Welcome home, Jeneil

Gallery Update

KNYSNA NEWS - A little over three months after dogs viciously attacked him, a wheelchair-bound Jeneil Jafta returned home to Hornlee, Knysna last week following months of fighting for his life and rehabilitation.

When Jeneil (11) left his home to go and play on the afternoon of Tuesday 2 June, neither he nor his parents could anticipate the events that would follow.

After playing with his friends, Jeneil made his way across the Hornlee Sports Grounds when he was attacked by dogs. He sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to a hospital in George, before being airlifted to Cape Town where he was admitted to the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital.

He was supported by his mother, Leonie Jafta, who was by his side throughout the ordeal.

Jeneil underwent several procedures, including amputation of his right arm and skin grafts on parts of his body, and his condition was so bad that at one point he relied on a feeding tube to ingest food due to severe injuries to his neck. But, he refused to give up, fought bravely through everything and three months later he is back home.

"We are able to gather here and celebrate this young man thanks to the grace of God, and his ability to fight and never give up," said community worker Charmaine Sinclair, who hosted Jeneil's family and community members at her house for his homecoming on Thursday 10 September.

Charmaine Sinclair welcomed everyone to her house for the celebration.

His mother Leonie was also commended for everything she's done by advocacy group Green Hearts' representative Magrietha Ferreira, who helped the Jafta family throughout the nightmare experience.

"You [Leonie] have sacrificed so much for your son, and have not hesitated one bit," she said. "That is remarkable, and you have been so incredibly strong. You also need to know that you are not alone in this, we are all here to stand by and support you."

Photo gallery: Dog attack victim welcomed home

Various members of the community attended the event, including former Ward 11 councillor Donovan Pofadder, who had strong feelings about dogs in the area. "People are training dogs to be vicious on purpose, but dogs are supposed to only be for protecting your house," he said. "They are negligent with their dogs, and that causes things like this to happen. This type of behaviour with dogs needs to stop, it is incredibly dangerous."

There was also a strong shared feeling that children do not have anywhere safe to play. "As grateful as we are that the community is receiving houses, we need safe areas for children to play, which are also extremely important," said community worker Lynn Kayster, who also acted as spokesperson for the family during the ordeal.