TSHIKOTA – Health experts have found that bathing is one of the ways to comfort newborns, as soap and warm water soothe babies, but for a 34-year-old mother, Mrs Jane Lufuno Tshifura Thagisa of Tshikota, it is becoming nearly impossible to do it for her triplets.

She is neither married nor employed and she stays with her premature triplets in a shack in Tshikota. This destitute mother gave birth to her triplets at Tshilidzini Hospital on June 24 and when she first saw them, she had no names for the three. She named her two sons Duncan and Ducklas and the daughter Mendy. She was married at Nzhelele and later divorced her husband. The first of their four children was born in 1987. In 1997, she had another girl, followed by a boy in 2000.

Presently, Jane, who used to be employed as a temporary domestic worker around Tshikota, has nine children: five boys and four girls. At Tshikota she is living in a shack that is not fit for a human to stay in with five of her children. One of the biggest problems faced by Jane is food to feed her triplets and her other two kids. When Mirror visited her, there was only half a bag of mealie meal in her shack. In addition, she told Mirror that she does not have soap to wash nappies, warm clothes or blankets, as it is cold in the shack during the night. "I don't even have baby milk, it is really tough," she said.

To keep her triplets warm in the evening she lights a paraffin stove. "I know that the smoke that comes from the paraffin stove might be hazardous to my babies, but I've no alternative to keep them warm as there are not enough blankets," she explains.

When asked about the father and whether he is taking responsibility, she said that the triplets' father is a married man who stays with his family and who used to come to see her in his own spare time. However, she didn't want to disclose where the father is working, as she is scared that it could jeopardise their relationship. She did, however, reveal that he is doing too little for her and the triplets.

The "Minister of Blankets," Mr Amie Chhaya, donated three blankets and a bag of maize meal to the triplets, promising also to give them an 80kg bag every month, as well as washing soap, milk and warm clothes for the children. In conclusion, the mother of triplets said that people who want to help her, can phone her friends at 073 273 5094, adding, "I would be the happiest woman if the municipality could find me a house".