Maseru, June 03 — Mr. Mojalefa Morena, a 65 year-old man living alone with no family at Ha Malefane, Mazenod is living in a dilapidated stone house.
Area Chief, Community Councilor and villagers are urgently advocating for government intervention to help the elderly resident, who has to bow his spine to navigate the debris.
Looking frail, hungry and extremely poor, Mr. Morena was also lonely, without any family of his own.
His mind, fragmented by years of untreated trauma and isolation, convinced him that every discarded tin and scrap of cardboard was a fortress wall. The line between a human home and a pigsty had blurred long ago.
Area Chief Majoro Sekaleli said Mr. Morena who is his age mate but never married used to live in their one roomed stone house with his sister before she passed on over 10 years ago.
He said as time went by and experienced harsh weather conditions, the roofing was blown away and the upper part of the house destroyed and the community helped rebuild.
He said as years passed and harsh weather conditions continued, the house was affected to the state where it is today.
He said if he had the muscles, he would have taken him in but said his two roomed house is not enough for five people already.
Therefore he strongly pleaded with the government and people of goodwill to assist Mr. Morena by building him a decent house.
To the outside world, his home is not only a hazard but biohazard as well, a dark reflection of his inner reality.
Community Councilor Mrs. ‘Madaniel Phenethi said the state of the house poses a health threat as Mr. Morena could contract diseases adding that it can also collapse with him inside.
She earnestly appealed to the government to help build a home for Mr. Morena.
On the other hand, villager Ms. ‘Mamorapeli Thokoa urged the government to intervene and build a house for Mr. Morena even if it could be a single roomed house.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Sophie Ralejoe, Acting District Disaster Manager said they are currently conducting assessments on damages and impact of strong winds and heavy rains across the district saying Mr. Morena is among those who have been assessed and once the exercise is completed there will be a way forward.
The United Nations considers adequate housing a fundamental human right. The UN states that a decent home must be secure, affordable, habitable, accessible, and culturally appropriate, while providing basic infrastructure like safe drinking water and sanitation.
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