“I have a name” is an incredible photo series showcasing everyday South Africans in the most phenomenal way. Proudly South African… one story at a time.
The stories are told by the incredible South Africans… raw & unedited. It’s a showcase of humanness, a reminder that behind every face, is a name.
Meet Patrick Rodza… A man collecting old batteries to make ends meet.
I’m driving down a dirt road – it’s not supposed to be a one way, but due to the rains it has turned into one. A bakkie approaches from the front and we both have to do some fancy off-road maneuvers to squeeze past each other . At first I think the guys on the back are just being friendly so I wave back – but then I realise they are wanting to talk to me. I roll down my window…
” Do you have any old batteries?”
“Old batteries?”
“Yes old batteries – we are collecting them…”
It’s a request I’ve never had before, but I find it intriguing and decide to find out a little bit more about the battery collector…because life is too short to not talk to friendly battery collectors
” My name is Patrick Rodza, I came here with my family from Zimbabwe 3 years ago. I am a pastor and a plumber. Finding work to support my family is not easy. I have a congregation that I minister to. There are many hurting people. Many people are dealing with the results of whichcraft and curses. Thanks be to God who answered my prayers and enabled me to get my license and a bakkie to drive.
I was looking for other work besides plumbing as there are periods when it is quiet. There was a man I was praying for and with regularly, he was the one that introduced me to the second hand battery business.
We drive around with the bakkie and use this loadspeaker to call those in the informal settlements like Kya Sands to bring us their batteries. They can be old or broken and we buy them. We either take them to a scrap collection place, or, depending on the battery, we salvage the cell and reuse them.
Patrick’s number is 0740496650 or you can contact him on WhatsApp on 0763066662
How you can help:
1. Do you have any old large batteries – see pics for the kind they are looking for – they also collect large batteries from cars and trucks. Patrick can collect them from you depending on where you are
2.Patrick tells me he is a plumber – so if you have need of one you can also give him a ring.
“I Have A Name” is a space where an anonymous photographer (we’ll call her J) is taking photos of everyday South Africans to showcase their incredible stories.
How do we bridge the great South African divides? Black vs white, young vs old, rich vs poor, men vs women? The divides that keep us from making eye contact with the beggar standing on the street corner, or the stranger in the lift.
CS Lewis said, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”
Come with me on a journey…the stories and names behind the faces of everyday South Africans living their life in your neighbourhood, on your streets.
I think you will discover that we have a lot in common.
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