By Kefiloe Kajane
Living in a small hut that barely has a decent roof with her two disabled grandchildren is ‘Mapopa Phomane who is estimated to be in her late 80’s as cannot even remember her date of birth.
Moved by the situation, local company Maluti Moutain Cement through its #MMC_Cares initiative will restore the family’s dignity by building them a two-roomed house.
Phomane lives at Semonkong Ha Mateketa in the Maseru district with her two deaf, mute and physically and mentally disabled grandchildren aged 27 and 31. All three survive on the matriarch’s old age pension that she receives from the ministry of social development.
Phomane is the one who takes care of each and every need of her grandchildren, from bathing, cooking and washing for them.
Speaking to theReporter on its visit to the village this week, Phomane said she does not know her age as she cannot read or write.
Sitting outside on a cold windy day next to her grandmother, the granddaughter is busy tugging at her to indicate to unbutton her jersey. In the background, a Good Samaritan neighbour is fixing their hut.
The neighbor is not a professional builder but only offered to help them because the thatched hut was no longer in good condition.
Phomane explains that since she is the only one who takes care of the family, she sometimes has to soldier on and do the household chores even when she is not feeling well due to old age.
She says she has been living with her grandchildren since they were born after their mother passed away. She was forced by circumstances to become an instant caretaker to them as they had nowhere and no one to go to. She says she has gotten used to them but, as she gets older and they also get older, it becomes more and more challenging because she is not as active and physically strong as she used to be.
“I am really not feeling well these days and I think my age is the greatest contributor to my illness. Nonetheless, I still need to wake up and do everything for them,” she says.
She further explains that over the years, she never had a problem with the house being small but the problem started when the roof started blowing off. She adds that with the all year long cold weather of Semonkong, they have to warm themselves with firewood in the house everyday.
“Now that we have people who are going to build a house for us, it is such a privilege. At my age, you do not expect too much of good news and this was really unexpected. It is such a beautiful gift.
“Now that my grandchildren are going to have a decent home I also wish they could get disability grants. For us to apply they need birth certificates which they do not have. I have been trying to apply for those birth certificates but home affairs kept returning us claiming there is a missing document.
“I sincerely hope the people at home affairs can tell us what the problem is with our documents so that these children can get their birth certificates and be able to apply for social grants. My main concern is that if something happens to me because I am already old, they will not have anything to survive on. That is why I want to push hard for them to get the required documents.” Phomane said dejectedly.
The director of Semonkong Children’s Care Center, Rethabile Mahopolo, who mobilised sponsorships to build a house for the Phomane family, said they were conducting a research on indigent and vulnerable in need of Covid-19 relief when she and her team met this family.
She said they immediately tried to help the family with basic needs wherever they could.
“We realised that even though we were trying to help them, their biggest challenge is their house and honestly we did not have the capacity to intervene; that is when we found Maluti Mountain Cement (MMC).
“It is sad to see how senile she is and still having to take care of such old people who, despite their age are practically children because they cannot do anything for themselves. We try to visit her as often as possible to counsel her and give her moral and emotional support because she lives with two people who cannot talk; that must be really depressing for her.
“We are happy for her really, especially her grandchildren who are finally going to have a decent home that they can call theirs.”
At the same occasion, MMC’s sales and marketing manager Lineo Phafane said they already have projects that they pursue as a company, under the #MMCcares programme, where the company gives back to the community. The company is also 100 percent Basotho-owned.
“When we heard the story of Nkhono ‘Mapopa we felt obliged to help because Basotho are the biggest supporters of our business and we feel it is our duty to lend a helping hand whenever we can.
