Port Alfred’s own Mother Theresa
CANDICE BRADFIELD
THERE is no such thing as retirement for Aletta Greef, 74, who has been looking after a 39-year-old mentally disabled man, Douglas Christie, for 30 years.
"My life is devoted to him,” she told TotT.
Greef was Christie's house mother at Merryvale School's hostel in Port Elizabeth from when he was six years old until he was 18 and she left the school. Afterwards he came to live with her and she has been looking after him ever since.
| LIFE OF CARING: Port Alfred resident Aletta Greef (right) has given her life to taking care of Douglas Christie, who has been mentally disabled since birth Picture: CANDICE BRADFIELD |
Every day Greef must wash Christie, dress him, brush his teeth, shave him and anything else he might need assistance with. He goes wherever she goes and she never leaves him with anybody else.
She began her nurse's training at Fort England in Grahamstown where she met her first husband. She got married and later worked as a nurse at Settlers Hospital.
When she got divorced, she moved to Port Elizabeth. For two years she worked at Cape Recife School as a house mother in the hostel, looking after 27 boys up to 18 years old.
Christie was already at Merryvale when Greef started working there. She was looking after him and 24 other boys. She said he used to visit her flat which was opposite his room and she would put on music tapes for him to listen too.
"He loves his music,” she said.
After 12 years of working at Merryvale, Greef retired.
"When I left, they picked up problems with him. He got aggressive and they asked his parents to take him home. He missed me,” she said.
The parents tried taking him to a school in Johannesburg but that did not go well. They asked if she would look after him.
"I said, ‘Yes, anytime',” said Greef.
"He's my big son,” she said fondly.
She said her dream would be to start a centre so she could look after more people like Christie, but she does not have the energy she used to when she was younger.
Christie cannot talk except for a few words, but Greef knows exactly what he wants. They sit together and knit and watch music DVDs during the day. He can understand some instructions, identifies things around him and asks for what he wants using one word. He has been mentally disabled since birth.
His family are very involved, calling and visiting often. His mother lives in Port Elizabeth and he also has a younger brother, a step-brother and two step-sisters. Before his father passed away last year he asked that his son not be put in an institution.
"If the Lord must take one of us, take him first then He can take me straight after,” said Greef.
Christie's mother pays Greef a salary, bought a house and car for them and provides anything else they need.
"We are very well looked after, we can't complain,” she said.
Greef does other charity work in her spare time, such as knitting beanies and bedsocks which she gives to old aged homes.
"That's how I am, I like to give,” she said.
"I said I wanted to retire in Port Alfred,” she said, having spent many Christmases camping in the area when she was living in Riebeeck East. "I love it,” she said.
Her eldest son and her sister-in-law also live in Port Alfred.
About six months ago, someone gained entry to their complex one night and stole two cellphones from the table next to Greef's bed. She is desperate to get her sim cards back as these contained many photos that are sentimental to both of them. She asked if the person who stole the cellphones still has the sim cards to put them in her post box for unit D and she will not make a case.
