Creche dream takes shape

Novel facility to honour murdered teen

AYOUNG murder victim’s dream of having a creche built for children in a remote village outside Dutywa has moved a step closer to reality after work began this week on a new facility, using a novel construction method. Volunteers from the India-based Samarpan Foundation started work on Monday on a double-storey creche, to be built from more than 25 000 soil-filled plastic bottles, in honour of Lutho Qudalele, 19, who was kidnapped, raped and murdered in August last year.

Once completed, the building will replace an old mud structure from which Lutho’s heartbroken mother, 42-year-old Babalwa Qudalele, ran a creche.

Qudalele said yesterday her “bubbly” daughter had played a key role in running the creche with her by raising funds for it, attending community meetings, and buying groceries to feed the children.

She said Lutho had even successfully lobbied the Department of Social Development to provide monthly funding used to run the facility.

But what Lutho really wanted was a new building to house the children.

“She will never come back,” Qudalele said, but she took “some comfort” from the fact that her daughter’s dream would be realised.

Lutho’s father, Masakhane Qudalele, said he never wanted to see the man arrested in connection with his daughter’s murder. “I want five life terms with no parole,” he said.

Lutho, a first-year social work student at North West University, was last seen by her father when he sent her to the creche to fetch sugar. A livestock herder found her body eight days later floating in a river about 3km from her home in Drayini. Her arms and legs were chained.

Her murder sparked outrage across Dutywa and police came in for fierce criticism at her funeral over allegations of inefficiency.

Luthando Qwele, who lived near the creche, has since been arrested in connection with her brutal death. The 26-year-old is still on trial and will appear on August 3 in the Mthatha Regional Court, where he faces charges of kidnapping, rape and murder.

Samarpan Foundation founder Patrick San Francesco said they had been touched by the plight of children who had nowhere to learn.

Once completed, the new creche will feature classrooms, a kitchenette, administration office, bathrooms and septic tank toilets. It will accommodate about 60 children aged from two to four years from the surrounding villages.

Francesco, who describes himself as a healer, said the foundation was involved in educational, offender rehabilitation, environmental, health, feeding and other humanitarian relief efforts in several countries.

He said the idea of using plastic bottles in construction came after one dropped on his foot.

“A bottle of water once fell on my foot. It hurt me a lot, like it was a stone.

“It hurt me so badly and then I realised that if I put water inside, it is like a stone, a brick which does not go away,” he said.