THE SUN TOUCH
Compassion, love and determination to help the underprivileged has spurred a group of friends to put their resources together to assist the Ramosai brothers following the family’s plea in The Midweek Sun.
The Brothers, Ofentse (14), Tswharagano (11) and Bofelo (10) Ramosai all suffer from cerebral palsy and their unemployed mother Rachel is unable to work because she takes care of them full time.
Cerebral Palsy (CP) generally refers to a range of disorders affecting a person’s movement, muscle tone, balance and posture. It is caused by damage to the developing brain either during pregnancy or shortly after birth.
“All of them need to be fed, their nappies changed, to be moved around, and just to do for them just about everything else that other kids do so quickly and easily.
“As a result, I can’t work, I have to stay home and take care of them and that means I struggle to provide even the basic things they need like ‘Boupi jwa mabele’ that they need for their porridge and nappies,” a frustrated Ramosai told The Midweek Sun.
Molly Aabobe, a retired Administration Officer, the Department of Water Affairs saw the article and was deeply touched. “Seeing people, especially children, suffering is something that bothers me and I decided not to fold my arms, but to do my bit to assist.” Aabobe took a pen and paper and made a list of all her friends and lobbied tirelessly for any form of donation or assistance. “I told them this situation needed us as women to stand up. So we joined our hands together and each contributed whatever we could afford,” she said.
Last week Thursday, Aabobe and her friends visited the Ramosai family and donated food items, clothes, shoes, blankets, and diapers.
“We just wanted these children to have milk with their porridge, warm soup to keep warm like our children. They are our children. It’s not much but we just felt love and we wanted to share it with Rachel and the boys,” Aabobe said.
An overwhelmed Rachel expressed joy and gratitude to receive the donation at a time when she was running out of food and toiletries for the boys.
“May God bless them for what they did, you know, it was as if they knew that the situation was beginning to be difficult. I thank God for everyone who has been moved to assist my boys ever since the article appeared in The Midweek Sun back in March.
“If it wasn’t for God’s grace and the people he brought into our lives to share our story, I don’t think people would know about my boys and we would be experiencing this outpouring of love and generosity.
“To some people, having children like mine is a burden but to me, they are a blessing even though it is difficult, I know there is a reason God gave them to me. There is more to them than the disability we have to live with, in our family. I feel blessed,” she shared.
Aabobe and her friends intend to raise funds and buy wheelchairs for the boys.