Desperate residents of Johannesburg are building shacks inside and on top of abandoned and hijacked buildings as new shantytowns mushroom across the inner city.
Hundreds of people have made themselves at home in some of the city’s abandoned old factories, office buildings and dilapidated residential flats, mainly in areas such as Jeppestown and Troyeville.
What may seem like abandoned buildings to many have become a warm haven for homeless people who are in a desperate need for proper housing.
The shiny corrugated iron shacks are noticeable from the Jeppe train station railway bridge, with lots of laundry on washing lines visible from afar.
“This is home to us,” said Eunice Madonsela, 50, who claimed to have lived in the building over 20 years ago when it was still a factory.
“I arrived here when I was very young and my late employer brought me here together with other people who worked for him.”
Article sourced from Sowetan LIVE