Moffat View Police Station (Johannesburg)

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  Debbie Hanekom (guest)

  Thursday I left 15 children at a “Safe house” not fit to keep a dog: Police tells me to mind my own business. SOS – CAN SOMEONE HELP!!! My friend Belinda was donating money to “meals on wheels”. We plan to visit on the Tuesday as they going a Special Christmas Party for the children from the area. We met with Vicky that runs a feeding scheme in the area. We had a long meeting about the area, what the needs were and the 550 children she feeds 3 times a week. She told us about a “safe house” that was in great need. Vicky introduce us to Kat – the Woman that had the “Safe house” and told us that she is a registered NPO, but is not receiving any funding by government and that there is a great need for food and nappies or anything that they could use. She also said that she needs to find a new house for the children because the land lord from the house that they are staying in is unhelpful and that they were short on rent. We met with Vicky from meals on Wheels on the Monday to discuss what we could do to help. She suggested that we visit the “safe house” the next morning. On the 18th of December 2013, we visited a “safe house”: from the outside the house appeared neglected and a house that fitted in the Moffat view area. At the main gate you were greeted with a pot hole filled with standing muddy water. The yard had a ground cover and patches of long overgrown grass and building rubble and bricks. Near was a swing structure that was broken beyond repair, all type of things has been attached to it to make toy, wood pieces and tires. We entered at the main house that had lounge, 3 bedrooms a bathroom with a kitchen. The walls on the inside of the house were filthy and it looked like damp stains. Kat Jonker from “Sharma House” that we met the previous Thursday lived in the house with her husband in the main bedroom. They also housing an elder lady that was present that morning of our visit. But we were told that she said was going to move. Kat’s 2 children ages +/- 13 and 10, share a bedroom with the some of the older children under the age of 9 children, and the rest of the children then slept in the lounge on matters. The safe house had 13 children that she said was place with her from Booysens and Moffat view police station and hospitals. From the 13 children, 4 babies under the age of 1. These babies were carried around and cared for by the other children, there were no cots a she was the only adult caring for these children. The appearance of the children were the same as the house and the question: how you bath 15 children and 3 adults in one bathroom, crossed my mind. That was until I was shown the back of the property were 10 newly rooms were build, they were in good condition and were rented to anyone. I did not go into the rooms as they were privately owned but could not see if they had a toilet or bath or a kitchen area and only appeared to be a room. It just made me question if they used the same facilities as the people in the main house. All 17 of them. After leaving the Safe House we were going to find out how we can get the children moved to a different place immediately. I could not get the children out of my mind and discussed this with my Husband that agreed that we could help by taking 2 of the children for the holiday “twins at the age of 3”. I contacted Kat and ask her to give me the social workers no for I am thinking of taking the twins for the holidays. She promised to get back to me, I phoned her once more to obtain the number. A few minutes later I received a call from a Miss Bali from the Moffat view police station, I told her what I needed from Kat and she promised to contact me. It seems that Kat had a problem with my request for the Social workers No. and I thought to sort this out in person would have been ideal so I drove out to Moffat view police station, when I got there, I raised the question that some things did not seem to add up. • Why the Police had no knowledge of who the Social worker is that deals with the “Safe house” as they are the ones contacting Kat to collect the children. • Why Kat doesn’t have no legal documentation on these children in her care at a “safe house”? • Why is there no social worker connected to this place of safety? • Why the police did not want to take a drive to the “safe house” when I requested that they make sure that everything is in order? • Why has the tenants from the back rooms on the premises have access to the children? Was this standard at a “safe house” • Why the Moffat view and Booysens police station did not give Kat documentation when the children were place and handed over to the “safe house”, is this standard procedure? • Why she took the children if there were no means to feed them? • The biggest problem was food, formula and nappies, and medicine, how does this work? • Why did Kat walk to the clinic with children when they got sick and why did the clinic not visit the “safe house”? • What is seen as neglect? • Why the Police at Moffat view would not allow me to open a case of child neglect? I am raising this questions as I spend hours on the phone trying to find anyone that would help me! They told me that I should not contact Kat in any way “totally understandable in normal circumstances” but that they treated me like a criminal and as they said: “that all of this had nothing to do with me”. They would not assist me in opening a case of child neglect. If there is anyone out there that receive this mail that would like to know more or help with these children in anyway, please contact me, as I do not know what to do from here as the fact the everyone is on leave and I can only get help on the 6 January 2014. Kind regards. Debbie Hanekom 0829018355

  12 years ago | reply | hide comment