Family of five are stuck living in a SHED in South Africa after travelling there just before lockdown and getting stranded overseas
- 10,000 New Zealand visa holders are stuck overseas due to COVID-19
- Among them are a family who travelled to South Africa before lockdown
- They are now trapped in a rural town, living in a shed as borders remain closed
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
A family of five who travelled to South Africa just before the COVID-19 lockdown are stuck living in shed as they try to survive with no income.
The Badenhorsts left New Zealand to renew their South African passports and visit family before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
The family are now locked out the country and living in a makeshift home, trying to survive without an income and home school the kids in a different time zone, reported RNZ.
The family had been living in New Zealand on work visas since 2016 and are not residents of the country.
The Badenhorsts left New Zealand to renew their passports and visit family before the coronavirus pandemic took hold
Mother Carla Badenhorst, her dairy farmer husband and their three children normally live near Oamaru, on New Zealand’s south Island.
But they are among the 10,000 New Zealand visa holders stuck overseas due to the COVID-19.
Ms Badenhorst said it’s been incredibly difficult trying to return to their normal lives from a shed two and a half hours outside Johannesburg.
‘Missing home, for my 11-year-old I think is the worst – my daughter cries every night, basically asking about her cats,’ Ms Badenhorst said.
While her eldest son has been staying awake and completing is schooling from 12am to 4am, due to the significant time difference.
Mother Carla Badenhorst her dairy farm manager husband are among the 10,000 New Zealand visa holders stuck overseas due to the COVID-19
‘He is losing a lot, he is trying his hardest to stay up-to-date. I must say the schools are really helping and trying to get the info to him but it’s not the same for him as sitting in a class, and actually having the teachers there to explain it’ she said.
Her youngest children, Carlo and Marieke normally attend the 54-student Maheno School and Adriaan attends St Kevin’s College.
Staff have been sending the children work to complete but the time difference and internet connection have been making it difficult.
Maheno School Principal Ryan Fraser said they’re doing everything they can to help the family from afar.
‘It’s hard for us as teachers to see what they’re up to and be in contact with them because of the connectivity,’ Mr Fraser said.
To make matters worse, Carlo has type 1 diabetes and they’re having to import expensive medical supplies into the country through a pharmacy to use with his New Zealand pump.
School children make their way to school after the government allowed schools to re-open under Level 2 guidelines in Wellington on May 18, 2020
It’s also winter in South Africa, and the family are ill prepared as the shed has no ceiling or no real heating.
The New Zealand border is currently closed to almost all travellers to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
The family has applied for a travel exemption on four separate occasions, but each application has been rejected.
While the farm where the two normally work has been surviving without its two employees, as calving season approaches they will need all hands on deck.
The Immigration minister has flagged families with school children could be some of the first let back into the country when it eases border controls.