TOUWS RIVER: One of the changes she most wants to see after this local government election is the price of candles fall.
Candles, water and potatoes are the necessities if one lives in a house along the N1 with no electricity, says Lena Faro, sitting around a warm fire in Touws River.
She lives in a one-bedroom house with her husband, Johannes Faro, and his cousin, also Johannes Faro.
“In the old days they loved their names and wanted to keep it in the family. All the boys are named after my great-grandfather,” Lena’s husband chuckles.
He explains that the house they live in was given to him by his former boss 14 years ago as an act of goodwill.
Lena said no ward candidates have visited them in the run-up to next month’s local government elections.
“No one has ever knocked on our door to explain anything to us. I want to vote, but don’t know where to register. I asked my son, but he doesn’t know either.
“But ai, it doesn’t matter much. This is our life, and we get by just fine
“What I would like is if they bring the price of candles down. It’s R3 each! Can you believe it?”
It costs R18 for a pack of six candles, and Lena buys four packs a month.
She cuts the white taper candles in half and uses one half at a time.
“It makes it last longer. Candles help you to see when it gets dark at night. It gets pitch-black.
“Without water there is no life, and my favourite food is a good potato. You can put it into the pot and boil it, but I like mine to be mashed with some salt and a little bit of milk added. When it’s warm and creamy, it’s the best to eat,” Lena, 59, says.
Lena does not work, and neither does her husband. He receives a disability grant after he injured his leg a few years ago and can no longer stand on it for too long.
His cousin, 62, lives on his pension he accumulated after working on a livestock farm for about 40 years.
To get to the three residents, the Cape Times had to manoeuvre through a barbed wire fence, because after 5pm the farm owner locks the gate leading to the driveway.
Adding more twigs to the fire, Lena’s husband points to the river adjacent to their house and said it had flooded twice after heavy rain. “It’s dangerous when that happens. We have to move all our belongings and wait a while before we can move back in.”