After a mother killed her children and herself because they were starving, the government and Gift of the Givers stepped in and started feeding schemes that have changed the face of Tholeni.

On a Sunday morning in August 2023, a debt collector looking for repayment of a loan found the bodies of Bongeka Buso (38), Orabile Buso (8), Oratile Buso (5) and Anathi Buso (14).

The police said Bongeka was found hanging from a rope in her rondavel. Orabile and Oratile were found dead on the bed. It is alleged that Bongeka took the last of the family's food and mixed it with Rattex to poison her smaller children.

Her other child, Anathi, understood to be about 14 years old, was found lying on the floor next to the bed with a knife in her neck.

Residents said it looked as if she'd been trying to stop her mother from poisoning the two small children, and there had been a physical altercation. Family members said Bongeka was deeply in debt and she and her children had been starving for weeks.

In a suicide note, the mother, known in the area as a quiet introvert, said she had become overwhelmed by her burdens.

In March 2022, Daily Maverick highlighted the cost-of-living crisis, especially in the rural Eastern Cape, after seven children...