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Life in an informal settlement

Life in an Informal Settlement By: Ethan

Living in an informal settlement is horrible. Though maybe one day I will be like the rest of the   world. Fancy cars, big houses, deep pools and even my own room with my own bed. Well, that’s what I hope. I don't know how far I will get now, with me dropping out of school, the reason being for that is that every day I would come home and open the cupboard and there would be no food or anything. I would starve like anything, and my mom wasn’t there to help me with my homework, because she was at work until eight o’clock at night, and my dad died, he had cancer.

Every day I wake up, get out of bed trying not to wake my sister and brother up, we all sleep in the same bed. I then go to get my clothes out of my box and get dressed and go outside to take jog up the hill and back, I then get my younger siblings ready and go to catch the taxi to my grandmas house, well more like a shack, but it’s my happy place. She then gave me money for my lunch. My grandma sometimes gives me lunch or she gives me money like she did today. I went to this place called “ Mr. W’s ” where I got my lunch for school, I couldn’t afford much so I just got a packet of chips, a bottle of water and a cheese and ham sandwich. I made my way off to school and got to my place in the corner, I was there late again so I didn’t get a table. In or class we only have 4 desks with 6 seats at each one, and there’s 63 kids in our class so I was grateful to even have a spot. I then got my pencil out of my pocket and started writing what was on the board, we had no teacher today, our principal wrote on the board. Our teacher wasn’t at school today, because she was drunk from a party last night. 

When I had finished writing down what I was supposed to write, I packed my stuff and gave the textbook to my friend and went home. As I was walking, I heard yelling from around the corner, I   peeped around and saw two gangs having war. I then heard a gun shot and someone screaming as if he was in pain. I peeped around again and then saw as much as half the people I did when I saw them the first time. Then after sometime, I heard footsteps and someone walked around from an alley behind me. I quickly hid, and he then walked past me. He was wearing a red, leather jacket, and boots up to his knees and had a massive afro. After some time I came out from behind the bins and then ran to my friends house. I knocked on the door and his mother came to answer it. "Why aren't you at school" She asked me. "Mrs. Input wasn't at school today, late night." I replied. "Could I use you telephone for a second, thanks." I then walked over and dialed the police and called them. They soon arrived and went over to meet them on the highway. I told them what happened and they said they will keep an eye out. Then I went home and got ready for my soccer practice.

I had gotten changed and was about to leave, when I heard a loud bang outside. I ran to go check it out and I saw someone lying on the ground bleeding like anything, with 5 other men around him busy freaking out, and a girl about my age, calling the ambulance. I ran to see if the guy on the ground was okay, but before I could go any closer a dog came out from who knows where, and started barking at me. I ran back inside and shut the door, and decided to go out the crack in the wall next to our table. When I got to the field, well not so much a field more like a sandpit, unfortunately we don't have money for irrigation. I did my warm ups and we got our positions and then played a match, our coach couldn't play though, he was in a wheelchair. When he was a child he was in a taxi going home from school. The taxi went through a red traffic light and a truck smashed into the side and killed 8 passengers, and injured 11, including my coach. Despite his injury, we always seem to win our matches. When practice was over I went to my grandma's house and had dinner there, we had a piece of chicken and a garlic roll. Afterwards I went home and said goodnight to my mom and got undressed and went to bed.



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