Fourteen people live in a public toilet
By Thembela Ntongana
18 January 2018
In Gonubie, East London a group of homeless people have made a home out of public toilets. They all come from different areas of the Eastern Cape. They came to East London in the hope of getting jobs.
There are currently 14 people living there. When GroundUp visited many had gone to work at the beachfront while others who had started working earlier, like Phindile Nobhanda, were resting.
Many work as car guards at the beachfront during busy days. On quiet days they look for odd jobs like gardening.
Nobhanda sits in one corner with an art book. He says he is looking for the next thing to draw. “Drawing helps me keep my mind off things. I sometimes forget I sleep in a public toilet when I am drawing.”
Originally from Nqamakwe, he moved to East London in the early 1980s and lived in an informal settlement in Cambridge with his partner. He says when he lost his job at a construction company his relationship also ended and he had to move out in 2006.