Verdwaal tragedy is recalled
POVERTY STILL GRIPS FAMILY WHO LOST 4 KIDS
THE pain of losing four children at once because of hunger and dehydration could still be seen in the eyes of the Mmupele family members when they relate the aftermath and the courage of moving on after the tragedy that left the country shocked four years ago.
“I can still hear their voices in my head. Every time I see children playing, they remind me of them. It’s painful and a bad memory that I wish I could erase from my mind,” an emotional Kedibone Mmupele said yesterday.
On that fateful day, she left behind her two children Onkarabile, 2, and Nkune, 6, together with her young siblings Mapule, 7, and Sebengu, 9. She was going to look for food at a nearby farm.
When she arrived back home, she realised that the children were missing. Unbeknown to her, they had followed her after she left.
The children had had nothing to eat the night before they died.
They had walked almost 10km on empty stomachs, following Mmupele November 2011. Three days later, the bodies of two of the children were found in the veld with sun burns.
The bodies of the other two children were found 11 days later a few kilometres from where the first two were found. Mmupele has since given birth to two other children, Didintle, 3, and 16-month-old Modise.
“I make sure that my two children always have something to eat, even if it’s just once a day, but they must eat something.
“I still feel guilty that the children died while looking for me, at that time I had no choice.
“I was also hungry and wanted to get them something to eat,” said Mmupele while sitting under a tree at her home in Verdwaal.
Her mother Martha Mmupele said every year in November she remembers what happened.
“People around here felt that we were irresponsible at the time, but that was not the case; we were suffering and still are.
“Poverty to me is not just a word but our way of living,” she said.
Martha said she believes that God knows why her children and grandchildren died in that manner.
“I do not like to question God, what happened was tragic and something that we are going to live with for the rest of our lives.
“We are happy that we are still surviving even though we are unemployed, ” she said.
After the tragedy, it was discovered that almost the entire community in Verdwaal was undocumented and could not access government social grants.
Most of the residents were former farm dwellers.
The situation led to a number of government departments and agencies visiting the Mmupele home and the Verdwaal community to assess the situation and needs.
The Mmupeles and the other families in Verdwaal received food parcels and blankets.
They were also assisted to apply for birth certificates and identity documents, which allowed them to access social grants.