Kimberley - Social workers have been requested to intervene after four young children, between the ages of five and 12 years, from Diamond Park, were left without any adult supervision for several hours.
The children had walked from Greenpoint to Queens Park at the weekend.
Childline Northern Cape indicated that the children had a history of abuse, including the alleged rape of two of the children and the misuse of the child support grant.
DA councillor Lucia Visagie contacted Childline Northern Cape, Eye on the Child and Saamstaan Kimberley on Sunday after noticing the children playing alone in the park at around 1pm.
“The children informed me that their parents had advised them to walk to the park, where they would meet them at a later stage. It was after dark and their parents failed to arrive. The eldest boy, who is a neighbour of the other three children, was crying as he wanted to go home,” said Visagie.
“We didn’t want them to walk back home, as it was too dangerous, and we waited with them until a SAPS van arrived to transport them to the police station.”
Visagie added that the police only managed to locate the parent of the 12-year-old boy, while the other three children were left in the care of their grandmother.
Berenice Visagie, from Childline Northern Cape, said that she had stopped at her office to get some food for the children, before they were taken to the police station, as it appeared as if they had not eaten for the entire day.
“The children arrived at the park at about 11am on Sunday morning and were only collected by the police at around 5pm and were extremely hungry. I also wanted to meet the parents and inspect their home environments, as neither family had contacted the police to notify them that their children were missing,” said Berenice.
She added that the 12-year-old boy lived with his mother, who was a single parent.
“We were unable to locate the parents of the other three children. The children directed us to their aunt’s house but she informed us that we should rather drop them off with their grandmother.”
Berenice said that one of the boys suffered from asthma, where it appeared as if he was about to suffer an attack when he climbed into the police vehicle.
“Luckily there was an asthma inhaler for him at his grandmother’s house.”
She pointed out that the 11-year-old girl had on a previous occasion claimed, in the presence of her father, that he had raped her, while he rejected the claim as having no substance.
“Social workers previously assisted the family and we recommended that the three children remain with their grandmother as there is also a pending rape case involving the nine-year-old boy, who was allegedly raped by a neighbour.”
She stated that the suspect was out on bail and the safety of the boy could not be guaranteed. “The boy has to be sent to a place of safety if the perpetrator is seen in the area.”
Berenice indicated that the children often roamed the streets in search of food.
“The children receive food at church on a Sunday. We want to arrange that the social grant, which the mother receives, is paid directly to the grandmother so that she can buy food for the children.”
She added that a three-year-old child was with his mother at the time of the incident.
The parents of the three children explained that the children had received the shock of their lives on Sunday.
“They will not do it again. They were in a hurry to go to the park after church and we told them to wait for us before leaving. They took refreshments with them. We are very relieved that nothing happened to them. We were under the impression that they had walked to their grandmother’s house and started searching for them at around 5pm. By the time we arrived at Queens Park, the police had already dropped them off at their grandmother’s house, between 6 and 7pm,” the parents said.
The mother stated that the children lived mostly with their grandmother, as her house was situated close to the school that they attended.
“They would walk with their siblings and friends to school, although it is a far distance, especially for my five-year-old daughter who is attending Grade R.”
The grandmother added that this would save the children from having to walk over the bridge from Greenpoint on their way to school.
“Anything can happen to them. I am glad that they are home safe.”
Police spokesman, Captain Sergio Kock, said that the police attended to the complaint at about 5pm on Sunday, where they assisted in transporting and handing over the four children to a social worker at the Childline office in Kimberley, who further handled the matter.
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