/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WFD_1693.jpg "In the early morning, NoWonga Zintoyinto carries a bucket filled with water to her home to prepare boiling water for the family on 17 July 2025. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WFD_1741.jpg "Here again, NoWonga Zintoyinto carries a bucket filled with water to her home to prepare boiling water for the family on 17 July 2025. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WFD_1759.jpg "NoWonga Zintoyinto carries a blackened pot outside her home to prepare boiling water for the family on 17 July 2025. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WFD_1878.jpg "NoWonga Zintoyinto feeds dry sticks under a blackened pot, on an open fire outside her home to prepare boiling water for the family on 17 July 2025. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WFD_1924.jpg "NoWonga Zintoyinto checks the pot on an open fire outside her home to prepare boiling water for the family on 17 July 2025. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WFD_1992.jpg "While waiting for water to boil, NoWonga Zintoyinto goes about her morning duties in and around her home on 17 July 2025. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WFD_2010.jpg "A little later, close to her home on 17 July 2025. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WFD_2043.jpg "Waiting for water to boil, NoWonga Zintoyinto, on 17 July 2025. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla). DM")
PHOTO ESSAY
Stoking the fire: A quiet moment in Bulungula, Eastern Cape
As dawn breaks on July 17, 2025, NoWonga Zintoyinto masters the art of multitasking—juggling buckets of water, a blackened pot, and the daily grind, all while waiting for her morning brew to boil over.
NoWonga Zintoyinto feeds dry sticks under a blackened pot on an open fire outside her home to prepare boiling water for the family. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)