While many children excitedly began their school journey for the year on Wednesday, one little seven-year-old – who was also looking forward to her first day of primary school – now has to miss school indefinitely, as her body is covered in what started as mosquito bites but have turned into festering wounds.
The bites, which for most people would have healed within days, have become infected and the little girl says they are painfully itchy.
She isn’t the only child in her neighbourhood whose body has broken out in sores, but she’s the worst affected, and her small body is covered in these sores.
The Daily Dispatch saw a handful of children displaying infected-looking mosquito bites all over their bodies.
The little girl’s mom, Nomzekelo Kom, and other Fynbos residents have blamed the “dirty, germ-infested environment” they live in.
Kom, who lives in one of the temporary houses, said: “I’m pained that my child had to miss school because of these wounds. Every time I take her to doctors and clinics, the staff blame our living conditions for the way she is. Even when she heals, they come back again.”
Angela Schalkwyk said her grandchildren also suffered from the sores. “We’re tired of taking them to doctors because these sores keep coming back.
“Mornings and evenings are the worst, with the stench and the mosquitoes.”
According to Kom and other residents, the corner of John Nesh Crescent, which has turned into an illegal dumping site, is the source of their woes and the skin breakouts on their children.
Xoliswa Vali said the heaps of rubbish and the sewage running between their houses leaves a stench in the air and attracts mosquitoes and rodents, as well as pigs which feed on the rubbish strewn on the corner.
“We struggle to always keep the kids away. You’ll find them digging in the rubbish for toys to play with, and when it rains, water mixes with sewage and you’ll find them playing there too. BCM had promised to build sewerage pipes to direct the sewage away from here, but until today we’re still waiting.”
Vali and a group of three other women have been voluntarily clearing the dumpsite weekly, without any masks or gloves, and sometimes without refuse bags.
“We end up burning the rubbish, which causes problems for us, because it can go for long periods without being collected.
“We shudder to think how it would look if we just left it like that.”
A nurse from Aspiranza clinic in nearby Buffalo Flats, who cannot be named because she is not permitted to speak to the media, said children living along John Nesh Crescent were regulars at the clinic.
“We’ve been seeing a lot of them since last year and we definitely know that the unhygienic state they live in is the cause of those outbreaks. The children are growing up in a terrible environment.”
Department of health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said unhygienic living conditions posed risks for infections of all kinds.
“We appeal to authorities to ensure safe and health-hazard free communities, and for communities to equally take care of their environment.”
BCM spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya said: “We have noted the situation and have taken up the matter with the relevant department for further action.” —
nonsindisoq@dispatch.co.za