Pictures Ashraf Hendricks/ GroundUp
Words Liezl Human / GroundUp
Eric van Rooy is 69. He grew up in the little town of Wupperthal in the Western Cape, and has lived there most of his life. He worked in the old glove factory for a while before it closed down. Now, he works for the Community Work Programme CWP, and fetches his old age grant from Clanwilliam each month.
The CWP, a national initiative aimed at providing a safety net to working people, only employs about 47 people out of a population of about 7,400. But in a town where jobs are scarce, it is welcome. The programme is managed and funded by the National Department of Cooperative Governance.
Wupperthal is a small town about 70km from Clanwilliam.
