SELBY Msimang lets his mask of happiness fall after our greeting as he describes how his home was destroyed in the heavy rains last year and was later looted by members of his community.
Plagued with stress and sadness, his misted eyes gaze into the distance as he clutches onto his white cane.
His devoted and dependable wife, Regina, holds his left hand tightly as she guides him into the meeting room at the Highway Mail.
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Selby’s eyes well up with tears as he describes how his home, which his family moved into in 2014, was almost entirely washed away in early November last year.
“The rain was really heavy so I contacted the municipality and asked them to help me divert the water,” said the grandfather of four.
The help never arrived.
Just two weeks later, the side of his house collapsed into a nearby river and the local councillor sought permission for the family to take up temporary residence in the community hall in Clermont.
He said for the past few months he has tried in vain to find work and funding to help rebuild his home.
“I am blind,” he said. “My wife was recently diagnosed with arthritis and diabetes and was told by the doctor her spine is degenerative. My daughter, who lives with us, has also tried to get work,” said a devastated Selby.
The family was able to save many of their belongings and store them in the hall, but thieves descended on the home each evening. The doors, roof tiles and window panes were stolen.
“When I went to see my home it was just a shell. So we tried to save as much of what was left behind,” said a shocked Selby.
“You would think that when someone is in trouble, the community would try and help and not steal from a blind man.”
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He lost his eyesight in 1990. At the time he was living with his father in Shongweni and said he was proud to be self-employed, selling food to people in Isipingo.
“There were two rival factions and it became very violent. I was just one of the many people who was caught in the crossfire,” he said.
He was shot with a pellet gun and left blinded.
His now destroyed home was funded by an anonymous benefactor from his church.
“It makes me so heartsore to see our home again,” said Regina. “We loved it. We were busy doing small changes when we could afford to and now it is lying empty.”
Contact Selby on 083 998 9152 to make a monetary or in-kind donation to help him repair his home.
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