Cape Town - There has been an outpouring of support for Patrick Maqhasha, a sub-contracted cleaner who works at the University of Cape Town.
This after the Cape Argus and IOL published Maqhasha’s story of how he has been living on less than R100 per month after paying his monthly expenses. [Read: I’m living off R100 - varsity cleaner]
Maqhasha’s story highlighted the plight of many workers and students across the country who called for an end to outsourcing at their respective universities.
Maqhasha, a father of four children aged, nine to 18, lost his wife, who worked as a teacher, to cancer and has been struggling to survive on his R5 000 salary.
His monthly income is used to pay debt, transport, food and school fees, to name a few. Before her death, his wife Sindiswa used to help out at home. The family is now facing eviction after falling being with their bond repayments, which were being paid by his wife before she died.
Following Maqhasha’s heartbreaking story, people had called in offering assistance.
One of the calls came from Hayley Jansen, director of Access Trust, an organisation that provides students at Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges with private bursaries.
Jansen said they were offering the eldest child a bursary to study at any of the TVET colleges and for her to do a study of her choice. “I know what a relief it is for families when they hear that Access Trust will be assisting with their children’s fees.”
Jansen said she was touched by Maqhasha’s story: “He is 62 years old now, how is he going to support his children plus their education?”
“I am the eldest of four, my parents had to take out bank loans, and school fees were in arrears. They were not cleaners but civil servants and they struggled to ensure that we all went to university,” she said.
Maqhasha’s eldest child is still in Grade 9; the bursary will be processed in writing for 2018. “We will commit ourselves into that,” Jansen said.
Lawyer Renaat Bodart, from Legal Aid SA, also reached out to Maqhasha. “We saw the article and we want to invite him to apply for legal aid and that we can see if we can help.” Bodart said Legal Aid would like to follow up on the bond, policies and eviction issue.
“We want to see what money was deducted from his wife’s policies and what we can do for him about it.”
Maqhasha welcomed the assistance.
“I need the help not for myself but for my children. I am going to die and they will be left to face all these issues.”
Maqhasha said he was happy the university had ended outsourcing and promised to employ them permanently next year: “I am very eager about this because the pain and suffering is coming to an end.”
Cape Argus
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