The collapsing homes
On Friday morning, when we woke up, we noticed a white car parked on the street. We had no idea who the owner was.
Later that day, the police arrived at the same location. It seemed that something serious had happened there. We spent the entire day inside the yard and did not go anywhere. However, cars kept stopping near the house as if someone had died. We tried asking our neighbours what was happening, but they said they did not know anything about the situation.
That night, we could hardly sleep because of the noise from people and vehicles passing along the street. The following morning, when we tried to go to the shop, the police stopped us and instructed us to return home because it was not safe outside.
Karabo asked one of the officers, “How is it unsafe outside? We all know that house has been abandoned for years.”The policeman replied, “Yes, we know, but please do as I say and go back inside.”We returned home, wondering what could be so dangerous that the police would prevent us from leaving the house.
That afternoon, while we were sitting under a tree, we heard the sound of machinery, but we had no idea where it was coming from.On Monday morning, we received a call from the school informing us that classes had been suspended until further notice. We were unhappy and confused because we did not understand why the principal had made such a decision.
Later that week, we saw a truck parked at the abandoned house, and we suspected that the police were involved in something significant. Zandile suggested that we ask the police what was happening there.As we approached the gate, the Khumalo family's house suddenly collapsed.A female police officer ran toward us and shouted, “Please go back inside the house immediately!”
Karabo, being our eldest sister, quickly led us home. Our hearts were broken because we realised that the situation was far more serious than we had imagined.The rescue team was called immediately to assist the Khumalo family after their house collapsed. They were rushed to the hospital, but sadly, Mr Khumalo did not survive.
The rest of the family survived, although they suffered serious injuries.Some of the children were left permanently disabled, and the youngest child was diagnosed with a brain tumour.The Department of Human Settlements relocated the family to Potchefstroom in Mohadin, where they could receive support and begin rebuilding their lives
