A 10-year-old boy from Etjebovu, in Ngwemphisi, has reportedly taken on the responsibility of caring for his paralysed father, balancing the demands of school with providing daily care at home.
The boy’s aunt, Sjabulile Nhlengetfwa, said her 35-year-old brother, Hlangabeza Mabelesa, became paralysed after sustaining injuries in August 2024.
Nhlengetfwa said she took him into her home following the incident and cared for him for about a year, hoping his condition would improve.
However, she said she was forced to take him back to his home because she was married and had been accommodating him at her marital home.
“I had to take him back because I was staying with him at my marital home, and he had not recovered,” she said.
According to Nhlengetfwa, her brother also suffers from depression and was receiving medication for the condition.
She said his son has since become his primary caregiver, assisting him with basic daily activities before leaving for school and again after returning home.
“The boy feeds him, bathes him and helps him with sanitation before and after school,” she said.
Nhlengetfwa said the family’s living conditions were dire, adding that her brother does not have a house of his own and was currently living in a stick-and-mud structure that previously belonged to one of their brothers, who has since moved out.
She stated that she reported the family’s situation to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office in Mankayane, but they did not get any help.
Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla said her office only became aware of the matter through social media after it was posted on Facebook yesterday.
Dladla said officials had already been dispatched to assess the family’s situation.
“We received the news today and have already sent officers to the area to assess the family’s circumstances.
“I am waiting for their report, after which we would work on the matter,” she said.
The outcome of the assessment is expected to determine what assistance, if any, would be provided to the family through the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office.
