Longing for education
While many people wake up every morning to go to school, John Herman always readies himself to go and queue up for handyman jobs at the side of the road.
John Herman has been begging on the streets for a year after he failed Grade 10 in 2015. He says he had to fend for his six siblings and the only way he could do it was through the handyman jobs he gets on the streets.
“I have been doing random jobs on the streets now for close to a year. I have siblings that I take care of because of the jobs that I get here,” he says. The former Goreangab Secondary School pupil says he wants to go back to school if he gets the opportunity to do so. “I have been thinking about it for a long time now and I know I am ready to go back to school but I also need money to buy stationery and other things I might need to attend school. I need money to register for the examinations and that is the only thing stopping me from going back to school,” he says.
The articulate young man says he prefers begging on the streets instead of committing crimes to feed his siblings and he does not shy away from begging if it is going to benefit him. “You don't always get jobs… it always depends on the amount of seeking help on a certain job but I will never be ashamed of standing up for myself or my siblings,” he says. He spends most of his days looking for handyman jobs at robots and many other intersections.
“People normally think there is something wrong with us when we beg on the side of the road and sometimes it can be dangerous because cars might run us over,” he shares.
He's biggest wish for 2018 is to make enough money to pay for his external Grade 10 examinations and expressed that he is eager to get back into school. “I just want to make enough to go back to school but I don't have that money at the moment.”
Shona Ngava
John Herman has been begging on the streets for a year after he failed Grade 10 in 2015. He says he had to fend for his six siblings and the only way he could do it was through the handyman jobs he gets on the streets.
“I have been doing random jobs on the streets now for close to a year. I have siblings that I take care of because of the jobs that I get here,” he says. The former Goreangab Secondary School pupil says he wants to go back to school if he gets the opportunity to do so. “I have been thinking about it for a long time now and I know I am ready to go back to school but I also need money to buy stationery and other things I might need to attend school. I need money to register for the examinations and that is the only thing stopping me from going back to school,” he says.
The articulate young man says he prefers begging on the streets instead of committing crimes to feed his siblings and he does not shy away from begging if it is going to benefit him. “You don't always get jobs… it always depends on the amount of seeking help on a certain job but I will never be ashamed of standing up for myself or my siblings,” he says. He spends most of his days looking for handyman jobs at robots and many other intersections.
“People normally think there is something wrong with us when we beg on the side of the road and sometimes it can be dangerous because cars might run us over,” he shares.
He's biggest wish for 2018 is to make enough money to pay for his external Grade 10 examinations and expressed that he is eager to get back into school. “I just want to make enough to go back to school but I don't have that money at the moment.”
Shona Ngava
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