Gauteng tiler Gardoso Guambe has one wish for Father’s Day — to see his son Gabriel, who was trapped under a mountain of rubble for five days when an apartment block being built in George on the Garden Route collapsed on him.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he explained this week how he and his family clung to hope and prayed for a miracle as bodies were recovered a month ago from the site at 75 Victoria Street.
So traumatic was the incident that Guambe has not until now discussed what happened on the day of the collapse and how his son miraculously survived for days without food and water: “I will only speak to him when I see him face to face,” said Guambe.
The father was shaken after receiving a phone call about the disaster from one of his son’s colleagues on the day of the tragedy.
Guambe — who lives in Mabopane, Tshwane — shared the distressing news with his family, including Gabriel’s five siblings.
“As a family, we accepted that he was no more, but somehow that did not settle in our hearts,” said Guambe. They decided to pray.
“The mother of my son and the siblings broke down and cried. As a man, I tried to hide my emotions, but it was really difficult. We cried to God. I asked him why he would take my firstborn. He is the one I had hoped would lead my family and teach his siblings all the things I taught him,” he said.
On May 11, five days after the disaster, Guambe was told his son had been rescued alive and managed to speak to him by phone and video call.
“I thanked God that my son was alive. Even today, I am still grateful,” he said.
No less than 34 people were killed in the building collapse. Gabriel managed to communicate with family and rescuers from under an estimated 3,000t of concrete and steel using his cellphone.
The 33-year-old had gone to George to lay tiles in the five-storey apartment block, a skill he learnt from his father.
Guambe used to take Gabriel with him on weekends to do tiling jobs, and his son soon developed an interest in the job and mastered the craft.
Able to do the work himself, Gabriel went to the Western Cape to work on a construction site.
Guambe vividly recalls the precious hours he spent with his son teaching him the craft.
It is such a good moment to work with your son. You are able to teach him everything as a father. You are also able to teach him not to do short cuts
— Gardoso Guambe
“It is such a good moment to work with your son. You are able to teach him everything as a father. You are also able to teach him not to do short cuts. I also got a chance to speak to him about life in general, teaching him what he needs to do if he wants to live a good life.
“I taught him to be respectful and about the importance of uniting the family,” he said.
Guambe said he taught Gabriel always to try to reconcile with people close to him, and he listened: “He is a very obedient child. Everything I told him he did.”
Guambe said he had monitored Gabriel's performance at school and noticed he was struggling at times. Then he introduced him to tiling, but Gabriel was more interested in music, and especially hip hop.
Guambe said he had taken his son to Giant Stadium in Soshanguve to watch soccer, and even bought him a Newcastle United jersey, as that is Gabriel’s favourite team.
However, he could see soccer was not Gabriel’s passion — it was music.
“I advised him to work with his hands and use the money he made to advance his music career, and he listened to me. He has songs he has recorded,” he said.
Guambe’s advice to fathers on Father’s Day was simple — allow children to live their lives.
“As parents, we should not force our children to live a certain life. We can advise them on what we believe is the right kind of life, but if they cannot do what we are saying, we can see through their actions.
“A father needs to be patient with his children. You have to see where their passions are and support what is in their hearts.”
Guambe arrived in Mabopane in 1987 from Maputo in Mozambique.
Gabriel, who is still walking on crutches from a broken left leg, praised his dad for his unwavering support.
“My relationship with my father is good. When we are together, we laugh all the time. We are actually good friends, and we hardly ever fight. He has been supportive all my life, and I am grateful for that,” he said.
He still wants to pursue a music career.
“All I want is to raise money so that I can go into the studio and make music, because it is my passion,” he said.
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