Mothers want contact with children and social workers
“WE WANT to know where our kids are. We want to speak to them. We want them back.”
That is the unified message from concerned mothers who have had no contact with their children since Worcester social workers removed them from their carer two weeks ago.
The removal was sparked by the father of one of the children, after a teenager allegedly Whatsapped a photograph of herself chained to a bed at the Worcester farm child shelter.
A Rastafarian from Joe Slovo, he alerted cops who raided the farm on January 26 and removed 12 children from their foster mother, Galinda Nelson, to places of safety.
They range between the ages of 2 and 16 and included Nelson’s biological daughter and adopted 13-yearold son.
The children in Nelson’s care were sent to her by desperate township parents or relatives wanting a better life for their children. In some cases the parents are incapable of raising their progeny.
They are not Nelson’s legal foster children and have regular contact with their parents and home visits.
Nelson, 54, a former Pinelands mother and San Souci old girl, appeared in the Worcester Magistrate’s Court last week charged with assaulting two teenagers with a riding crop and chaining one of them to a bed.
According to the charge sheet, the alleged victims are Nelson’s 15-year-old biological daughter and a 16-year-old girl she has fostered for six years.
Nelson claims she had a long history of teenage behavioural problems and failed to discipline the pair.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the abuse charges, Nelson’s extended family have been left in disarray.
At a meeting this week, four of the six mothers who had children in Nelson’s care all confirmed they have had no contact with their children since they were sent to places of safety two weeks ago.
The anxious mothers include three struggling Kraaifontein single parents (who identified themselves by first names): Andiswa, mother to a 3-yearold girl and 9-year-old boy; Nosipho, mom of an 8-year-old boy; and Cindy, who has a 2-year-old son.
The fourth mom, Loveness from Dunoon, has a close relationship with Nelson who has mothered her 11 and 13-year-old daughters since they were babies. Six years ago she rescued Loveness when she took her 16-year-old under her wing at the age of 10.
All these mothers confirmed that they have not been contacted directly or interviewed by social workers.
This is in spite of the Western Cape Department of Social Development (WCDSD) responding to the crisis two weeks ago with a team of nine social workers.
In desperation, some of the mothers visited Kraaifontein social workers who could not assist.
“I’m stressing about my child because I don’t know where he is,” says Nosipho.
Cindy went as far as calling the investigating officer for more information.
“He told me my child is going to come back to me but procedures need to be followed. For now, I don’t know anything about my child. The social workers haven’t phoned me either.”
“We need our kids,” added Andiswa. “We want to communicate with them. We don’t want them (social workers) to give our kids to another person because they are not going to treat our kids right.”
The WCDSD however painted a contradictory picture. “I have been reassured by the supervisor of the designated social worker team that contact has been made with the parents,” said spokesperson Cayla Murray.
“In some cases, the parents have been able to visit the children in their place of safety. However, the remaining two parents were not contacted as their details were either incomplete or outdated.”