Nobody can explain the real meaning of suffering better than Hulisani Ndou (6). The little boy, who stays at Mudzidzidzi village, has been a tragic victim of a painful life. He has never known peaceful sleep or smiled since he was attacked by a mysterious disease four years ago.

Apart from the lizard skin that has developed all over his body, the boy has developed a frightening lump on the head, which keeps on dripping fluids, making his life a misery. The lump keeps on protruding and becoming bigger on daily basis.

The little boy has now become so lean that he resembles a shadow of himself. He has never smiled for the past four years; all he does is keep on crying because of the pain that grows everyday. His mouth is also full of sores, making it difficult for him to eat. He cannot even walk, play or do anything for himself. All he does is sleep and cry all day and night. The suffering boy stays with his unemployed mother and two younger brothers in one mud hut, which is in a state of decay.

Through the help of Mirror two years ago, the boy was taken to Tshilidzini Hospital, thereafter to Polokwane Provincial Hospital, and later transferred to Kalafong Hospital where it was detected that the boy has skin cancer. When Mirror arrived at the little boy’s mountainous village, his worried mother, Suzan Ndou (27) was busy cleaning the big wound on the head of the crying boy with warm water. She says she has lost hope that her son will ever be cured by western medicine. "We have done everything in our power to have our boy cured. He has been treated at different clinics and hospitals, but the wounds keep on growing on a daily basis. This thing has affected me so much that I don’t even enjoy a meal. There is no parent who can eat if their child is suffering in this manner."

She says she has now resorted to not moving around with her son because people always look at him. "Everyone looks at him with tears in their eyes. Others are even afraid to touch him or come near him. This boy is seriously suffering, but I am still hopeful that he will one day get better and enjoy life like every other child. His peers are already at school but he now faces a bleak future because of the illness. What wrong has he done to deserve all this? Why punish innocent blood in this manner?"

The boy’s grandmother, Masindi Ndou (67), could not stop crying about the agony of her grandson. "I pray to God every day to have this little angel cured. My heart keeps on bleeding when I look at this boy. Why should he suffer like this at his age? It would be better if it was me who was suffering, rather than the little innocent boy. We hope some people out there will help us."

Community members who would like to help the boy can call the boy’s mother at 076 889 5780 or his grandmother at 072 215 2914 or alternatively visit the family at Mudzidzidzi village, west of Khubvi, near Mudzidzidzi Primary School.