WATCH | Trapped: Family of 13 shares one bedroom!

IN the busy streets of Alexandra township, north of Joburg, where the vibrancy of life meets the harsh realities of poverty, lives Hlengiwe Ximba, a 28-year-old mother of four.

Privacy is rare in her home - a one-bedroom house that she shares with 12 others, including her children, parents, brother, sister and her three kids.

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She wakes up at 6am to the loud sounds of voices filling their tiny home as she prepares her kids for school.

It’s crowded; you can’t even breathe properly. There is no privacy, and sometimes I need my alone time.

Every day, she navigates the difficulties of motherhood, education, and financial strain.

Hlengiwe gave birth to her first child in 2013, when she was only 18 years old. At the time, life was manageable because she, alongside her siblings, and mother depended on her father’s salary. But when her father retired in 2019, they began to struggle.

“Right now, nobody works besides my sister. We depend on social grants, but they’re not enough. They only help to get the things they need at school like school bags, shoes, jerseys, trousers and some toiletries and some food,” she detailed.

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Battling to provide, Hlengiwe said her grade 12 results haunt her as she fared poorly in two subjects. But without money to register to write supplementary exams, she’s out of choices.

“I want to supplement my two subjects, but I don’t have the money to register. Without grade 12, you can’t get a job anywhere. Without grade 12, you are in trouble.”

But through all the trials and tribulations Hlengiwe faces, she said she envisions a better future for herself and her children in Alexandra because this, in her words, is her home.

“I see myself working and having my own house and a car,” she declares, her voice tinged with optimism. “I don’t want a maid, to make someone else a slave. I want my kids to go to proper schools. I want to build a beautiful house for my parents.”