Day care women share hardships
TWO women who visit the Verulam Day Care and Frail Care Centre’s Daycare Service Centre spoke about the abuse they encountered at the hands of their children. Their names have been withheld.
● A 74-YEAR-OLD mother of five, who has 10 grandchildren, said she lived in Verulam in a home she owned.
Her husband died several years ago and four of her sons lived on their own.
“My daughter lived with me until she married and also moved out. I partitioned my home and rented it to a young couple, who helped me pay the municipal bills.
“But my daughter had trouble with her husband and ended up moving back into my house, this time with my three grandchildren (aged 12, 19 and 21). So the tenants moved out.
“My daughter promised she would help pay the municipal bills but for the past two months we have not had lights and electricity. She lost her job and refuses to look for another, giving different excuses.”
The elderly woman said she was using a gas stove to cook.
“People at the daycare service centre see me happy and smiling but not many know what I am going through. I just have to carry on.”
She said her sons often refused to help her with little tasks, such as taking out the trash, and that her grandchildren often argued with her.
● ANOTHER elderly woman, who did not know her age, said she lived in Cottonlands, Verulam.
She has a son and a daughter. Her son lives on his own but his two children live with her, as does her unemployed daughter and a third grandchild.
The isiZulu-speaking woman, with the help of an interpreter, said: “My daughter takes my grant money and only gives me R500 a month. I use R200 for electricity and with the R300, I buy food but this does not sustain us for the month.” She said when one tried to question her daughter, she was assaulted.