Residents of Mokhomba Village near Jwaneng are accusing the Council of not assisting or coming to the rescue of one of the village women who has 17 children.
Mmabaalafe Bizo, 46, and her children of Mokhomba Village in the Southern District, can go for more three days without putting anything in their mouths.
Speaking to The Sunday Standard, Bizo said, “I have 17 children and I have nothing to feed them.”
With tears running down her face, she added, “We can go for more than three days without food.”
Bizo said they survive on food rations that they receive from the council but the rations are just too little to feed the large family.
“I am very poor and have an unreasonable number of children who also have inherited my poor standard of living,” she said.
She pointed out that of the 17 children, three have already passed away.
Bizo said she had agreed with her partner that they should no longer have kids because what they have are just too many.
“What I wish in my life is that I just want to have food then shelter that can accommodate my family,” said Bizo, with a faraway look in her eyes.
One of her daughters, Gontse, said, “Life is just too difficult and we go for days without food.”
She also shared the same sentiments with her mother that the food ration they get is too little to feed the family.
“I foresee that one day some of us will die from starvation,” she said, adding that she did not know what she will do in life because she performed badly at junior certificate level.
“The situation is very pathetic and something has to be done before it gets worse,” said Moses Rantalajwe, the Ward Councilor of Semane Mochomma. ”As I speak to you now, the woman has another child who is less than a year old.”
Rantalajwe said that though the woman is registered under the destitute program, the ration that they receive is just too little.
“As the Council, we cannot stop her from falling pregnant but we only advise her either to use contraceptives or any other method they choose to stop further pregnancies,” said Rantalajwe.
The Councilor said that, recently, the Softball Association made some donation to the family.
“She is the woman who has the most children in the village,” said Siver Nthomang, the headman of Mokhomba Village. “The condition under which she and her children live is very heartbreaking and nobody would want to live under such conditions.
Nthomang said poverty in his village is too high but the Council seems to be dragging its feet to assist those who are in need.
Meanwhile, other villagers urged the Council to do something for Bizo, saying that she needs a lot of urgent assistance.
