House for Tata at last
Cheers and songs were the order of the day for 100-year old Nodabephi Tata of Boqo village in Cacadu who has finally received a newly-built, fully furnished RDP house.
The house was handed over to the centenarian by Eastern Cape Premier Phumulo Masualle following a neighbour's call to the presidential hotline to report her plight.
The neighbour, Patrick Bathembu, said after he tried to request assistance from Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) mayor Kholiswa Vimbayo, to no avail, he opted for the presidential hotline.
“I only managed to meet with CHDM officials and the mayor which, for the most part, motivated me to take this further. I received a reference number and waited for what would come next and here we are today,” Bathembu said.
“What touched me most about this woman was the fact that she was the oldest member of her community and yet did not have a proper house or toilet.
“She would have to go to the forest to relieve herself, something no one should go through – especially at her age,” he said.
Bathembu said Tata would be turning 101 soon and the new home would be a perfect birthday present for her. Tata said she had lived in a rondavel for 90 years and had to travel almost 2km to fetch water because the tap near her house did not work. Tata said the secret to living a long life was eating home-grown healthy food and she was often told not to eat eggs by her elders when she was young.
“Listening to my elders and obeying their instructions helped me live my life to this age,” she said.
“I am grateful that I finally have a brick house that will not leak on rainy days and a toilet where I can be safe.”
Masualle said Tata’s was a touching story and was very thankful to the neighbour, Bathembu, who took it upon himself in a bid to change the circumstances of his neighbour.
“After he phoned the presidential hotline we were delegated to act. We sent government officials from the department of human settlements and my office to check the situation,” Masualle said.
“Through our programme of assisting senior citizens and people living in the worst conditions, we acted quickly and built the house she rightfully deserves. We are thankful to CHDM who also assisted . We thank every institution and individual who ensured this was a success.”
Masualle said senior citizens like Tata must be nurtured and taken care of as they were the few remaining people who had knowledge of things no one else did.