Granny and baby survive house collapse as heavy rains cause chaos
On Sunday, the Botswana government released a public appeal, urging citizens for ‘in-kind’ donations to support flood relief efforts in Mozambique.
While commendable, President Duma Boko and co would be well advised to look closer to home first.
“Please help us.” This is the plea coming out of the small village of Jamataka, where the relentless recent rains have taken a terrible toll on residents.
The heavy rainfall that soaked the northern part of Botswana throughout last week has caused much destruction in the village, located some 40km from Francistown.
Last Thursday, The Voice made the short journey to Jamataka to survey the damage first hand; it looks as if a hurricane has hit. The chaos is everywhere.
Several mud huts have crumbled; many have been washed away completely, power lines collapsed, trees uprooted and the roads riddled with potholes.
The stench of wet earth is strong.
Residents say they live in constant fear that their homes, weakened by the rains, could come crashing down at any moment.
It is something 80-year-old Mando Kgwarepa has already lived through.
On Monday, 19 January, the old woman was baby-sitting her great granddaughter, aged just five months, when the walls and iron roof of her mud hut collapsed on top of them.
It is a minor miracle they survived without serious injury.
Although the elderly lady is still too shocked to talk about the ordeal, her daughter, Ogomoditse Ngake, who was in a different hut in the yard at the time of the accident, assumed the narrative.
“From nowhere there was a loud bang. As I went out to investigate the noise, I heard my mother crying for help; all I could see was her hand hanging outside the mud bricks. She was completely buried. I rushed, calling for help and also removing the bricks from them. The baby was also there looking shocked and in pain.
“I had to pull my mother and the injured infant from the rubble,” recalls the 43-year-old.
The two were rushed to the clinic, with the baby then referred to Nyangabgwe Hospital, where she remained for three days before being discharged.
The scars of her brush with death are all too clear.
The little lass’ tiny face is swollen and scratched, grazes visible above her check and in the middle of her forehead. Bits of mud still cling to her soft hair, which has been partially cut to allow doctors to survey the damage.
Another aunt, Boitumelo Ngaka, 45, is now homeless after her house was swept away leaving her belongings out in the open, her chest of drawers damaged by water.
Speaking between sobs, Boitumelo has no idea how she will rebuild her house.
“I don’t know where to start,” she admits, gazing forlornly at the misery around her.
Now forced to share a single flimsy structure and a tent provided by the Tonota District Council, the family of six are hoping a Good Samaritan will come to their aid.
A short distance away, another local, Kagiso Supe, 55, faces a similar predicament.
He has to find a way to shelter his family after two of their four mud houses collapsed, destroying their food and furniture.
“I am a father of 10 and altogether we are 16 in our family. I wonder how the 16 of us are going to share the two houses. Everything is damaged including the food. We are asking for help from anyone who can assist,” Supe said.
According to Shashe West Member of Parliament (MP), Jeremiah Frenzel in the latest update, made on Tuesday 20 January, it was reported that 30 households were affected.
“We are awaiting the full report from the Tonota District Council. By the look of things, many mud walls were soaked by the rains and they continue to collapse daily. So it is likely the numbers have increased since the last report,” admitted Frenzel.
The MP revealed 112 individuals were impacted in total, with two injuries.
“The rains stopped on Sunday and the soldiers engaged by the District Commissioner began assisting with the erection of tents yesterday (27 January). Some households have already received food assistance while others are waiting,” added Frenzel.
