Donations For A New Home

Good day

My name is Kaylah Mentoor and I am appealing to the anyone to assist me and my family with any donations so we can actually finally buy a home.

It is close to the end of the year and my mom, my two younger brothers and I urgently need a roof over our heads to sleep under. If I could give you a background story of mine. I'm currently 24 and a student at the University of Johannesburg. My mother is self-employed, she makes jewelry and dream-catches. She sells them at a flea market on weekends, then during the week she has a few students that she tutors. I am a full time student, so it is difficult for me to study full time and work part time. I matriculated in 2013 and at the end of that year I fell pregnant. In June 2014 I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy Liyaqat Akeem Mentoor. At the time my mom, 2 younger brothers, my baby boy and I were living in a shelter for abused woman and children because my step father was very abusive to us and my mother had to protect her children. I was going to college the time I was pregnant, my mom had just gotten a job at a nursery school as a teacher. The baby was born and my mother was basically the only one supporting herself, my younger brothers, me plus the new born added with only a R3 500 monthly salary. How she did it is beyond me. 2015 I managed to get a job at the same nursery school my mom was working at, so things did get a bit easier. Due to unforeseen circumstances we had to move out of the shelter; my mom went back to my step dad and I moved close to work and rented out a room, and it was just me and my baby.

Fast-forwarding a bit 2016 I had to resign from my work, and I couldn't find another job fast enough, couldn't pay rent so I was forced to move back to my mom with my step dad. Things were tough, but I was grateful either way. I managed to get a job as a shop assistant at a clothing shop close to home. 2017 this was when I met Onke Mashinini. We got into a relationship and things were getting serious very fast between us, talks of marriage and living together was the topic of our conversation most of the time. 2018 things with my step dad was still uneasy and he wanted me out of the house so Onke offered that my son and I lived with him in his parents home. His parents were ok with it and beginning of March I moved in. I was only there for 2 weeks and my son went missing on the 16 March 2018. Onke was looking after Liyaqat while I was at work, and he was supposed to drop Liyaqat off by my mother for the weekend on the Friday evening (16th) (because I worked 7 days a week). He claimed that there was a coloured couple outside my moms place and according to him this couple said that they were family of mine and he then gave my son to them. We still haven't found my son til this day. It has been very difficult for me, I was depressed that year, I didn't want to live at all. I am proud of myself because I have become better than I was and I pushed through. I decided to study because it's something I've always wanted to do. I chose to go into teaching because the time Liyaqat was born I revolved my world around him. I wanted to study teaching so that by the time he was out of nursery school I could follow him to Primary and High School. I was so used to being around him, being there for him throughout the day during school time and home time and I loved the idea of literally being a few steps away from him. Even though he isn't currently with me I still want to keep to that, for the day that he might come back home alive. Mashinini was arrested on the 16th. It has been an extremely long, mental and emotional draining process of doing searches, being interrogated by the police, police wanting answers from me which I didn't have, going to court, having the case be postponed multiple times. When the investigations was taking place they found Liyaqat's blood in the house we were living in. It was enough blood to open up a murder charge.It reached the High Court in Johannesburg CBD and now finally on the 28 October 2019 Onke was sentenced to 45 years. he was charged with murder, defeating the ends of justice and robbery (which was not related to my son's case). Liyaqat was only 3 years old when this happened. He was an innocent baby and he just got taken away from me by someone I trusted and loved. Liyaqat's case is actually the first child case in South Africa were the accused was sentenced without a body (or a murder weapon for that matter).

After Liyaqat went missing I moved in with a family member, my mom and brothers followed not long after. We've been living with family since the time Liyaqat went missing til now and unfortunately our time has expired there. My mother doesn't currently have a stable job, so paying rent at another place will be difficult. I do have exams coming up from 9 November 2019 and we need a place to stay I'm thinking and trying to find donations so we can move because it is an urgent matter. I am extremely stressed out. I am with NSFAS, so I'm staying at a NSFAS accredited accommodation but by the end of November I have to be out of the student accommodation. There's December, the last month that we can stay at our current place of shelter.

At this point, I'm trying my best to keep myself together and be strong for my mother because she means everything to me. I lost my baby, I don't to loose myself or my mother or brothers along the way as well. The only thing I'm asking for is a helping hand, if there is anyone that can assist with rent money and food. I don't have a place that I can call home. I'm so tired of having to struggle, going through the worst life can through at me. I am so determined to make something of myself and get out of this struggle that's why I am pushing to complete my studies and not repeat what happened to my mother, my grandmother, my great-aunt, my aunts, my cousins. I want to break from this circle of abuse and struggle the woman in my family is stuck in. I've been through enough and I've seen enough. The only thing I'm praying for is a breakthrough, just something.

My contact details are as follows:

Email: [email protected]