Florence Jansen is one of the East Londoners who tried to help homeless 15-year-old Sihle Ndaweni* turn his life around.
She came across Sihle in Scenery Park, where he was living on the streets, after reportedly falling out with his father and grandmother.
The child has also often been spotted, sitting or lying in traffic in a busy road in the Beacon Bay area.
Jansen runs a church in the neighbourhood and takes in several children who run away from home.
She later briefly also accommodated Sihle’s father, who had recently been released from prison after serving a lengthy term for killing the child’s mother.
She told how Sihle and his father had a frosty relationship, allegedly punctuated by outbursts of violence.
She said at the time, Sihle’s grandmother did not want him because he was aggressive, and left him in the care of his father, who admitted he was unable to look after him.
Sihle was later found sleeping on the streets, prompting Jansen to intervene.
“I asked them to look after the child and I would find a social worker.
“I found out that here in the community, there is a lady who tried to help him but there were no documents, no birth certificate,” she said.
She approached the Isibindi Project, an NGO which provides child and youth care services, and asked it to help to track down his documentation.
Sihle had not collected his documents when he left his extended family in Mdantsane.
An aunt said he and his brother had lived with her after they were asked to leave by relatives in Peddie, where they had stayed since 2011, after the death of their mother.
Sihle’s father said his son had been brought to him by his late wife’s family straight after he came out of prison, and without his birth certificate.
His father did not have any relationship with Sihle’s mother’s family and because of his lengthy incarceration, had no legal papers for his son.
“[Sihle used] to bite his fingers till they bled every day. When he finished with the hands, he would go to his toes,” Jansen said.
She said she approached a clinic for help, wanting to send the child for psychological counselling, but was turned away because she was not his mother.
After several attempts, she managed to trace his brother and half-siblings and managed to get him his birth certificate.
Sihle kept up with his disturbing behaviour and later, together with his brother, moved back onto East London’s streets.
His consistent presence on a busy road in Beacon Bay caught the attention of Gonubie community activist Amanda Timms.
Timms attempted to find him a school to attend, saying she would do so provided he went to live in a shelter.
But that was unsuccessful.
She received a large number of messages from concerned residents across East London, who donated basic essentials for Sihle.
“I am concerned about where he puts his belongings he gets from the community members, because he has been wearing the same outfit for quite some time now.”
Timms said she had tried various shelters in the East London area, hoping to find refuge for the boy, and had approached the department of social development.
“The main problem is not having the relevant documents [birth certificate] required by the shelters, which need to be signed by the department of social development,” she said.
“The boy tells me he wants to go back to school. I am hoping his dream will come true.”
I make it a point to always bring him food, every time I see him. He’s not a talker, but knowing his well-being is important
Timms’ involvement in Sihle’s case encouraged more community members to try to assist.
Tracy Hanner makes time to bring the boy food and tries to talk to him.
“I make it a point to always bring him food, every time I see him. He’s not a talker, but knowing his well-being is important,” she said.
The Dispatch has listened to a recording of a conversation between a police officer and social development official who argued about how to deal with the minor’s case.
The social development official said the department had found shelter for the child when he was still in hospital.
The official kept saying it was a psychological matter, and that it was not a case that the department handled.
Timms said a hospital report indicted that the boy had a psychological problem.
The police officer said in the recording that police been dealing with the problem of the minor for about two years.
* Not his real name
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