[imagesource:gencraft/ai]
An 11-year-old South African boy just made the trek of his life, walking from Simon’s Town to Khayelitsha on Monday after a bus refused to let him board.
He made his way through some of Cape Town’s most dangerous areas, walking the long stretch home alone while occasionally being helped along by some amazing Good Samaritans.
But the fact that this kid had to walk for eight hours as darkness fell has left fellow Saffas appalled and saddened that he was forced to experience this in the first place.
The young boy said via News24 that he and his siblings were waiting at a bus stop in Simon’s Town and when the bus stopped, he could not find his ticket. His two younger siblings were able to board the 14:30 bus to Makhaza, but the driver refused to let him get on without a boarding pass.
The precious Grade 6 pupil said that at this point, he “felt scared and alone, but was determined to make it home”.
He walked a gruelling 20 kilometres to Strandfontein, where he managed to get a little further by someone who offered him a lift to Mandela Park. From there, a caring security officer took him under his wing, and later police officers found him and took him home.
It took him more than eight hours to get to Harare in Khayelitsha where authorities eventually found him and took him home. Of course, his family were completely beside themselves with distress that he had not returned with his little sister and brother.
“My God, I was so relieved when I saw the vehicle pull up outside my home and out came my son. I just burst out into tears,” his mother said.
When News24 interviewed him on Tuesday – a day after his brutal walk – he said he was still tired, with wobbly legs and a sore body. “I feel angry that the driver did not want me to get onto the bus,” he said, adding later that it was definitely “the longest, scariest walk in my life”.
He said immediately after the bus drove off, he started the long trek home in his school uniform and his bag with all his books inside.
“My bag was very heavy, all my water was finished, and I was very hungry. I didn’t think of asking anyone for anything because I just needed to get home because I had homework.”
Without food, water or protection, the dutiful boy made it home at 10 PM. The boy’s mother knew that her son was left to fend for himself as her younger son had called her on his phone to let her know what had happened.
“My heart started racing because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I panicked,” she said.
Sick with worry, she immediately left work and frantically called her husband who then immediately got into his car with a colleague and drove to Simon’s Town to search for their son. The family spent two agonising hours driving around looking for the boy. In the meantime, the mother mobilised community groups and asked the children’s school to send out alerts for people to look out for the boy.
“While my husband went to the area, I called the Simon’s Town police station to tell them what happened, asking them to please patrol the area and look out for my son.”
“I explained to them what my other child told me and wanted them to locate the driver and deal with him because how could he think it was OK to allow my child to get off the bus like that when he is clearly not going to get some other transport home?
“Anything could have happened to him and that’s what makes me so mad. To have my boy walk home alone for eight hours is not OK. No driver should be allowed to do that to any child,” said the outraged mother.
Thank heavens, and “through the grace of God”, she said, shortly after 22:00, a law enforcement vehicle arrived at the family’s home with the boy. Apparently, he was in a state of shock and barely hugged his parents before heading straight to bed.
“I couldn’t stop crying. He looked in pain and very dehydrated. I am so angry with that damn bus driver; anything could have happened to my son while he walked home. I’m so happy he is safe and sound. He is recovering at home now.”
Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS) confirmed that the driver in question has been suspended. They also noted that protocol around scholars turning up with lost tickets or bus cards needed to be reviewed.
What an ordeal. We hope someone buys him a yearly bus pass.
[source:news24]
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