Cape Town - With less than 100 days to go before matrics write their final exams, a Mitchells Plain great-grandmother is appealing for assistance following several unsuccessful attempts to see her great-grandson, a Grade 12 learner, obtain a valid ID.
Great-grandmother Hester Prince, 81, from New Woodlands, said the family have been trying to obtain a valid ID since her great-grandson was 16 years old.
The teenager possesses a birth certificate but has been struggling to register for an ID card due to the whereabouts of his parents being unknown and their documentation not being accessible.
“His mother lived here and he was born here. When she was 21, she lived with her boyfriend, but not for long. Then when he returned to me, he was four years old and he was in a bad condition.
“She asked me if I could look after him because she couldn’t and didn’t have a place to stay. She never came to look for him.
“She doesn't call him for birthdays, nothing. So he is now 19 and still in my care. I took him to school, to the clinic, everything,” she said.
“I'm 81 and not always well so I would like to sort him out. If he is now in matric and he can’t study further then he must look for a job, but then he also needs an ID.”
When he was 16 years old, officials said to return to try again when he reached 18, Prince said.
When the time arrived, the family was requested to bring his parents and their documents along in order to proceed.
“I went there and the lady told me she can’t help me because I am not his foster mother and his mother must come. I told her I don’t know where the mother is.
“She said he must wait until he is 18. So when he was 18, we went back and it was the same story. Every time they say he must bring his mother and father, and I don’t know where the mother is.”
She shared that the family has been to Home Affairs four times this year.
Western Cape Education Department (WCED) spokesperson Millicent Merton said the learner would be allowed to write the National Senior Certificate exams with his birth certificate.
The Department of Home Affairs did not respond to queries by the time of going to print.
Should anyone be able to assist the family, contact Natasha Prince on 074 810 8284 or via email at [email protected]
Cape Argus