The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu,Senior Reporter
A 30-year-old woman is battling a life threatening eye condition and is appealing for financial assistance to undergo an operation.
Ms Tsitsi Banda from North End suburb in Bulawayo is looking for $1 000 for an eye operation at Karanda Mission Hospital in Mount Darwin. She is unemployed and because of the eye condition she has not been able to raise money to pay rentals and is not only facing eviction but had her property attached by her landlord recently.
“My eyes started getting bloodshot and red in 2015 when flowers and trees were in bloom so when I went to see a doctor I was told it was an allergy and I was given tablets and ointments as treatment. They would stop being itchy and red but start all over again after a while. Then I was told there was something inside the eye and I needed to be operated on. So I did go and get operated at United Bulawayo Hospital (UBH) in 2016,” she said.
After the operation she said it actually got worse.
“From nowhere I got something like a boil on the eye. Later black blood started gushing out of that wound that had stated growing. So it began to swell. I was advised at UBH to go to Karanda Mission Hospital in Mount Darwin where they said I could be assisted through another operation. The challenge is that I do not have the money for the operation as I do not work anymore. I was able to work before but now it is a challenge because of this condition. I am constantly in pain. I am asking for those who can to assist me so that I can be operated on and work for my family,” she said.
At Karanda Mission Hospital she said she was charged US$900 for the operation. Ms Banda is a mother of two boys.
“My landlord attached my property because I owe $410 in rentals. She took a laptop, printer, a deep freezer and gave me two days’ notice to leave the house last week. However, the Rent Board said I should not be removed from my lodgings as yet. They said the attachment was illegal since I was not given adequate notice of eviction,” said Ms Banda.
Those willing to assist Ms Banda can call or EcoCash her on 0773683986. A cousin Ms Sinikiwe Torongo said a place to stay was important for a person with this condition.
“Look at the weather outside. If she is evicted she cannot stay in the open with that kind of eye. The economy is hard. The property that the landlord attached and the money that she owes do not tally, it is way more than what is owed and I am surprised that someone can be that harsh on a person who is ill like this,” she said.
Ms Torongo said her cousin had electricity cut by the landlord and now cooks using fire outside. The same month that she attached property is the same month that she gave her an eviction order.
“Now her child who is in Grade Three carries water to school to drink because she cannot provide anything for the child. It is not even water with sugar, just water from the tap. The younger one should have been in Grade Zero but he has not enrolled because there is no money to pay school fees,” she said.
Mr Mpikelelo Khumalo the chairman for Expriccos Taxi Association said they were going to assist in a small way.
“We will chip in a small way as we are touched by her plight. We carry them daily in our vehicles. We therefore feel obliged to assist them,” he said.
