A Borolong family reels from poverty, sickness

PINI BOTHOKO
Correspondent | Friday August 3, 2012 00:00

 

The 50-year-old, dizzy with hunger and fatigue is shouting something at the top of her voice while the younger one feebly parts her lips trying to respond.The 50-year-old is Segametsi Edward while the sickly bed-ridden one is her younger sister, 37-year-old Lechani Edward. It is not possible to know whether Lechani is reclining on the ragged bedding which today include a new blanket handed over by Member of Parliament (MP) Fidelis Molao because she is sick or she has been weakened by incessant hunger.

Even in egametsi, one can see misery etched in her features. Segametsi is Lechani's caregiver in this home of three rickety mud huts where they reside with their elder brother. The brother is equally haggard with weather-beaten features.As The Monitor arrives for an interview Segametsi is coming out of the bath inside her own hut.The sister is reclining inside her hut while the bedraggled brother is sitting by the fire trying to fend off the cold breeze that has enveloped this area next to Borolong Primary School.

Segametsi summons enough stamina to call out Lechani, who is not only epileptic but also hard of hearing. She (Lechani) has been sick for seven years. After what seems like an eternity, Lechani peeps through an opening, which passes for a window, in the wall of the hut and then pokes her head out, the way a snake would do from a hole in the ground. Like a salesman talking about his must-buy product, Segametsi announces her troubles as Lechani approaches walking with difficulty. She says her sister (Lechani) is suffering for epilepsy, and she (Segametsi) has to be on guard on a daily basis for when Lechani is attacked by fits. Segametsi says her sister is also deaf and she (Segametsi) has to shout at the top of her voice when communicating with her. Perhaps from the effects of sickness and hunger, Lechani is sometimes too weak to walk and has on many occasions stumbled and fallen.

Segametsi says she also helps support Lechani when she wants to go out to relieve herself or warm herself in the sun. 'She cannot do anything for herself. I wash her clothes, bath her and do almost everything. When it is time for her check-ups at the clinic I mostly push her in a wheelbarrow, but occasionally we borrow a wheelchair from the clinic,' said Segametsi. Despite their daily struggles, Segametsi says the destitute ration they are given monthly by the government is not enough.

'They give us five kilogrammes phaletshe, bopi jwa mabele, six packets of corned beef, cooking oil and milk. But there are no fruits and vegetables, which the doctor has recommended for Lechani, 'says Segametsi. Apparently, there was a time the government gave Lechani a balanced diet, which comprised fruits, and vegetables but they were excluded once she (Lechani) was deemed to have fully recovered.'But her doctor says she still needs to eat fruits and vegetables. For them (the government) to have stopped supplying her with them, has exacerbated Lechani's health problem because she is sick,' Segametsi says.

Segametsi feels strongly that the government must consider their situation and build a house for her sister because the one she is living in might collapse if a strong wind blows in the area.'Last year I consulted the social workers about her accommodation situation and they promised that they would look for a plot somewhere in the village and build a house for her. But up to now we are still waiting with hope,' says Segametsi. Lechani has a son who is doing Form Three at Tlhalogang Secondary School. The boy also needs help because his mother is unable to take care of him anymore.

Though the social workers assist with food they do not give Lechani clothes and toiletry. 'There are times there will be no soap to wash her clothes and I will be struggling to look for some. I end up taking the soap on account from tuck shops,' she says. Segametsi says she would be happy if the social worker can start giving her sister toiletry, fruits and vegetables which she likes and a wheelchair. 'The home-based care people are always there to assist me and I am happy with their support and some teachers of Borolong Primary School who sometimes come with fruits and vegetables for her,' said Segametsi. She said two weeks back their MP Molao gave her sister a blanket.

Meanwhile the village councillor Jabulani Vuke says they have always known of Lechani's problem and they have sent out feelers to Good Samaritans for a wheelchair for her. 'Molao told me that he has talked with the village social worker to write all the names of people who need the assistance of wheelchairs for them to be provided with them,' Vuke says.Vuke said currently Lechani is under the destitute programme, which is helping her with food, and the social worker is also helping out in other ways.