Children's angel of mercy
2005-11-24
SOMETHING moved in the black bag next to the road in Mbekweni. The taxi driver stopped, puzzled.
He opened the bag gingerly, expecting to find a cast-away cat or a dog. To his horror, the bag revealed a baby.
The baby boy was hungry and thirsty, but otherwise in good health. He was clean, well-nourished and with no sign of abuse.
Who would have thrown such a lovely child away?
It was a matter for the police, but in the meantime Thandu (the Xhosa word for Love as the little boy was later named), had to be cared for.
And Miriam welcomed him with open arms, as she does all the abandoned children brought to her modest, cosy home in Mbekweni.
Nubuleli Miriam Ntshoni has a huge bed. She needs to, with 13 children part of her household - from a three-months old baby to an 18-year-old girl.
“One day I was sleeping in my home when I heard children crying outside. Their mother had been jailed and the father had abandoned the four sisters. So I took them in,” she says as if it is the most natural thing to do.
It is mostly abandoned children, orphans or children who had been suffering neglect, that are brought to her doorstep by the police or Social Services.
They stay there in temporary care while authorities search for permanent foster parents.
There is another house in Mbekweni were retired nursery school teacher Nellie Johnson helps out when Miriam’s home starts overflowing like that of the old woman who lived in a shoe.
Her parents gave her a “happy home” and that’s what Miriam wants to give the lost children of Mbekweni.
Her big wish is for a washing machine to lighten her load.
Donations of disposable nappies come like Christmas presents. She is assisted by Christian service centres like Miqlat and the Strooidak Church in Paarl.
“Miriam offers a wonderful service,” Mbekweni Police commissioner Supt William Dyantyi praised her this week.
“With her the children learn about their culture, their language and they have the support of the community.”
Miriam has children of her own - two boys aged eight and eleven. They live with her mother in the Eastern Cape.
“This is my calling. I have been doing it for 13 years, after I accepted Jesus Christ as my saviour.
“I started reaching out into the community and going door to door, helping HIV positive mothers to take their medicine and to take care of their children.
“Sometimes they just leave their medicines in the sun on a shelf, so I put it in my fridge.”
Her care for mothers caught the attention of the community and soon police officers and members of the police forum would simply stop by.
“We have a problem, Miriam,” they would say.
And Miriam would open her arms and take the child “for the time being”.
Miriam smiles: “After three days the child does not want to leave. And it’s fine by me. I want them here with me, even if my heart hurts sometimes.”
While her abundant love comes free, the caring - the food, clothes and schooling - is expensive.
Miriam does not want luxuries for herself. She prays, however, for a video machine so that she can show gospel films to the children.
“When they come from school I would like for them to have things to do at home.
“I stayed at home when I was a girl. I never wanted to wander in the streets, because my parents gave me a happy home.”
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