No I.D., No Benefits

From February’s Report:

“We visited a 59-year old female patient from Jerusalem. The patient is staying with her family in their three -roomed family home. She is on HIV/AIDS treatment, and has been living with HIV for the past ten years.

“The patient told us that she is a foreigner and she does not have a South African identity document. She said there is no one working in the family, and she has not been able to find employment for herself because of not having a South African identity document.

“The patient asked for assistance in getting an identity document so  that she can apply for the old age grant. We advised her to visit the department of home affairs either at White River or Hazyview where she can get better assistance, we also provided her with the home affairs working hours.

“We gave the patient a food parcel and promised to visit her again to get an update on her department of home affairs visit, as she said she will visit the department’s offices.”

As you can see, having an I.D. is vital for receiving state benefits.