• Tweet

DAILY STRUGGLE: Ndobi Dotwana and his brother Nkosana Dotwana, left, assist Ndobi's wheelchair-bound children out of their shack. Photo: Unathi Obose

Nowelile Dotwana, 36, and her husband Ndobi Dotwana, 67, have been trying for years to get to the bottom of a mystery illness that has affected siblings Siphosethu Dotwana, 18, and Akhona Dotwana, 16.

"These children were born normal. Siphosethu started the sickness at age seven when he was in Grade 1 and his sister didn't even attend school. She was five," their distressed mother said.

"Both suddenly became unable to walk because their legs were weak. It started with Siphosethu and a few months later Akhona followed. I took them to hospital, but the doctors found nothing."

Nowelile lives with her husband and six children in the TB informal settlement Khayelitsha.

She has lost hope that Siphosethu and Akhona will ever walk again.

"We tried everything in our power; sending them to hospitals, but there's no improvement. Instead, they are getting worse. Now they are becoming mentally disabled because they have also become epileptic."

Ndobi said the children were first referred to the Frontier Hospital in Queenstown before they were advised to go to Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

"We had no choice but to go. We had to ask our relatives for a place to stay," she said.

"Their legs are stiff and thin. And Siphosethu is developing a big lump at the back."

Ndobi said they were waiting for test results.

"We took blood tests together with them and doctors also cut a piece of flesh off their thighs to examine their illness."

The family crammed into a small shack with only two windows.

Ndobi said: "We don't even have our own place because this shack we are living in now was given to us by a relative.

"I sleep on the couch with two children and my wife sleeps on the floor with the other children. They (Siphosethu and Akhona) sleep on the bed and we have to look after them because they cry all the time because of the pain."

Their mother added: "I wish I could get them a decent house because they need enough space to move around. We can't even take them out because there is no space. We have to put them on our backs when we take them to the car on the road."

She said the money she received for their grants is used up before month end.

"Their nappies cost about R800 a month and I have to pay R400 for transport to the hospital. And we also depend on it to buying food and clothes."

Community leader Unathi Mabengwana said: "We wish they could get a house because their shack is in bad state. It's leaking and water comes from underground when it rains.

"Also, if there is fire who will take them (Siphosethu and Akhona) out? They will die."

Comments

• Sign in or sign up to comment

Thu May 23 22:16:00 SAST 2013 ::

Jul 11, 2012

Mellow

Nowelile Dotwana, 36, and her husband Ndobi Dotwana, 67
......................................................................................................................
Is she really 36? Iyooo and they have 6 kids? Not working? Living in a relatives shacks? Depending on grants? The husband needs to start looking for a job and fast while the w!fe looks after the kids getting a house is not a solution if they cant afford to take good care of this kids.

Are they saying we dont have good Dr's in SA? C'mon doctors like really now
Report Abuse

Jul 11, 2012

magebula

Jehovha a pfule ndlela shem swa vava leswi.
Report Abuse

Jul 11, 2012

Jenani

R800 on disposable nappies, what happened to getting towelling ones and washing them. People should not keep having children if they can't afford them. If the husband is 67 then he should be eligible for old age pension. This is getting to be a problem too many people wanting free handouts to make their lives easier.
Report Abuse

Jul 11, 2012

dimpho_4U

hopes good samaritans will help you..business people,musicians..charity begins at home, here is a perfect candidate..
Report Abuse

Jul 11, 2012

Mellow

@Jenani Exactly they can invest in those old washable nappies and the hubby can do some gardening around the block, I mean 800 is a lot especially if there's no source of income they need to save and already you can sense that there are some days that they go to bed without any food its horrible


Report Abuse

Jul 11, 2012

golly459

*tradiotionaly if the ralativers are so mixed up in a one house sometimes is the cause of the disease, cause you are not allowed to have sex in the bed of someone who is older than you or any relative of the relative that is older to you*
=====================================

@Jenani
R800 on disposable nappies, what happened to getting towelling ones and washing them
==============================exatly lazy to wash but good on having kids everyday.
Report Abuse

Jul 11, 2012

TheMrs01

@Jenani

Are you for real, tell me who must wash those towel napkins? We are talking about 2 adults they soil themselves and do you really expect their mother to wash those nappies cmon think... please good samaritans help this poor people with donations...
Report Abuse

Jul 11, 2012

dimpho_4U

@Jenani
@Mellow
@golly459
indeed that's a good idea and it would help save the R800 every month as an option for food,..i wonder why they haven't done this, or maybe no one is willing to take the job of washing towel nappies everyday.....
Report Abuse

Jul 11, 2012

MommaC

TheMrs01

Why not?
I used cloth nappies for both my children AND washed the cloth nappies when my Aunt was bed ridden. There were nothing such a thing as disposable nappies when my Aunt was alive and I could not afford disposables when my children were babies (they were new on the market and hellish expensive). Every night it was over the bath tub with a bar of green sunlight soap. Never killed me. You kids today are just lazy.
Report Abuse

Jul 11, 2012

minezolo

Yho this is sad, but mama if you are living in Cape town (i'm not sure) if that is the case come back to the Eastern Cape at least life is a bit cheaper than living in the Western Cape.
Report Abuse

Read all 36 comments