Update

GEORGE NEWS - In the week following the catastrophic building collapse of exactly 14:09 on Monday 6 May, 2024, more than 140 rescue workers and medical staff, along with 1 200 volunteers from across South Africa, were deployed to the disaster site.

Altogether 62 people were pulled from the rubble. Of those, 28 survived, many with life-changing injuries, while 34 tragically lost their lives.

Among the survivors is Elelwani Mawela (31), a safety officer from Limpopo who had been working on the fourth floor of the five-storey building when it gave way.

Mawela was trapped under rubble for three days before being rescued on 9 May, thanks in part to search and rescue dogs. Her condition was critical. 

She was rushed to George Hospital in a coma, where she remained in the ICU for nearly three weeks before stabilising enough to be transferred to Groote Schuur Hospital for emergency facial surgery.

While her brain miraculously escaped injury, the trauma to her face and body was devastating. "My jaw was severely fractured and I can no longer chew or speak properly," she wrote in a personal plea to George Herald.

"I also live in fear of facing people because some mock me or stare at me … It makes it difficult for me to accept what happened. I am being bullied and laughed at in my village. I don't want to go outside anymore."

She has already undergone three major operations to her face and head, with more still needed, including maxillofacial reconstruction and dental implants. One ear is now deaf. Although one of her eyes was damaged, it was saved through surgery.

Mawela says she has received no counselling and lives with constant flashbacks and emotional distress. 

"I'm not really getting any trauma counselling at the moment, and I suffer from constant memories of 6 May. Especially these days. I remember everything so clearly, and I dream about it. I was on the fourth floor of the building when it disappeared under me and everything went dark," she says. 

She says the worst, apart from the fear and pain, were the screams from her co-workers who were also trapped under the fatal pile of building rubble and debris and the thought that she might die.Elelwani Mawela recovered in George Hospital before she was transferred to Cape Town. 

But apart from the physical and mental damage that Mawela has to endure, she is also struggling financially as she is currently unable to work or earn an income. 

Though she attempted to claim from UIF, her efforts have been blocked by bureaucracy, and she has been wading through a heap of red tape. 

"It has been a huge struggle to get the correct documents from the hospital. They did send me medical documents, but they were the wrong ones, and when I took them to the Department of Labour for my UIF application, they said they were the wrong papers. And now I don't get any response from them."

Despite the pain, isolation and lack of support, she continues to fight. Her direct appeal to President Cyril Ramaphosa, a fellow Venda, has gone unanswered. 

"As a South African citizen, my medical costs should be covered by the Department of Labour," she says, "but I'm still falling through the cracks. 

"Public hospitals are slow and complicated, and private care is beyond my means. But my hope is still alive. I am humbly asking for help."

Anyone who wishes to assist Mawela to rebuild her life may contact her directly on 071 257 3163 or 081 758 3594.

Elewani Mawela at her home in Limpopo earlier this week. She barely has any teeth left.