A brave woman who rescued a nine-year-old girl whose home burnt to the ground is pleading for help for the child and her two brothers who were abandoned by their mother.
Celeste Speelman, 41, from Phumlani
Village next to Lotus River, says she will never forget the girl’s spine-chilling cries as she stood next to her hokkie that was gutted on 18 August.
“I was at home hanging the washing and we saw the smoke in the informal settlement and then I heard this bitter crying of a child,” she explains.
“I left all my stuff and ran and found this girl crying by the hokkie. Not long afterwards, her two brothers, aged 11 and 13, came and I spoke to them.”
Celeste says she got a skrik when she heard the children had been staying by their mother’s
boyfriend since May as the mother had allegedly run off to Port Elizabeth with a new man.
“They were basically raising themselves and they had no place to live,” she says.
“I felt very sorry for them because they lost all their stuff in the fire, so I spoke to the boyfriend and he said the mother has been gone for months and dumped the children with him.
“After the fire, she came to me and gave me R200 and asked if the children could stay there, saying she is going to work in PE again.
“She went away and I found a number for her through people and when I asked about her children, she sent voice notes swearing my p***. I never heard from her again.”
DESPERATE: Celeste Speelman of Phumlani Village took in three kids deserted by their mother
Celeste says she tried to get help after learning the girl had never been to school.
“I can’t even get their birth certificates (from Home Affairs) because I am not their mother.
“I went to the school where the two boys are and spoke to the social workers, but I need help.”
Celeste, who works a part-time job earning R350 a week, says she cannot cope with the financial burden and often sends the siblings hungry to school.
“The oldest one is hakking out at school and the girl cries all the time. I am begging for help. I am really struggling,” she says.
“They are good children who miss their mother and she doesn’t care, but she takes their Sassa money.
“I don’t know what to do anymore, I told the social workers they can live by me because I will never just leave them.”
Social Development spokesperson, Esther Lewis, confirms they are aware of the case and says the matter is being investigated.
“In the interim, assistance will be offered to ensure that the children are taken care of.”