Two neighbours from Smutsville, Sedgefield, who took care of an elderly man until he died of leukemia last Friday, are looking for his relatives, who may live in Grahamstown.
Two neighbours from Smutsville, Sedgefield, who took care of an elderly man until he died of leukemia last Friday, are looking for his relatives, who may live in Grahamstown.
Maria Bolokoshe cared for Pierre Joseph Sam, 72, during the day and he slept in a room provided by her neighbour, Martha Mantshintshane. "I have no parents, so I told Oupa Sam – I take you like a father. Don't you leave me alone!" Mantshintshane had told Sam on Friday morning when she heard him crying out.
"He called out for his mother and his children," Mantshintshane said. "It was not the usual sobbing when his legs hurt, but a big cry. He said he didn't want to take his medicine that day."
In a little booklet Oupa Sam had made at a community centre, he wrote: "I was born on 1 March 1939 and I am the first-born of Evelyn and Bugqwango's eight children. I have six children – two boys and four girls." But he did not write down their names, or where they lived.
There is also some doubt about Oupa Sam's actual name, because he had no identity document. According to Martha, Oupa Sam had said he was originally from Grahamstown. On the last page of his little booklet was a hidden piece of paper.
On it, in his own neat handwriting, Oupa Sam wrote: "My kind, al ken jy my nie, ek weet alles van jou af. Psalm 139:1". Anyone who knows where the relatives of Oupa Sam may be is asked to urgently contact Martha at 073 710 2414, or Maria at 083 471 3437, so that funeral arrangements can be made.
