A Plea for Help

Whenever I’m in the office, I’m likely to hear someone’s horrific story of how they got to South Africa or how they were treated once they got here and sadly, it is all too common. I hate to say it, but I've become a bit numbed to the tragedies of refugees. But, a few weeks ago, I met a family that truly shook me. As soon as I heard their story, I knew that I needed to help them as much as I possibly could in any way that I could. And I’m desperate to do so.

Lawrence and Richard Roti are 17 and 13, respectively. They are the two wonderful Zimbabwean boys that I met today. They are both in wheelchairs and unable to obtain the proper care or education they need. They haven’t even been medically diagnosed, but Lawrence is thought to have Spinal Muscular Dystrophy while Richard might suffers from Cerebral Palsy.

Here are the brothers with our volunteer Eunice, their Uncle Michael and their adorable cousin Angelina. Richard is on the left and Lawrence is on the right.

Originally, they boys lived in an extremely impoverished rural part of Zimbabwe called Guruve. They lived there with their parents until their father died and their mother became overwhelmingly weak with HIV related illnesses. They were then adopted by their uncle’s, Michael and Fidellis, who decided it was best to move them to South Africa in January of last year. Since then, they have lived in a township called Phillipi just outside of Cape Town with their uncles, both unemployed. Soon after they settled down, Michael and Fidellis were attacked on the street by a man with a screwdriver. Fidellis did not survive. The attack seemed random at first, but they began to realize that their neighbors were jealous of the aid they were receiving from The Chaeli Campaign, an NGO that specializes in helping disabled children. Although they have some idea who the attacker was, no one has involved the police for fear of being targeted further.

Now, Lawrence and Richard are left in the care of Michael and his wife Sibongile, who are both unemployed and must care for their own daughter, as well. The boys are not attending school or physiotherapy and they are deteriorating. On top of that, they live in fear of another attack. PASSOP and The Chaeli Campaign are doing all that we can, but we are grassroots organizations with small budgets and can’t sustain them for very much longer. Michael has attempted suicide due to the stress and helplessness he has felt over the last few months. We are terrified that if we don't get more help soon, he will try again, leaving the boys on their own.

When I met these boys and their family, my heart ached. Handicapped people are often overlooked or ignored in Africa, many times they are even believed to be a curse on the family or a warning from God. But they're just sweet, innocent little boys with a downtrodden, hopeless gaze stuck in their eyes. Through very broken English, they told me that all they wanted was a toy to play with sometimes. Richard wants a tank and Lawrence wants a race car, but I want to give them so much more.

If you have any idea how we can help these boys or if you are in the position to personally donate money, clothes, toys, anything at all - it would be appreciated beyond explanation. Tell your parents, your friends, your church, your classmates, your co-workers. Tell the people you meet on the bus or the woman who serves you coffee this evening. Please. We are in an incredible position to improve the quality of these boys lives, and relieve some of the stress their family is dealing with. Every single bit of help, no matter how small it may seem to you, will drastically improve their situation. They have seen so many days of pain and suffering, I just want to give them a little hope. This is not an informercial with a weepy song behind images of distended bellies and kids rummaging in landfills, this is your friend asking you to help a family in desperate need. I urge - no actually - I beg you to reach out and help PASSOP in our efforts. Contact me or PASSOP for details on how to donate to the Roti brothers, I can guarantee that any donation will go towards the immediate needs of the boys and their family.

Live generously,

KG