Shale has 5 children, ages 29 to 7, and 2 grandchildren that live with her. She is a single mother who travels to Gaborone to work about 1 week a month as a maid. Shale says that she hasn’t been able to find work in Molepolole and relies on her eldest  daughter, Moiponi, to help with expenses.

The 600 pula she earns a month is not enough to pay for rent, electricity, food for 8, and school expenses. In fact, it costs Shale about 2000 pula a year to pay for the school uniforms and supplies!

Shale is looking forward to moving into her Habitat house the second week of August because it is bigger than the one she is renting and will be hers once she pays off the mortgage.

The 29 year old daughter of future homeowner Shale, whose Habitat house we are finishing this week, provided some interesting insights into life in Botswana. Although Moiponi has a full-time job, she struggles financially given that she plans to make most of the monthly payments for her mother’s house. Here is a quick breakdown of her income and expenses. Read on →