Surprise gift tripled

Tendai Gukutikwa Post Reporter

NEVER in her wildest dreams had 18-year-old Talent Bepeta anticipated that she would be blessed with triplets.

After going through a painful miscarriage, her pregnancy was classified as a high risk one by doctors at Hauna District Hospital where she had registered for delivery.

The trauma of the miscarriage haunted her Bepeta and her youthful husband, Evans Mafundu (21).

Married for two years, the couple was not sure whether she would carry her pregnancy to full term or not as she had lost the previous one in its second trimester.

As fate would have it, Bepeta only discovered that she was having three babies on the delivery bed in November last year.

Two scans conducted while she was still pregnant had failed to detect that she was carrying triplets.

“We went to the hospital for scans on two occasions and they said I was carrying one baby. On the size of my bump, they said that some baby bumps look bigger than others.

“I then went into labour and was taken into theatre for Caesarean Section. I was shocked when I woke up to be told that I had delivered three healthy babies – two boys and a girl,” said the teenage mother.

Asked on whether the couple will have another child or children in future, Bepeta said she will not entertain such requests from family members or neighbours.

“We have put a tight lid on that conversation in our home. I will not have it and my husband will also not have it. I delivered three babies and I think they are enough. What if we try again and have three more, yet we are financially unstable? That is a closed topic in our home, even my in-laws who have been helping us to look after the babies agree with us. They feel the pain of looking after triplets,” she said.

Bepeta appealed for help from well-wishers.

“My husband and I are both unemployed and we survive on doing piece jobs as well as hand-outs from well-wishers who are touched by our plight. We appeal for donations of baby formula, diapers and clothes for our babies. We were not prepared for three babies at once,” said Bepeta.

When asked if there is a secret to conceiving triplets, Mafundu laughed.

“People are saying that I took a herbal concoction (guchu) to enhance my sexual prowess, resulting in my wife giving birth to triplets but this is just wishful thinking.

“Some people are even speculating that maybe I am the one who impregnated Melody, the sex worker who also recently gave birth to triplets, but this is all hogwash. People are puzzled on how a young man like me sired triplets. I just laugh it off because I never used any concoctions,” he said with a chuckle.

He said he only relies on anointed water from church as he is a member of the Jekenisheni Church.

“I belong to the Jekenisheni Church and because of that, I did not use any traditional medicine or herbs for us to conceive these triplets. Using herbs is forbidden in our church. The babies came as a surprise, really,” he said.

Mafundu’s said his paternal grandmother gave birth to twins, adding that he believes that twins and triplets run in his family.

“We did not expect the blessing to be this big and because of that, we were not prepared financially to take care of three babies. We survive on menial jobs as we are both unemployed and therefore we are appealing for assistance,” he said.

The young couple stays with Mafundu’s elderly parents in Bepeta Village, Mutasa.

Mufundu’s mother, Ms Treddar Muchakubvura babysits her grandchildren while her son, daughter-in-law and husband go around the village to look for piece jobs.

“This is how we survive and from such kind of jobs, we are paid in kind because not everyone has money in Honde Valley. Sometimes we get paid with washing soap or sugar. However, it has been hard lately because it was raining daily, therefore it means we have to stay indoors. I feel for my wife as she is breastfeeding and needs to be eating well, but we have nothing.

“We will appreciate any help because we are struggling to take care of the children. The boys suckles a lot and leave the mother drained. We hope to get baby milk formula donations so that we can supplement breastfeeding while their mother recovers,” said Mafundu.

Well-wishers who want to assist the Mafundu triplets can contact Evans Mafundu on 0775868880 or his father, Phillip Mafundu, on 0773573965.