In the heart of Mbekweni lies the friendliest teenage girl, Nomhle Nake (14), vibrantly happy as she flashes a smile as wide as the Nile.
Her radiant energy invites a puzzling mystery the moment one learns she literally has not seen the light of day since December 2022.
Not due to cruelty or wilful neglect, but complications surrounding lack of options and resources.
Nomhle is bedridden and lives the daily dread of disability as a quadriplegic, the result of cerebral palsy.
“We arranged a special day for her on 16 December, when I gifted her some donations I was able to source from my co-workers and managers at work,” said Sean Betana, a Starbucks employee from Paarl North Checkers.
“My friends, local musicians, also chimed in by organising a performance dedicated to her.”
He said they were able to give her clothes, nappies, food and toiletries.
“Sadly, she was not able to join us outside their dwelling in Phokeng (near Mbekweni Youth Centre) for too long, since her body is not entirely fit for her wheelchair. She quickly grows tired, complaining of aches, pains and extreme discomfort in her lower body.”
The wheelchair, however, is still relatively new as she got it only last year.
But due to hours and hours of daily bed rest, Nomhle’s joints and posture have become deformed. So much so she may need physical therapy that will allow her to be more supple and flow comfortably in a mode of mobility.
“Since the day I met her, I’ve been so concerned about her well-being and if there is not more to life than being confined to a shack the rest of her life,” Betana beckoned.
He used to work with Nomhle’s father at De Villiers Chocolate in Southern Paarl, before they were both retrenched due to covid-related realities.
“Her father used to tell me so much about her, how he worries and what he wishes for his child. Since then, a dear concern for her has been growing in me, much like she has.”
A fear Betana shares with her father, Nyanisile, is the high risk of fast spreading fires that commonly occur among such tightly clustered shacks in the area.
“As she’s grown her father has been struggling to carry her. So ideally they need a safer home where Nomhle will be more mobile and faces less risk of being trapped in a potential burning blaze.”
On the bright side, much like her smile, Nomhle has no current dependency on expensive medications.
“She was prescribed pills once when she was younger because she cried a lot,” her mother, Pamela, told Paarl Post. “She was sad daily because she does not like the dark that surrounds her in our home.”
When Nomhle was younger and more mobile, her parents were better able to take her for walks in the neighbourhood as well as to church on Sundays.
“But now, she can’t stand being in her wheelchair for longer than an hour,” Pamela added.
Although Betana is determined to keep finding solutions for Nomhle in the surrounding community, churches and previous donors, the need remains to add quality to her life.
“I have already spoken to the church congregation, as well as the local councillor and people from social development.”
