Household Size
No. of Households interviewed
3 or less
2
3 to 5
4
6 to 10
6
10 or more
0
Total
12
Table 1 shows the average family size of the interviewed respondents which is five
(5) people per household. On the other hand fifty per cent (50%) of the respondent’s
households exceeded six (6). The ZHRC notes with concern that the majority of the
communities were allocated one tent per household regardless of the family size. In
some cases the households did not receive a tent, leading to harsh environmental
conditions. In some households father’s in-laws were sharing the same tent with
daughter’s in-law a situation which is taboo in the African culture. In some cases
boys also shared tents with women and girls hence putting the vulnerable at high risk
of abuse.
At the time of the visit a few households had managed to construct some pole and
dagga houses. Although figure 6 below, indicates that most of the interviewed people
were married, a considerable number of them are women who did not live with their
husbands who had migrated to the neighbouring South Africa in search for greener
pastures. Other households were headed by elderly, the disabled persons, who
could hardly make economic contribution to their families. These labour constrained
households faced difficulties in constructing new homes and securing a livelihood for
their families.
Figure 6: Marital Status of Interviewed victims
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