members of the community, their understanding of climate change is through personal experience as they have limited access to climate change information; unlike the younger generations who have more access to climate change information.

Additionally, one of the challenges that makes it difficult for older members of the community to understand climate change is the use of scientific jargon as stated by one member of the community who indicated: “I would love to learn and understand climate change in detail, but it is difficult for me to understand the climate change information because of the way it is written”. It is therefore important to bear in mind that for the older generations, climate change information perhaps can be written in their native languages or administered through the use of pictures.

The younger (<35 years) members of the community seem to be more informed about climate change, unlike the elderly. However, this does not come as a shock as they are growing up in an era where access to information about climate change has improved and this can also be corroborated by a quote from one member of the community who highlighted “I am well informed about climate change and understand the profound impacts it has upon my life and if I do not acknowledge the impacts of climate change I will most definitely be ignorant”.

Adaptation to Changing Conditions

During informal conversations, community members also revealed that they adapt to the changing conditions in numerous ways including relocation to safer locations, whilst renting out their homes as a means of acquiring more money. Others also repaired their housing units and some resorted to building their houses using bricks instead of steel.

One member of the community says that,  “the occurrence of heavy rainfall made me resort to building my house using bricks instead of metal”. Some of the community members revealed that there was nothing for them to do except to accept their situation and repair the damages, while some community members mentioned consulting political organisations to assist them in terms of offering food and clothing to highlight a few. 

A Ray of Hope

Despite the multiple vulnerabilities faced by this community, a hopeful spirit exists within them, especially about adapting to the changing conditions. Some members of the community stated having hope and faith that eventually things would turn around for their community.

This is further supported by some quotes from members of the community saying the following: “I may be staying in an informal settlement today, but I plan on working hard and improving myself and my area”, “I believe that as a community we need to be more informed and better prepared in the case of climate change”, “denying that climate change is having a profound impact upon our community is just being ignorant and that is why I am equipping myself to better adapt to climate change, more especially heavy rainfall”,  and “not only did climate change taught me to be resilient but also strengthened my faith”.

Written By: Humbelani Netshithuthuni

Edited by: Takudzwa Charisse Taruza and Muhammad Abdullahi Ibrahim