MBABANE – A 95-year-old bedridden woman, Gogo Makomane Mawelela, is appealing for public assistance to build a house where she can receive care in privacy and dignity.
Mawelela, who was left paralysed after a car accident, currently shares a single room with her son, daughter-in-law and two young children.
Unable to walk or sit up, she depends on her caregivers for daily needs, including washing, changing and treating painful skin sores that have developed from lying down for extended periods.
She said the cramped living conditions make it difficult for her to receive care and appealed to the public, government and charitable organisations to help her secure a house of her own.
“I am appealing to the public to assist me in building a house,” she said.
The situation has also raised concern at the Nkwene Youth Charity Organisation, which sometimes assists Mawelela with food but says it cannot meet all her needs.
“It is very painful to see. Washing and taking care of a sick grandmother in a small room where children live is extremely difficult. She needs her own space,” said Mbuso Sibandze of the organisation.
Sibandze appealed to Good Samaritans to help Mawelela, saying the organisation provided assistance where possible but lacked the resources to meet her broader needs.
