Despite losing his job to Covid, this Pretoria man is rejoicing

For the first time in eight years, Patty Ntambwe will spend Christmas Day with a smile on his face. This after he was reunited with his father, with whom he lost contact as a result of conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“If I could open my chest and show you my heart, you would see how my heart is shaking because I am so happy!” he said.

This was days after the Red Cross's Restoring Family Links programme in Southern Africa facilitated a video call with his father, Benoit Ntambwe, who was found in Australia in October.

The 29-year-old Patty, who lives in Pretoria, had left his home country in 2012 because of the upheavals there but had lost contact with his father a dozen years ago. Having no idea where his father could be, he sometimes thought they would never see each other again.

“I tried to remain positive but sometimes I could not help but think he had probably died.”

The thoughts hit harder on his wedding day in 2010 and on important days such as Christmas, he said. “Sometimes you pretend to be strong and try to forget but certain things take you back and you don't have peace.”

He grappled with explaining to his five children what had happened to their grandfather, he said.

It will be a better Christmas Day for him this year, despite losing his job as a security guard when Covid-19 hit SA.

“Financially it won't be nice because there is not much I can do to make my children happy, but on the other hand I think am blessed to have a family. The fact that I know my father is well and can contact him any time really makes a big difference,” he said.

Talent Moyo, the head of the programme, said helping Patty was one of their most recent victories.

“According to our records, Patty opened his case with us in October 2018 for his father, with whom he had separated in 2008 because of conflict in his country. In October 2020, our colleagues at the Australian Red Cross Society managed to find Patty's father and sent us the good news which we shared with Patty and facilitated a video call for the father, son and other family,” said Moyo.

He said one of the objectives of the programme was to ensure that families maintained contact during difficult times.

“Our primary objective is to ensure that in times of conflict, natural disaster or migration, people are able to maintain or restore contact with their family members and at the same time prevent separation before it even occurs.”

The organisation has contacts and volunteers around the world. It facilitates help in different ways. These include “tracing requests”, as in the case of Patty where individuals provide as much detail of their loved ones as possible, which is then circulated and shared with volunteers in respective countries.

The programme also helps to facilitate three-minute phone calls in instances where individuals have contact numbers. This  has been the most productive during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Moyo.

“This has been a very effective tool for us to facilitate contact with family members. People were anxious to know about their loved ones because Covid-19 wreaked havoc across many countries. The calls were instant and, in most instances, the individuals were vulnerable people or did not have the money to finance their own communication,” said Moyo.

Patty is one of 20 people who successfully reunited with their families this year. There are 255 ongoing cases.

Another beneficiary is Cecile Medi, also from Congo. The 45-year-old said she left her home country for SA in search of her husband who'd left the country during the conflict there.

Medi was lucky to also receive help finding her sister.

She had travelled to at least three provinces searching for her, to no avail. “It was difficult, I followed many leads from people but didn't find anything ... Things got better after I came across the Red Cross, who then investigated and found that my sister had relocated to the UK.”

The ones who make it possible 

It was the sight of desperate children at the Beitbridge border that prompted Herman Moyana of Musina, Limpopo, to dedicate his life as a volunteer, helping individuals reunite with their families. Some of the minors were desperate to enter the country in an attempt to find their loved ones who had come to SA to look for work.

“It was heartbreaking, it never sat well with me. I am very family orientated, I would hate to be separated from my family for whatever reason ... I always try to put myself in their shoes to understand how they are coping,” he said.

Moyana, who formally joined the programme in 2016, said he had seen trials and tribulations while executing his duties. “It has been amazing, emotionally fulfilling but heartbreaking at times.”

Recalling one scenario in 2019, Moyana said a woman identified as Fhungani Moyo reached out to the Red Cross, wanting to be reunited with her Zimbabwe-based family. Attempts to find the family were unsuccessful for a year. Months later, new information about the whereabouts of the family emerged but Moyo was in hospital at the time.

“We finally made contact with her family and arranged for them to come to SA and take her home. But then I received a call from the hospital on a Saturday informing me that she had died.

“It was heartbreaking. I had to take a moment, sit down and think of how I would break the news to the family — because so much work had been done and the family was looking forward to seeing her.”

Though Fhungani's family could not reunite with their daughter alive, Moyana said he was consoled that they at least had closure.

“Closure is important, without it one cannot really move on and have peace.”

Empathy and patience goes a long way in this line of work, according to Moyane.

For Mariette Ndlela, who started volunteering in 2010, the work is more fulfilling than heartbreaking.

“I have always loved helping people. The reason I have continued to volunteer with the Red Cross is because of the difference we make to people's lives. Seeing at least one person smile after receiving help really keeps me going.”

Ndlela said though the process of tracking and tracing families took time, she would not trade it for any other job.

TimesLIVE