DISABLED BOY’S STRUGGLE
A 15-YEAR-OLD physically disabled teenager has, together with his single parent mother, become a prisoner in the family’s small shack, provided by the Sol Plaatje Municipality, due to the inaccessibility of the area.
Their home is located on the outskirts of the city.
The desperate mother yesterday pleaded for authorities to assist her physically disabled son, who has not been able to attend school for the last two weeks, which has meant that she too cannot go to work as she has to stay at home to look after him.
A visit to the Lerato Park informal settlement in Kimberley yesterday found Zonian Bosman, a 15-year-old physically disabled boy, lying on a mattress on the floor in the small three by three metre shack. The inside of the shack was almost intolerable as a result of the oppressive midday sun beating down on the zinc structure.
In an attempt to provide some relief to the unrelenting heat, Zonian, who is unable to walk had wet a facecloth pressed to his head.
The teenager has been unable to attend school at Elizabeth Conradie for the last two weeks, after he, together with his mother, Christal Bosman, and his younger brother, were removed from their previous residence at a family member’s home.
Christal explained that the family was removed from their previous accommodation by social workers due to unsuitable living conditions.
However, when she arrived at their new residence, Christal realised that the small shack was situated at the back of Lerato Park, next to the mushroom farm, almost a kilometre away from the nearest road. The Sol Plaatje Municipality assisted her with materials and labour used to construct the shack.
The single mother states that her son has been unable to attend school since the move, as transport operators that transport her son to school and back, told them that the shack was just too inaccessible.
“Normally I would carry Zonian from the house to where the taxi stopped and, once he was at school, he would be placed in a wheelchair. However, there is no way I can do that where we are staying now as it just too far. And even if he did have a wheelchair at home, the terrain is just too uneven.
“He has now become bound to the sweltering shack, unable to go anywhere, especially school. He cries every night as a result,” Christal said.
She adds that her son is a bright, positive child, with huge potential.
“He might be physically disabled but there is nothing wrong with his mind. He does very well at school but I worry about the upcoming exams, as he is missing valuable learning time,” she said.
Zonian said that he was desperate to get back to school.
“I just want to go back to school, I miss my friends and I miss my teachers. It is terrible just lying in this shack the whole day and night. I cry every day,” he told the DFA.
Christal added that she is also unable to go to work, as she has to stay home and look after Zonian.
“There is no electricity and not even a window in the shack. There are no access roads here and the area is not safe, with a deep stream of water running at the back of the shack. This is not a place for a disabled child. I can’t even wash myself inside the shack, as I don’t want to get naked in front of my boys. We have now been reduced to living on bread, as we can’t cook food here,” Christal said.
She made a desperate plea to authorities, including the Sol Plaatje Municipality and the departments of Social Development and Education, as well as the community at large, to intervene, and get her son back to school and herself back to work.
“I plea for any assistance that will see my son back at school, as he is an extraordinary child, with a bright future ahead of him. I am really desperate,” she concluded.
The Sol Plaatje Municipality indicated that they had already made an exception in this case with regards to supplying material and a plot of land.
“We sympathise with the family, considering the child’s disability and the extreme level of poverty faced by the family. However, we are not in a position to supply permanent council residence without an instruction from our superiors,” SPM spokesperson, Sello Matsie, said.
The Departments of Education and Social Development had, by yesterday afternoon, not responded to inquiries.