It looked like a bobbing rubbish bag, dragged along the raging flood water in the street, with the torrential rain pelting down Cape Town streets. But what was inside would change lives forever and unleashed the heroes of a poverty-stricken community.

Parkwood grandmother Francis Fick, saw a video of a woman carring a child in a black rubbish bag that she moments earlier rescued from a flooded street and thought that the child must be dead. Then as she was wondering, the woman carried the child to her front door, it was her grandchild Tyler, whom she was waiting for to return from school. 

Fick, 60, said the incident — which unfolded in Moosa Walk — could have been prevented if the stormwater system had been cleared in time. The drains, she explained, routinely overflow during winter, turning the roads into what she described as “a river”.

“He is traumatised, even though he doesn’t understand it, but I can see it, because he doesn’t want to go outside alone anymore. He wants me with him,” said Fick.

According to her, on the day of the incident, she was at home waiting for her grandson, Tyler Cupido, to return from school. Tyler, who is eight years old and in Grade 1, normally walks home with his older cousin, but that day he decided to leave alone. His teacher, noticing the heavy rain, made him a makeshift raincoat out of a black plastic bag and tucked his arms inside to keep him dry. But when he crossed the road, he slipped into a waterlogged ditch and couldn’t lift himself out.

Fick was met not by Tyler, but by a neighbourhood watch member —  an unexpected hero — carrying the boy in her arms.

Yaseerah Nelson, 25, had been sitting outside when she spotted what she initially thought was a plastic bag floating in the floodwaters. On closer inspection, she realised it was a child — and that he wasn’t moving. She rushed into the knee-deep water and pulled him to safety.

Fick saw a video of the drama minutes later, not realising it was her grandson.

“What is strange is I saw the video and still told my grandchild that I hope the child is okay, because when I saw Yaseerah carrying him over the arms, I immediately thought this child is no longer breathing,” she said.

“Then not even long after that, Yaseerah was at our house with Tyler. Lord, I can only say thank you… Thank you for her being outside at that moment, thank you that she followed her instincts and went out.”

Fick praised Nelson’s quick thinking and bravery.

“Everyone knows the children every year here in Parkwood, especially Moosa and Parkers Walk, use the flooding as a pool and swim in the water,” she added. “If the City just cleared the drains properly before winter, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

Residents say winter flooding is a familiar and dangerous problem in places like Parkwood — one that has already claimed lives in Cape Town.

In 2023, stormy weather brought with it pools of water to the Klipfontein Mission Station informal settlement, resulting in the tragic electrocution of four children.

Lusindo Dyamdeki, 7, and his brother Lithle, 11, were walking home from madrassa with their friends Awam Salies Simanga, 9, and Storm Scholtz, 12, when they were electrocuted by a live wire lying in the water.

She also thanked Solangei and Angelo Nefdt, founders of Ubuntu Hearts, a Non-Profit Organisation.

Solangei reached out to Fick after seeing Tyler’s video on Facebook.

“We buy and collect goods out of our own pockets for families in need. Our goal is to make the lives a bit better for those in need even if it’s just a plate of food for someone on the street.

“When we saw Tyler’s video on Facebook, we immediately knew we needed to reach out and when we went to his house last night we realised the need is much bigger than just the little boy.

The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness has once again urged vigilance around child safety, especially during the winter months.

Anyone wanting to help Ficks with donations can contact her on 078 0102 037.

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus 

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