Hope for children once in despair

After living in a dilapidated house for as long as they can remember, Itumeleng Mapei, 19, her son, and her three younger siblings now own a new house, thanks to World Vision South Africa (WVSA).

Itumeleng’s family is one of more than 10 households with Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in the Umzimvubu area, Eastern Cape, which recently received keys to their new houses.

The houses have toilet facilities, a new entity in the rural area of Matatiele, where people typically relieve themselves in open fields. The housing project was funded by World Vision USA, the Home Sweet Home and HIV and Aids Community Partnership Project, which seeks to reduce the impact of the HIV and AIDS in South Africa’s impoverished communities by replacing unsafe and unsanitary shelters with proper dwelling structures. After the death of her mother, Itumeleng’s father became a deadbeat parent.

Tough living conditions

The house formerly occupied by Itumeleng and her siblings looked very unattractive. Their single room served as a kitchen, bedroom and dining room. The poor youngsters accepted their way of life as they did not know where to go to seek help.

One of Itumeleng’s brothers decided to leave home and go stay with friends, as he was unable to cope with his home situation. No one knows where he is until now. “My heart bleeds when I think of him, I just hope he is still alive and pray that one day he’ll decide to come back to see our new home,” Itumeleng said.

Itumeleng dropped out of school to take care of her siblings after her mother’s death. “I was in grade four when I decided to drop out. Other students used to laugh at us because we did not have uniform and shoes,” she said. “So I had no choice but to look for a job in order to provide for my younger siblings.”

Unfortunately, things got tougher for Itumeleng. Instead of finding a job, she succumbed to empty promises and became pregnant. The father of the baby abandoned Itumeleng and the baby, thus increasing Itumeleng’s responsibilities.

Grateful for key assistance

As the ‘mother of the house’, Itumeleng ensures that there’s food when the children come back from school. She is grateful for the seedlings provided by WVSA to enable the family to start a vegetable garden in its new home.

James Mboto, World Vision’s programme manager in the Umzimvubu area, says the needs of the area’s orphans and vulnerable children are very high. The Umzimvubu municipality alone has close to 3 000 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), and that makes the process of selecting beneficiary families extremely difficult because all the children are suffering.

“For some reason, OVCs are the most neglected group in rural areas. In most cases they have no option but to endure abusive relatives because they need shelter. World Vision South Africa is delighted about this project because food and housing are basic needs,” Mboto said.

WVSA is currently assisting Itumeleng and her siblings to get identity documents to enable them to access government grants. Meanwhile, the housing project has created job opportunities for 45 community members.