Cape Town - Her hands are hardened from crawling around her informal settlement in Green Point, Khayelitsha, over the years, taking care of her family. Now all she is crying out for is a bit of help and maybe a wheelchair to make her life bearable again.
Sindiswa Gangqa, 59, crawls around her house, and the same hands she uses to drag herself across the floor are used to work and sweep her floor. She lost the use of her legs due to health conditions, partially because of stress after of her son, Xolela Gangqa, 35, was beaten and lost his one leg.
“I live in this shack, crawling, and all I wish for is a wheelchair and a proper house,” said Sindiswa.
“I suffer a lot when I have to go to the toilet, to a point that I use a bucket and my daughter is responsible for all my needs.”
Gangqa, who lives with her son, her daughter Pamela, 25, and her two grandchildren, has never been employed, and said that the conditions at home were frustrating.
Her daughter, who helps her, has been suffering from stress and chest pain for the last five years.
Pamela Gangqa said: “This situation is beyond my control, living with my mother, my brother and my children, who all depend on me to help them move around.
“I suffer from stress and chest pains because of this situation and the conditions I live under.
“This shack is not nice for my mother to crawl around,” she said.
Xolela Gangqa, said he had a dream of becoming a mechanical engineer or electrician one day. He struggled to contain his emotion as he spoke.
Sindiswa Gangqa, 59, overcomes challenges to care and clean her house while crawling. Video: Sisonke Mlamla.
Siyabonga Mbiko, their neighbour, was touched by this situation and pleaded for help for the family.
“This family needs special attention and cannot live in this environment,” he said.
Sihle Ngobese, spokesperson for Albert Fritz, Minister of Social Development, said: “The department will send out a social work team to assess the situation and make determinations on appropriate interventions.”