Ephraim Ngatane supports his family

POLOKWANE – Filling the shoes of one person is hard, and filling the shoes of three is even harder.

For Ephraim Ngatane filling the shoes of three people is his life.

At 19, he plays the role of both mother and father for his brother, Thomas (12) and sister, Joy (13).

Ephriam left school at the age of 16 and was forced to look after his brother and sister after both his parents died of HIV/aids-related illnesses.

“My parents were very sick before they died and I had been spending less and less time in school looking after them, so when they passed on, I had to make the difficult choice to leave school and look for work,” Ephriam explains.

He started to look for work on the streets of Polokwane in 2012, where he looked after vehicles on the corner of Biccard and Thabo Mbeki Streets. He was offered a job as a gardener from one of the people whose car he looked after regularly.

“I could not wait to tell my brother and sister because this meant that we would have some money to buy food,” he says.

The family of three resides on a plot on the Tzaneen bypass, where they share a two room shack. The family’s belongings are simple, they have a single mattress to share, a paraffin stove to cook on, a few pieces of clothing and a cellphone that Ephriam uses to contact his brother and sister when they need him.

His brother and sister still attend Bakone Nkwe Secondary School outside the city, and although there is hardly any money, Ephraim is still able to pay for their school fees.

He also ensures his brother and sister have some school clothes to wear.

“I do the washing in the evenings when I get home from work. By then my sister has started to prepare pap. When there is something to eat with the pap, I will prepare it, but most of the time it is only pap and gravy. We do not have a lot of space and most of the money buys airtime and whatever my brother and sister needs,” he says.

“I cannot afford to become ill and miss a day of work because that will mean that we will not eat that night or I won’t be able to help if my brother and sister may need something.”

He says he does not have a lot of time for himself as he is always looking after his family, but does not mind making the sacrifice for them.

“My sister will one day find a husband who will look after her and Thomas will find a job and that’s when I will look after myself. For now, they come first and that is how it should be.”

The Ngatane family is just one of many households where children have to assume the role of caregiver.

Polokwane Childline are looking into working with child headed households like this one to find a better option for the children and help them have the life they deserve. Anyone who would like to get involved in any way to assist children in child headed households can call Polokwane Childline at (015) 295 6449 or visit them at 17 Hans van Rensburg Street Polokwane.