Wheelchair-bound man sleeps on riverbank in Ladysmith
Mboniseni Cedric Buthelezi (41) has been living on the banks of the river for the past 26 years
Ladysmith resident Chaan Pretorius went patrolling the banks of the Klip River and made a discovery that broke her heart. Worried about the high incidence of crime in the area, she decided to inspect the area behind her home.
“I saw something moving on the ground which looked like a dog, but when I looked closely, I saw a man with blue clothing on.”
Under the clump of clothing lay a helpless, forlorn man with no shelter, no food and just one blanket to protect him from the biting winter cold.
Next to him stood his dilapidated wheelchair.
Horrified at the conditions the man was living in, she decided to strike up a conversation with him and was grief-stricken at the story that unfolded.
Mboniseni Cedric Buthelezi (41) has been living on the banks of the river for the past 26 years.
He came to the country from Ghana back in 1992 when he was just 15 years old. No stranger to hardships, Mboniseni came looking for a better life and found himself in Ladysmith.
Tragedy struck in 2006 when a vehicle crashed into him near the police station in town.
He was taken to hospital by ambulance and spent a few days there. He was diagnosed by the hospital doctors as being paralysed.
One of the kind doctors from the hospital gave Mboniseni a wheelchair so he could be mobile. Mboniseni relayed the time he erected his own shack in Klipbank Road, but it was demolished by municipal officials.
He had no choice but to move to the riverbank and build another shelter which subsequently burnt down, leaving him with nothing. Chaan tries her best to help Mboniseni out with food and bedding, but she is unable to give him a better life on her own.
Through the Ladysmith Gazette, she now appeals to the community to extend a helping hand and assist Mboniseni so that he is not forced to spend icy-cold nights outdoors.
Chaan can be contacted on 0630008122 for those willing to help.
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