Girls living in marginalised communities are extremely vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis on their mental health and well-being, and on future prospects. In one of three articles, we focus on the health risks and distress of fighting for survival in the dirty shadow of a coal-fired.
‘We’re fighting to breathe clean air’
13 Feb 2021
Dirty danger: Princess Mathebula’s oxygen mask (above). Her mother can’t afford a nebuliser. Black dust coats people’s homes and lungs. The Deadly Air court case applicants argue that toxic air violates people’s constitutional right to an environment that does not not harm them. Photos: Paul Botes
Mapule Mdhuli has spent the morning meticulously cleaning her family’s small home in Empumelelweni in Mpumalanga, but a layer of gritty black dust still coats the furniture.
“We’re breathing in this same dust,” says Mdhuli, 25, as she breastfeeds her one-year-old son, Anthony. “It’s all over the house and it’s part of what makes us sick.”