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The Eastern Cape Health Department will step in on Monday to assist a rural family so destitute that the four children share a worn-out mattress and dropped out of school to look after their sick mother.
Department spokesperson, Mkhululi Ndamase, said the MEC, Nomakosazana Meth was so moved by the plight of the siblings that she decided to step in.
He said during the visit to the family in the Tabankulu area she will donate food, clothing and furniture.
“The department will also provide comprehensive health services on wheels to the community,” Ndamase said.
He said the plight of the four learners from the Qhiphu Primary School was brought to the MEC’s attention by teachers and school governing body, last month.
“When schools reopened for the third term, the three siblings did not return to school. After teachers followed up by visiting the pupils’ home, they established that the children had dropped out because they were taking care of their bed-ridden mother,” he said.
The family lives in abject poverty with the four children, aged 3,9,12, and 13, sleeping on a “thin and worn out mattress and have only one blanket.”
Ndamase said the MEC will be accompanied by health officials who will provide primary health and care services to the community.
