Working full-time isn’t enough: KZN dad’s SASSA plea will break your heart

Noah works full-time in KwaZulu-Natal, but a pay check alone can’t cover what his family needs. He depends on a SASSA grant to help raise children who have lost both their parents, with between three and five people relying on his income every month.

He rents his home privately. On paper, he looks like a man who’s found his footing. But the grant remains essential, he channels the money straight into school fees and his children’s daily needs. Noah calls his experience with SASSA smooth, rates its communication as very good, and says he’s never had a payment problem. The money arrives in his account each month, sparing him long queues at pay points.

Employed, banked, and still running short

Even with a job and a grant working together, Noah’s household runs out of money before the month ends. He admits someone at home went without food in the past month, despite the grant comfortably covering his basic needs on paper. It’s a contradiction that reveals how far even a steady income and government support can be stretched thin by the real cost of raising vulnerable children. With South Africa’s unemployment rate above 32%, Noah counts his job as a privilege most don’t have, yet his story proves that having one isn’t a guarantee of stability.

His plea isn’t for himself

Asked what he’d change about SASSA, Noah didn’t hesitate: increase the grant amount. “I wish SASSA could continue with this support for children who had no mothers and fathers in their lives like my ones,” he said. His concern centres entirely on the children in his care, not on his own circumstances.

KwaZulu-Natal remains one of the provinces with the highest number of grant recipients, and Noah’s story reflects a quiet reality playing out in thousands of homes across the province, working hard, loving fiercely, and still coming up short.

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