Desperate families turn abandoned school into lodgings

Soshanguve Central used to be a prestigious school pre-1994

Opa Kharima-Banda, 69, stands unshakingly in the middle of a classroom which she bought for R16,000 in 2020 and converted into a four-room apartment for her family of eight. 

A colourful curtain with bright African print zig-zags inside separating three makeshift bedrooms, an open plan kitchen and a living area. On one side of the “apartment” is a blackboard with the names of Kharima-Banda’s grandkids scribbled clumsily with a permanent maker...

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