‘She had plaster over her mouth’

The director of the Verulam Day Care and Frail Care Centre, Pravin Patak, recalls three horror stories of abuse.

VERULAM:

THE community contacted us three years ago about an elderly woman being abused by her children.

When we arrived at her home, the ma’s hands and legs were strapped to the bed and she had a plaster over her mouth with a hole.

The woman, in her 70s, used to take snuff and her children did not like this, so they put sand through the hole and into her mouth.

We wanted to confront her children but she refused.

Ma lived with us for a while (in frail care) until she died. If the senior citizen does not report a case, you cannot proceed with the matter legally.

VERULAM:

Two years ago a 73-year-old former businessman was left outside our gate by his children, who lived with him.

He was in the initial stage of Alzheimer’s but was able to tell us what was going on.

His children accused him of trying to abuse his grandchildren…

It seemed the children wanted him out because they wanted his house.

The question he asked his family was, when he gave them his wealth, was his mind perfect or was it bad?

He told them all his life he had sacrificed his bedroom for his grandchildren, sleeping in the lounge, and now they had accused him of this. The family could not respond.

The man has since died.

PONGOLA:

We visited a shack in Jozini, burnt by youths from the community, who believed the gogo who stayed there was involved in witchcraft, when in fact she had Alzheimer’s. She died during the blaze, with a young grandchild.