The past three weeks have been heart-wrenching for the family of seven-year-old Khayalethu Magadla who fell into an open manhole in Dlamini, Soweto last month.
No parents deserve to go through what the Magadla family experienced as days and weeks passed with no luck in recovery attempts of their son's body and not knowing if they would be able to find closure.
On Saturday afternoon though, thanks to the heroics and bravery of the Johannesburg Emergency Services Management (EMS) team, the family was brought closer to finding closure.
Khaya's body was found at a waste treatment plant near Eldorado Park cemetery after relentless search by rescuers which included entering sewer pipes stretching for kilometres.
Indeed, the work of the rescue team that persisted in the search until Khaya was found is the stuff of heroes. EMS personnel perform a crucial role in public safety, often working under harsh conditions and risking their own lives to save others.
Yet, these men and women rarely get the honour they deserve for their valiant efforts in serving their communities. In fact, in some instances EMS employees have been complaining about lack of safety equipment, poor working conditions and attacks by criminals as the respond to emergencies. While some of their issues have been receiving some attention, crime continues to be a perennial problem.
In Khayalethu's recovery case, the EMS rescue team faced different challenges, one being ageing infrastructure that has not been maintained properly which complicated their search. One of the team members told this newspaper last week that the operation was challenging.
"Most of the pipes are not big enough to walk upright, you need to bend and that puts a lot of strain on your back. You can't even take a break to sit down because the water is knee high. The pipes are circular and you only walk in the middle where the flow of the water is. Where the streams meet, the water can be waist-high and the flow of the current can sweep an adult away,” said Teboho Khesa.
For going the extra mile to end the Magadla family's three-week misery, the Johannesburg EMS rescue team deserve more than just words of gratitude from all of us.
They also deserve equipment and support essential to their jobs so that they can continue saving lives where possible without sacrificing their own.
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