Page 21 - SCAT Rural Voice II - 35 Stories for 35 Years

MY LIFe PURPOse Is
to SeRve mY commUnitY
Thozama Nkuzo and Eugene Mapotolo Beaufort West Legal Advice & Development Office. (coordinator) meeting with a client.
Ncumisa Mbalo, Eugene Mapotolo and Thozama Nkuzo.
THOzAMA NKUzO REFLECTS ON HOW A CHANCE ENCOUNTER WITH A MENTALLY ILL ELDERLY WOMAN SHE FOUND WANDERING ON THE STREETS OF BEAUFORT WEST IGNITED HER DESIRE TO HELP OTHERS THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE.
I was born in King William’s Town, eastern cape and I grew up on the dusty streets of Zwelitsha. As a little girl, I moved with my family to cape Town. eventually we ended up in Beaufort West because of my father’s pastoral work. After I completed matric, I joined an organisation called ‘Gender Base Care’ (GBC) as an administrator. That was my first job. GBc assisted abused women by providing a shelter facility and assisting them to navigate the criminal justice system. I found the work at GBc very satisfying. It helped me find my purpose in life and ignited in me a passion for social justice activism.
During the summer of 2010, I was captivated by an elderly woman who was wandering around the streets of Beaufort West. she was wearing several layers of clothing. every time I saw her or passed her my heart bled. I became emotional when I saw her eating scraps from a dustbin. I never saw her talking even if someone gave her something to eat. My colleague and I decided to help her even though we had no idea whether she was dangerous or not. We went to the police station to seek some help and they agreed to help us. Although it was not easy, we managed to take her to our shelter. We washed her and her clothes. she told us that she was from Limpopo and she had two sons and a daughter who is a nurse.
We took photographs of her and posted them at the local police station and various shops in town. We also went to the announcers at the local radio station who helped us send out a missing person alert. All of this effort bore fruit. After three to four weeks the elderly lady’s children heard our broadcast and came to Beaufort West to identify if she was their mother. It was a very emotional moment because they thought they would never see their mother again. They told us that their mother became mentally ill during a very short space of time. soon after her illness, she disappeared, and they
thozAMA nkuzo
RuRal Voice ii: 35 stories for 35 years
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Access to Justice