The young girl, Patience Mukute, dropped out of school to
look after her father who had a stroke.
When The Manica Post crew visited their homestead in
Mandima Village under Chief Mutambara recently, the situation was
heart-wrenching as, both the father and minor could barely walk – the former
due to the stroke that paralysed him, and the latter to some fire burns.
Patience’s health has also visibly given in – with the
burns on both legs, labourious tasks she endure daily, coupled with poor
nutrition and lack of medication taking a toll on her.
“I burnt my legs after falling in a fire. My father’s case
is different. I came from school, only to find my father lying down with saliva
coming from his mouth. He never uttered a word since that incident. It is only
after I took him to a prophet recently that he started walking and humming like
what he is doing now,” she said.
The minor’s mother, Progress Mbiriri, allegedly abandoned
them six years ago, taking her other two other children with her. With no
contact details, the minor and her father were left to endure the hardships of
life.
She cooks, fetches water and firewood, baths, and acts as
her father’s interpreter. Patience is also appealing for donations such as
school fees, uniforms, shoes, clothing, toiletries, food and medication for her
ailing father to alleviate their suffering, and allow her to return to school
and reclaim her childhood.
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