The heartfelt pleas of the widow of a man who died in the defence of a woman, have been answered.
The Lesotho national was devastated because she could not afford to transport her husband’s body from Ikageng for his burial. It was her tears that moved a local florist and an undertaker to respond. Finally, Makoane Qaba got the burial he deserved in his hometown of Berea, Mapoteng Hakone in Lesotho.
Makoane, a contract builder, was beaten to death with a hammer by his friend after intervening in a fight between the accused and his girlfriend on 30 July.
‘We cannot afford a coffin and we can’t bear to see him spend a month in the mortuary. We want to have a decent funeral for him,’ said his wife, Moneoang Nokana, at that time.
André Jacobs, the owner of Maison de Fleur Florist, read the heartbreaking story in the Herald on his way back from Cape Town and was moved by the woman’s predicament.
‘When I read how he was killed for defending a woman, I called Darren Bezuidenhout of Dorotian Funeral Services to see if we could assist the family.
It’s tragic that, after his act of heroism, there was no money to transport him home. It is unthinkable that he would have to remain it the government mortuary for financial reasons. We need to stand together as a community,’ he says.
André and Dorotian’s chief operations’ officer financed the coffin and transport to Lesotho for the deceased and his family.
‘When André called, I also read the story and found out where I could get hold of the relatives. I also contacted the forensic department. I knew we could easily assist them. I didn’t want them to be stressed about the burial when they should be focusing on mourning the loss of their loved one,’ says Darren.
André, who has been a florist for 18 years, two of which were here in Potchefstroom, says helping out should never be about getting anything in return.
‘When I had difficulties, there were people who assisted me. They didn’t want anything in return; they just asked me to pay it forward,’ he says passionately.
Dorotian Funeral Services has been in business for 24 years and Darren says they are often faced with similar situations. ‘We always try and assist. Dorotian believes that hurt is free and it comes easily. The only way you can take it away is by giving the opposite – by demonstrating love through kind deeds,’ he says philosophically. ‘If we had only given this family the money, they wouldn’t have felt the love. That is why we went all out to perform the deeds and make them feel loved,’ he said.
Moneoang was overwhelmed by the kindness of the two men who assisted them. ‘I pray a lot and I believe God answered my prayers when He sent the two gentlemen to assist the family. They treated my family as their own. Despite the tragedy, my husband’s family at home in Lesotho is so thankful that their loved one could be brought back home without any hassles. Everything went well,’ she said with a grateful smile.
Read the story here: Father of two dies in inferno
