A year ago, the country was left reeling after one of the most tragic incidents in its recent history — the collapse of a five-storey apartment building under construction in George, in the Western Cape. Rescue workers combed through the rubble for 10 days, but 34 construction workers were eventually declared dead.
There were also survivors, pulled from beneath the mangled iron and mortar, days after the collapse. One of them is Ms Elelwani Mawela from Tshituni in the Nzhelele area of the Vhembe District. Mawela was trapped beneath the rubble for two days before she was rescued.
She still vividly recalls how 6 May 2024 began.
"I arrived at the site and even greeted some of my colleagues at the entrance," she said in an interview earlier this week. She explained how she had made her way up to the fourth floor of the building.
"It was only after a few minutes that I heard this loud thud, followed by falling blocks of concrete and steel. There was dust everywhere, and I passed out. I was later told I spent two days under the concrete and that those in the rescue mission who found me thought I was dead," she said.
After being rescued, Mawela was rushed to hospital, where she spent three weeks in the intensive care unit.
"When I woke up from the 'dead', I was told 34 of my colleagues, some of whom I had spoken to before entering the building on that doomed day, were killed. My beautiful face had been transformed into a wreck — people could not even recognise me. My head had also been squashed, but through the grace of God, I am still alive and sane. God spared me from the disastrous and fatal incident," she said.
Mawela underwent three major surgeries to reconstruct her face. Although the operations were largely successful, she still suffers from severe pain in her gums. "I still find it hard to eat and speak," she said.
According to Mawela, life has become extremely difficult, particularly in the absence of financial assistance — and because of the ridicule she has faced because of her facial injuries.
"I have become so ugly that some heartless residents mock me. Sometimes I even feel worthless and avoid meeting people. Even though the Western Cape doctors did an excellent job in restoring my face, eye and ear, I am still battling to accept that this happened. In all that happened, I have God to thank for sparing my life, but I still have a problem with my teeth and need help to get my hospital records in the Western Cape," she said.