Arnold Jako

Closer to town, Arnold Jako is determined to have a bright future.

A Fresh Start

Words: Alicia English

The 32-year-old single man has been selling The Big Issue since 2018. Arnold came to the Mother City from East London in 2013 in search of a better life but lost his family home after his father’s passing. “Initially, things did not go as planned in Cape Town. I have no family here. I have been living on the streets for more than five years now; life is hard and many people are unkind,” he says.
Arnold longs to have a place of his own one day, and to find a stable job so that he can pay rent and be at peace. An experienced waiter, cleaner and gardener, he is, however, grateful to The Big Issue for the work that the magazine provides. “I can at least afford to eat from time to time,” he says.