The Mail & Guardian witnessed first-hand the struggles faced by residents trying simply to move in and out of the community. After more than three hours on a heavily potholed tar road that ends halfway, the journey continued along a punishing gravel route leading to the village.
The village of uMhlwazi, which sits among the rolling mountains of uMhlumayo in KwaZulu-Natal’s uThukela district, feels forgotten.
With barely any services and almost entirely cut off from the rest of the predominantly rural district, daily life in the impoverished village is marked by isolation and hardship.
The Mail & Guardian witnessed first-hand the struggles faced by residents trying simply to move in and out of the community. After more than three hours on a heavily potholed tar road that ends halfway, the journey continued along a punishing gravel route leading to the village.
uMhlwazi lies roughly three hours from the seat of the Alfred Duma local municipality, headquartered in the town of Ladysmith, known to locals as eMnambithi.
