A mother of a disabled teen boy and three other children are on the streets because she can not work, as she is looking after her children full time.
Beauty (not her real name, to protect the identity of the children) was kicked out of the place she and the children were staying.
Being on the streets is not her only concern, her disabled child is also bullied.
She detailed how her son has been constantly bullied by some of the community members because of his condition, in Extension 8, Mhluzi.
She said her struggles have never stopped, ever since she became homeless.
The mother said she cannot even remember the last time they had a stable and warm home, they shared as a family.
She and her children have been renting one house after the other since 2023.
However she said they have had to move around a lot because people would chase them out due to her son’s condition.
At just 14 years old, he has been diagnosed as epileptic and suffering from ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).
Beauty said her child has to take eight different kinds of medication for his condition.
Because of lack of funds, her son cannot attend school as she is currently unemployed.
According to Beauty, her son has been constantly tormented by people in her community, citing that he is crazy or mentally challenged.
She said her son does not provoke people, but they provoke him until he reacts, and label him as the violent one.
Beauty added that her son was recently assaulted as well.
Amid all these struggles, Beauty told the Middelburg Observer that they became completely homeless earlier this week, with their belongings scattered around.
Beauty said she was born an only child, so she has no family that can assist her.
She added that her children are even traumatised because of their new living conditions.
According to her, she applied for an RDP house in 2010, but she is still yet to receive that house.
The Observer reached out to the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality to find out if there is any way they could assist Beauty and her children.
Steve Tshwete Media Spokesperson Lerato Kgomo commented that as a municipality there is little they could do because the housing process and allocation of RDP houses falls under the province, as a municipality they deal more with the land.
Beauty is pleading with anyone in the community who can lend a helping hand, for her and her children to have a temporary structure to live in.
• The identities of the mother and child were withheld based on legal advice. However, community members who would like to establish contact with the family for assistance, may contact the Middelburg Observer standby number on 072 248 3855 and we will forward it to the mother.
