Doreen C Mampani

Shacks Paving Way for Mansions Doreen C Mampani

These poems I wrote while staying in a back-room. I observed the lives amongst tenants from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Democratic Republic of Congo. Living in shacks and backrooms built with bricks and those built with concrete like the one I was living in. These accommodations are temporary for the tenants who are renting. Some tenants are job seekers while others are students all in all they are trying to make a living. God of heaven laid it upon my heart to write these poems. Firstly I did not realize the hardship of staying in a room that is all in one. What I mean is a room which is a kitchen, bedroom, lounge, dinning room, bath room and sometimes a study room and finally prayer room as well. In some shacks, back rooms or garages one finds a husband with his wife and two kids staying together. This is due to poverty that is plundering Africa and South Africa. Here there is no luxury of taking a bath in a bathroom or taking a shower. We use a tub, get water from the tap using a bucket, and boil it using a kettle then bath in a tub. After bathing, pour dirty water into a bucket then carry it to the toilet or pour it down the drain. We also washed dishes in a small dish and emptied the water in the drain. Tenants strive to live harmoniously with each other.