Page 40 - SCAT Rural Voice II - 35 Stories for 35 Years

Access to Justice
I cANNOT sTAND INJUsTIce,
tHat’S WHY i am a paRaLegaL
Port St Johns Advice Office. Nomboniso Gaya, Zukiswa Ginya, Vuyokazi Gorayi, Nomhlobo Ndabeni, Bongeka Gqiralimpati.
NOMBONISO GAYA WORKED AS A SWITCHBOARD OPERATOR AT A COMPANY NExT TO THE PORT ST jOHN’S ADVICE OFFICE. SHE WAS SO INSPIRED BY THE WORK THAT THEY WERE DOING HELPING EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS, THAT SHE jUMPED AT THE OPPORTUNITY TO jOIN THE ADVICE OFFICE AND LEARN HOW TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL PARALEGAL.
I am a rural girl from the beautiful town called Port st John’s on the magical wild cost of the eastern cape, in the OR Tambo District municipality. struggling to feed a big family, my parents could not afford for me to further my studies. Because I needed to help my parents raise my siblings, I took the first job I could find, working as a domestic worker. I was 21 years old. I lived in a mud room with a steel bed covered by a thin sponge instead of a mattress and it hurt my back a lot. I had to cook different food for the family (rice, veggies, salads and meat) and rotten mielie-meal and soup for the gardener and me. It was my first experience of inequality within our community.
After four months I left the job and became a switchboard operator for a company based in Port St John’s which was located next to the Advice Office. I earned very low wages. There were masses of people streaming through the doors of the Advice Office daily. I was very curious about what people were going there for. From conversations with the Advice Office clients, I learnt that some were retrenched from mines without their receiving UIF and Provident Fund. Talking to the Advice Office clients made me aware of my rights such as the right to an employment contract as a switchboard operator which I did not have at the time. I was fascinated by the way the Advice Office was educating people about their rights and was inspired by the work that they did. I told myself that this violation of workers’ rights by their employers should stop. People should have access to information.
Nozuko Noxaka, Tembakazi Mthembu, Nosibusiso Nogwina, standing Elijah Mukasa, Chwayita Duka, Bongeka Gqiralimpati, Nomhlobo Ndabeni.
noMboniso ebony GAyA
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RuRal Voice ii: 35 stories for 35 years