How a woman’s quest to stay abreast proved best for moms affected by looting

When 28-year-old Rialda de Vaal was unable to breastfeed her premature baby girl, she froze the milk, thinking someone might need it one day.

Last week, as parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng went up in flames, the Klerksdorp mother of three — aged six months, four and five — became a saving grace for at least eight women battling to get milk for their little ones. They responded to a Facebook post by De Vaal.

“I have had a few mothers from KZN and Gauteng contacting me in desperate need of milk, as in some shops there’s no formula available,” she said.

This week she will send 12 litres of milk to two women in Johannesburg.

“One mother has paid for a courier company to fetch seven litres on Tuesday and the other mother will send a friend travelling from Potchefstroom to Johannesburg to come and fetch it from my house.” 

De Vaal registered to become a breast milk donor when her now four-year-old daughter Zhayli, also premature, was born. She donated at a local hospital.

When she saw reports of mothers struggling to get formula for their babies, it dawned on her that the 45 litres of breast milk in her chest freezer was the solution.

She said as the mother of a premature baby she felt incredibly sad for those who were battling to get milk.

“I really can’t imagine what it must feel like to worry about feeding your child as I was blessed in abundance with milk. I offered the milk as I knew it could help feed hungry babies in the affected areas.

De Vaal said she gave birth on January 8 to premature Mihleeya, who, until she was diagnosed with a cows’ milk protein allergy at the age of three months, was breastfed.

“This meant I could not consume any product containing cow’s milk, so we decided to put her on [a non-allergenic formula]. I continued to pump breast milk though.

“It is pumped and immediately stored in the freezer, where it’s safe for up to a year.”

De Vaal said those close to her kept asking why she was not throwing the milk away as it wasn’t being consumed by her daughter. She said she kept it because she knew, somehow, it would be needed.