when for the first time I saw black people rummaging through my rubbish on waste collection day.

Shock that they were going through MY rubbish, another black person (I had crossed to the other side (the dark side?)) Shock and sadness also that so many black people (still) live that kind of life. I knew about can and plastic collectors, this was easier to deal with because there’s a commercial element to it. But looking for food scraps?

This was many years ago. On my run this morning, I saw them again. I was not shocked because I have gotten used to the sight.

But I still felt sadness that, despite the best efforts of the government to lift people out of poverty, the challenge remains huge. What is to be done?

Clearly South Africa needs to be on a higher growth path in order to create jobs, invest in education so that people can be employable or start their own businesses. This will lessen people who find themselves in desperate straits, but realistically can never completely eliminate poverty. The government and society at large need to continue looking for creative solutions to deal with this challenge.