At the beginning of December, Ndlovu employees were made aware of the unbelievable living conditions of a family in Bloempoort. A Ndlovu employee immediately visited the Malatji family and made a shocking discovery: the family consists of 19 members who all live together in a 3×3 meter corrugated iron hut (shag) without windows. A shag has no floor, only the earth on which the shag was built. The family sleeps on the bare earth as they have neither beds nor mattresses. In summer, this corrugated iron hut is extremely overheated, in the rainy season it is flooded and in winter it is unbearably cold. The family’s belongings are piled up in a corner and consist of blankets and clothes. The daughter lives in this shag with her mother and her many small children and babies. Both the mother and the daughter appeared confused, disoriented and overwhelmed when the Ndlovu employee visited. They were unable to provide accurate information about the names and personal details of the individual family members.
The living conditions and health of this family are classified as extremely worrying by the Ndlovu Care Group. The medical status of the children was assessed by Ndlovu doctors and it was found that the children are infested with intestinal worms, severely malnourished and overall unhygienic and dirty. They are currently receiving medical care and medication, including antibiotics, which is another problem as these need to be kept refrigerated, which is impossible in the current living conditions. Terrifying conditions that we cannot even imagine here.
The Ndlovu team took immediate action to address the family’s most serious and urgent physical problems. Medical care and treatment was provided and the family’s health will continue to be monitored. Balanced food was also provided and another ventilated room was hastily constructed to extend the family’s living area. An outside toilet has also been built to help with hygiene factors. And a few jerry cans of water will help the family survive the current emergency.
Ndlovu will of course continue to support this family, but has limited resources to help these people make their lives bearable. In order to achieve a lasting improvement, a great deal needs to be done, for which appropriate funds are required:
250,000 RAND for the construction of the house (EUR 17,339.41)
65,000 RAND for furnishings (EUR 4,508.24)
25,000 RAND for the fence around the site (EUR 1,733.94)
80,000 RAND for a “water tower”, which is not only available to the family, but also to all other residents (EUR 5,549.57)
Please help us to give the children and their mothers a future!
