20th Apr 2024 4:46:17 AM The Charities | The Children | Dorah Mokoena | Health | Schools / Training | Community | Regional Reports | UMashesha Home Ado Balombo Bambula Agnes Wabiwa Amanda Simanga Amina Mahamat Amukelani Dube Andani Mphaphuli Anele Nyongwana Babalwa Debele Babalwa Mfengu Baby Babongile Bafana Nzima Basheeba Worlotoe Benoni Boipelo Mosegedi Bongani Madlala Bongani Phakati Bonginkosi Brendan Busisiwe C Caroline Gichuki Chris M Clara Deon Slabbert Emmanuel Lawal Esihle Evelyn Minto Essono's Feleng Franklin Fursy Mugobe Gabriel Gabriel C Gamuchirai Vanessa Gohodza Gloria Gontise Mogotsi Habiba Hatendi Simbe Helen Matondo Hlumelo Dondashe Irene Peta Jabulani Malungane Jacques Abrahams Janine Barends Jose Mvula Kagiso Maphoso Kagiso Mathebula Kagiso Mphuti Karabo Thebedi Kedibone Kenyan Kezia Fern Samuel Kjetil Sandivk Havnen Koketso Sekuru Lathlehele Lee Branco Liane Grond Lida Basson Loide Londeka Ngidi Maje Mbali Michelle Ecape Michelle Mthenjwa Mimi Mlungisi Mohau Qumpula Mpho Maja Munashe Mungo Nete Musa Zwane Musiwa Neliswe Radebe Nelson Tsabalala Nkosi Ncube Nkululeko Nkululeko Jnr Nomthandazo Shongwe NonMireille Nosihle Nthabiseng Nyakallo Oscar Mlondolozi Hadebe Perlucia Phillip Lesingaran Phindile Piet Moloja Rachid Reagan Rien ne Dit Rolivhuwa Matodzi Rose Wambua Rumbi Saloma Aphanye Sameh Chiboub Samkelo Somi Samukelo Radebe Seetsa Mosoma Seif Seiso Selamawit Shaun Shaun Hart Shirley Seqobane Sicelo Simamkele Sithembiso Hlatshwayo SiyaAndile Siyabonga Morwasetla Siyabonga Nokumbi Siyamthanda Sizwe Steven Marakeng Mpyana Sthabile Sunday Mukaza Tapera Jani Tavonga Tembakazi Tendani Yaka Thando Thapelo Thingo Thomas Thulani Nhleko Tshepiso Maimela Tshepiso Sekuru Vhahangwele Matodz Violet Chibvura Vivian Vusi Mathibela William B Xavier Yassine Ben Ali Zanele Jeza Zianda Ndlovu Zipho Zwane Bongani Innocent Madlala 1993-2024 Bongani was born on February 18th, 1993. Bongani with little Rien ne Dit Bongani had two mothers: Annie Manosi Sikakane who gave birth to him in Howick, KwaZulu Natal when she was 37 years old, and Bronwen Jones who raised him for a significant part of his childhood. Bongani lost most of an arm and an ear as well as part of his scalp and some chest injury, due to severe burns at the age of three months. The family were living at Impendle at the time and a candle fell from a table on to his bed setting the pillow and his bedclothes alight, around May 1993. Because of his young age there are no photographs taken of him before the accident. The house in Kwa Mevana township on the edge of the town of Howick, was originally built for the workers for the Sarmcol Rubber Factory. It was brick built with four rooms (two bedrooms) and has a rudimentary electricity supply. Annie's various employers would buy her R10 tokens for the pre-paid meter. Eventually Annie got her own RDP house. When Bongani arrived at Children of Fire he had three brothers aged 20, 18, and 7. His father, who was unemployed, seemed to be very little involved in the family and had a drinking problem. When Tristan Jones went to visit Bongani at about age 12, he witnessed drunken assault on the child by the father. Annie was the sole breadwinner, working in gardens for five days a week for three different families. Annie's father-in-law died in 2002 but his wife was still alive so there was a granny and an aunt living in the house plus all Annie's family. Bongani's eldest brother Lucky (then 20) had been ill and spent some time in Edenvale Hospital and then Wentworth Hospital in Durban at end March 2003 for an operation for a heart problem. Bongani was brought to our attention after Yvonne Spain, who worked with another children's charity CINDI, spoke to Howick Rotary about Children of Fire bringing Colin Haylock OBE, a UK maxillofacial prosthetist over to South Africa. A Rotarian, Trish Taylor, remembered the child because his mother gardened for her. While arrangements were not concluded in time to meet that specialist, the charity explored all possible ways to optimise Bongani's quality of life. All the children who came to visit, enjoyed a break away from home in a place equipped with lots of playthings and new experiences, so his time in Auckland Park was extremely happy and the visits became longer and longer. Transport to Johannesburg was sometimes arranged with Moray Hawthorne, a partner at the legal firm Webber Wentzel Bowens which was also assisting the charity in its endeavours to empower squatter camp communities. Bongani attended Cosmo Primary School in Howick West, KZN where in four years he learned almost nothing because teachers failed to observe that he could barely see. Letters sent to the family were pointless, because his parents could not read. The levels of rural illiteracy in KwaZulu Natal remained high, even in 2024. Bongani was in a class of 56 pupils, later marginally reduced, sitting at the back, then moved closer to the front where he looked at the board from a side desk at right angles to the board, and at no stage did teachers or fellow pupils identify a problem or try to help. The principal Mr. Singh was interested and pleased to learn why Bongani was going to Gauteng Province. He said that Bongani took part in everything, including sport. Annie proudly told us that he took part in a race at Midmar on March 21st, 2003, and finished No. 4 and had a medal to show for it! Bongani then came to Children of Fire in Auckland Park in March 2003 at the age of ten years. The charity was still being run from a small house in St Swithin's Avenue, Bronwen Jones' own home. On arrival, she gave him a book to read to himself and noticed that he held it very close to his face. She saw his eyes appearing to follow the lines of text as he faked reading. By the next day she knew he could not read or write anything at all. He then attended the Johannesburg School for Blind, Low Vision and Multiple Disability Children, because that allowed him to continue to learn while attending medical assessments, surgery and rehabilitation. In the months when there were no operations, Children of Fire funded the cost of Bongani attending a small-class school (13 pupils per class) in Pietermaritzburg so that he could be close to his family and he continued to learn well. He started reading late but once he mastered the skill, he came to really enjoy books. For high school, as he was not in receipt of a grant, the charity funded the cost of boarding at Filadelfia School in Soshanguve near Pretoria. He studied there with some of our other burns survivors Nsizwazonke Vilakazi and Oscar Mlondolozi Hadebe. In 2006 Bongani went climbing in the Drakensberg Mountains where he also rode horses, abseiled and swam. This was all in preparation for a Mt Kilimanjaro climb in mid-2007. Bongani almost reached the Uhuru summit and he got a certificate for reaching Stella Point on the crater rim at 5,756 metres. He was a proud and gregarious member of the team that included Norwegian burns survivors and German, American, Irish and British participants as well. In terms of surgery, Bongani had tissue expansion of his scalp, treatment for gynaecomastia and expensive work on his prosthetic ear and the metal implants in his head. There were many sagas with the ear getting knocked off by the violent father, getting lost in the leaves of the forest, getting chewed by a rat when he took it off to sleep and left it under the bed in Soweto. The Adventures of an Ear… Jamie Els was the patient and skilled prosthesis maker with Wits Dental. His eyes were tested and prescription glasses made several times through UJ Optometry. After two attempts at Grade 10, it was suggested that Bongani should consider working rather than pushing on with Matric subjects. He briefly continued learning in Pietermaritzburg and then settled for part time jobs in Howick and then some learnerships in Insurance (Hollard) and in Logistics in Johannesburg. He showed some interest and aptitude in technical drawing and was assisted in that direction briefly by school trustee Peter Harris of Westdene. Bongani enjoyed soccer and he loved music. For a while he rented accommodation in Soweto and later a shack in Kokotela near Lenasia, but he always wanted to visit his Children of Fire family whenever he could. In late 2023, with the difficulty in getting a job in South Africa's plummeting economy, he returned to live with family in KZN. He died on Friday 5th April 2024. He had taken up smoking some time before and while visiting friends in Kwa Mevana, Howick, KwaZulu Natal, he is said to have inhaled twice from something that he was smoking and then fallen down, dead. It was a great shock to his family and to his friends, especially to the long-term burns survivors who had grown up with him. Five burns survivors drove in Children of Fire's car to his funeral on 13th April 2024. They were Franklin, Andani, Nelson, Dikeledi and Rien ne Dit. Bongani was much-loved and he will be sorely missed. Friend from overseas sent condolences including Marietta Neumann, Tristan Jones, Junius Hughes, Michelle Daniels. Burns survivors from across South Africa sent their love including Perlucia Mathebula, Thulani Nhleko and more. Bongani had a prosthetic ear. These slides show part of the planning process that involved Bob Quin of the CSIR, Jo'burg Gen Radiology Department, Bloemfontein's Central University of Technology, Wits University's Dr Joseph Schmaman and Prof Dale Howes and his colleague Carol Voigt. Download slides here Bongani Madlala had two tissue expanders inserted into his scalp in February 2010. A month later one expander extruded through his scalp. A week after the extrusion, he received surgery at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital. The delay in the emergency procedure meant that Bongani could not see his mother and grandmother for Easter 2010, and will have to wait another three lonesome months before seeing them again. For a boy who really loves his family and the countryside, that's hard. Bongani Madlala's latest ear Bongani Madlala looked forward to a new ear for New Year 2009. A large team of people from Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Sandton have co-operated in each facet of making a beautiful new rather-expensive ear for him that will be firmly fixed to his head. Thanks to everyone who played their part. The full history was covered in a newsletter and in Drum magazine in December 2008. Bongani held the rapid prototype of his existing ear, to be used to make a mirror image for his missing ear. The rapid prototype was made by Ludrick Barnard and colleagues in Bloemfontein at the Central University of Technology, after the CSIR in Pretoria refused to assist. Bongani with rapid prototype ear to be used to make prosthetic ear. August 2007 2007 saw Bongani with his best replacement ear to date, as maxillofacial surgeons, radiologists, prosthetists and rapid prototyping specialists all combine their skills to make him a perfect mirror image of his existing ear and then join the prosthesis to his head so that, unlike the last two, it cannot be knocked off by a violent father and it cannot go flying through the forest to be lost amid the leaves, when playing vigorously with friends! This ear model was produced via the Council for Scientific and Industrial Technology's PD&EC Knowledge Services section tel: 012-841-2739 or E-mail rlquin@csir.co.za Bongani Madlala was operated on at Johannesburg General Hospital on March 3rd 2004 by Prof. John Lownie in the maxillofacial unit. The implants that were placed in his skull in early August 2003 were exposed. On March 18th 2004 the prosthetic ear was placed on his head. Before work on his head, we had to carry out extensive dermatological treatment for a fungal infection. In around June 2003 he also had a tissue expander inserted (after and it was inflated during July, August, September, October) and on 27th November it was removed. Part of the inflation was carried out by plastic surgeon Jan Kleynhans in Pietermaritzburg but the rapid expansion was not the appropriate treatment for Bongani's head. Bongani has also been taken to a variety of eye specialists. He had some glasses made and managed to lose them as well! At long last he has seen a really good eye specialist and had new glasses that really assisted his vision, by early April 2004. Thanks to Marthie Els of Stanley & de Kock Optometrists in Auckland Park; Dr Chris van Niekerk, eye specialist Netcare Rehabilitation, Auckland Park and Marietjie Richter of Rand Afrikaans University Optometry Department. Eye readings were: AUTR -16.75 -3.00 x 24 AUTL - 14.50 - 3.75 x 163 Dr van Niekerk said that while Bongani had developed a lot of compensating behaviour, he was legally classifiable as blind. We hoped that once he has glasses with an appropriate prescription, that Bongani would at last be able to catch up educationally and learn to read properly. He was not stupid; he simply cannot see. This material is Copyright © The Dorah Mokoena Charitable Trust and/or Children of Fire , 1998-2024. Distribution or re-transmission of this material, excluding the Schools' Guide, is expressly forbidden without prior permission of the Trust. For further information, email firechildren@icon.co.za About Children of Fire | Contact us | Advertise with us COPYRIGHT © 2024 Children of Fire. All rights reserved. Designed Developed and Maintained by Fyre Interactive