POLOKWANE – Ward 10 Councilor, Evans Mothapo, recently came to the rescue of a 29-year-old woman, whose stillbirth crisis caught his attention.
Mothapo explained to BONUS that he received a call from a social worker at the Seshego Clinic in Zone 4 explaining Pamela Howe’s experience.
Howe, who is unemployed and resides in Seshego Zone 5, gave birth to a stillborn baby in June but was unable to bury her baby as the clinic asked her to pay a fee in order for the body to be released from the mortuary.
Howe tried to negotiate to have her baby’s body released with the R400 she had to her name, but was refused by the clinic who insisted she pay the full amount.
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Mothapo says he found the case disturbing as the social worker knew Howe was unemployed, yet it wasn’t taken into consideration when it came to the burial of the baby. “The social worker should have alerted the Department of Health and the Department of Social Development months ago if she knew that this was out of her control and that is why I agreed to assist,” he said.
“In my opinion, the social worker was ignorant because she didn’t work quick enough and dragged her feet. A baby’s body cannot be kept at a mortuary for more than four months, that’s unacceptable and very heartbreaking,” Mothapo added.
In the same week he received the call, Mothapo negotiated with Marksimon Funeral Services to assist with transportation and arrangements of the funeral, which they did. “The mother could only afford to pay R400 but Marksimon Funeral Services really came to the rescue to agree to assist with the deposit Howe could offer them.” Speaking on Howe’s behalf, Mothapo confirmed that the baby was buried at the Seshego Cemetery in Zone 8.
The Spokesperson for Department of Social Development, Witness Tiva said they are aware of the case and social workers have provided psychosocial support to the mother and other affected parties. “We will also be investigating the matter to establish more facts and to check what caused the delay as it is alleged that one of our officials in the area was unable to offer immediate assistance to the mother,” Tiva said.
He further adds that the department is able to assist families that are unable to bury their loved ones through Pauper’s Funerals. “We would also like to thank Evans Mothapo and other good Samaritans who were able to intervene and assist Howe to bury her child.”
BONUS brought the matter to the attention of the Spokesperson of the Department of Health, Neil Shikwambana on 2 October. By the time of going to print we were still awaiting comment from the department.
