CAPE TOWN - Two of Edith Kok’s children have not seen an inside of a classroom because she can’t register them at any school.
Kok does not have an ID which means she can’t apply for birth certificates for her two children aged 11 and 14 years and therefore, they can’t go to school.
She said she had been going to the Department of Home Affairs for years trying to apply for a new ID, but she keeps getting sent from pillar to post.
“My children are at home while others are at school and it saddens me because if I had an ID, they would be going to school,” she said.
Kok said that is not her only worry because since she is unemployed, she can’t even apply for a social grant for her children.
“Things are really tough for us. I’m not working, not getting any form of grants I depend on my family to help or go to soup kitchens for something to eat,” she said.
Kok said it was sometimes hard for her to travel to the nearest Home Affairs office in Bellville because she does not have money for transport.
“Everything one does needs an ID in South Africa and for me I do not exist because I can’t do anything since I’m not known to be alive,” said Kok.
Kok’s older daughter Anathasha said she is lucky to have an ID because when she applied for it, she did not need her mother’s ID but a clinic card.
However, she said for her mother it was a struggle because she can’t do anything.
She said she helps her mother where she can, since she has an ID, but since her mother is still alive, she could not register her siblings on her behalf.
“It is very painful to see my family struggling with all of this and unfortunately my hands are tied,” she said.
The department of Home Affairs spokesperson Siyabulela Qoza said they were assisting Kok to complete a application form.
“She has been advised on which documents to bring to aid the application process and she has indicated that she will bring the requisite documents to the office to take forward her application,” Qoza said.
Weekend Argus