Four Mozambican orphans displayed bright smiles when they received poverty-relief food parcels and clothes from the Red Cross at Mahatlane village a fortnight ago.

The representatives from Red Cross Limpopo, Messrs Frans Senoa and Paol Mailula, presented them with the clothes and food. The children have been relying on the mercy of their neighbours for food, clothes and parental guidance since both their parents had passed away. Their father, Mr Louis Macuveze, died in 2008, and their mother, Ms Anabela Shilenge, passed away in 2013. This left their children, Palmira (16), Nkhensani (13), Endlani (4) and Julius (2), with no one to care for them.

None of them gets a Sassa grant, since they have no birth certificates. Even though Palmira was born in Mozambique, her parents came to South Africa when she was barely two. All these orphans know nothing about Mozambique. They all live at their deceased parents’ house at Mahatlane village near Masakona.

“Our parents left us with good shelter, but we are all still minors,” said Palmira. “We need birth certificates, so that we can access social grants and have food like other children who live with their parents.” They sometimes go to bed hungry. “Life is tough for us; it’s really hard,” Palmira said. “But we are happy that the Red Cross has provided us with some food.”

Ms Agnes Shirindza, a neighbour, had been trying to assist the orphans with clothes and food ever since the death of their parents. “What I give them is not enough now,” she said. “I am unemployed too, and I was relying on my husband, who is no longer working either. We are now happy that the Red Cross has given them food.”

Sanco’s Sammy Mabasa said that the struggle continued for the Macuveze siblings since all of them needed to get birth certificates, so that they could get access to social grants. “I have visited many government offices, including Home Affairs and the Welfare Department in an effort to seek help for the orphans,” he said. “But I have not received any help so far.”

The Department of Social Development’s spokeswoman, Adele van der Linde, has since said that social development could assist in such cases. “Cases of this nature should be reported to social workers for them to see where and how they can get involved, whether it be for the child-headed households to be assisted with food and shelter or getting advice on how to obtain documents from Home Affairs,” she said.
She stated that, if social workers in a particular area cannot assist or say they are unable to assist, the matter must be escalated to the particular district, by involving the social work supervisor or the district executive manager.