When Siphosethu Nqokozo(30) from Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, boarded a plane to start her English teaching job in 2019, she vowed to deliver her family from poverty. Just three years after arriving in the foreign country, the family received news, from one of her colleagues, that she had passed on September 21. She reportedly died of a panic attack inside an ambulance while on the way to the hospital.This is after she forwarded her sister, Nolubabalo Nqokozo, a WhatsApp audio message saying that they were working in unfavourable conditions and were emotionally abused.

SHE DIDN't SOUND LIKE SOMETHING WAS WRONG

After one of her colleagues, Lusanda Sixaxeni (27) from Mosslebay, died on September 12 in China, it's as if Siphosethu was having a premonition because asked her sister help her find a mortuary that would be able to repatriate her body from China after seeing Lusanda's family struggling to repatriate her body back to South Africa. A day later, the family was informed by her colleague that Siphosethu had passed on. "When I spoke to her the day before, she was her normal self and didn't sound like she was sick. She normally complained of migraines, but on that day she was her healthy self. Her only concerns were the poor living conditions, unfair working conditions, emotional abuse, and being treated as sub-humans by the citizens.Because their schools were closed for two months, she had not been working for the period and her employer only offered to pay for the few days she had worked," Nolubabalo said.

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FAMILY SHORT OF R300 000

She explained that the Chinese Embassy informed them that they required R400 000 to repatriate the body to South Africa or they have the option to cremate her body."Cremating the body is not an option for us because we are a traditional family, there are certain rituals that we have to perform before the burial. We are not even sure that the cremated ashes will be that of my sister," she says, adding, "her 10-year-old daughter hasn't seen her mother in over three years; we feel it is only fair that she is given the opportunity to at least see her for the last time.  The family only had R15 000 but through the help of friends and colleagues from China they were able to raise over R100 000 and still short of R300 000.When the family inquired about the travelling insurance they were informed that it lapsed when she changed schools two years ago. Siphosethu was not informed about this.The 30-year-old from Ekurhuleni graduated with at teaching degree from the University of Johannesburg and was struggling to find employment in the field.She heard that there were opportunities to teachEnglish and that many South Africans were taking up the opportunity and immediately applied through an agency for teaching jobs in China.

SHE WAS A BREADWINNER

Once she was accepted into the programme, she packed her bags, leaving her family and 10-year-old daughter to start her new professional life in a new country. Nolubabalo explained that her sister was the family's sole breadwinner and had been sending money home and also extending their family home. "I work as a domestic worker, which doesn't pay much, but through her support, we were able to survive," she explained.The English teacher was planning to return home in June next year once her contract ended.