Mother jumps into 12-metre well to save toddler

A Gwanda woman impulsively jumped into a 12-metre well after her two-year-old son had fallen into it while playing with friends.

The mother, Ms Primrose Moyo, saved Emmanuel Ndou on Thursday 9 July.

The incident has got villagers from Fumukwe Village, about 80 kilometres from Gwanda town, amazed at 28-year-old Ms Moyo's bravery and how the toddler did not suffer from shock after being submerged in water for close to a minute.

In an interview with Sunday News on Thursday, Ms Moyo said if it was not for her impulsive decision to jump after her son, he would have surely drowned.

"Up to now I am also shocked how I did that. I remember we were chatting with my pastor, a few metres from the well while Emmanuel was playing just close by. I think he started walking backwards and then he tripped and fell head-long into the well.

"For a few seconds I just froze not sure what I could do then I just stepped over the well and jumped straight in, feet first. I didn't even think of what would happen if I landed on my son's head or what was down there, I just jumped in and fortunately I didn't land on him," said Ms Moyo.

She said once in the water, she started searching for the toddler and when she found him, he did not cough even once but just opened his eyes and started complaining that he was feeling cold.

"It is so surprising that even when I hit him on his back he did not even cough out any water. He just opened his eyes, which is when I began to cry, realising what could have happened if I had delayed for a few more minutes.

"Everyone is shocked how I did this but it was all to save my son. Even the men who came with a ladder to help us out were stunned because that well is really deep. Surprisingly, because I am scared of heights I was always scared to look down that well. Even today, I can barely look down it without getting dizzy," said Ms Moyo.

Pastor Marjory Ncube, who witnessed the incident, said it was a miracle that the toddler survived.
"We continue to thank the Lord for showing his hand that day because in all honesty I also doubted that the toddler would survive. To show that this is a clear miracle, the toddler did not even get a cold, he actually got a clean bill of health at Manama Hospital. It is only the mother who suffered a sprained ankle.

"I remember I only ran for help when she had secured her son but I was still unsure whether he was alive. However, it shows the distance a mother can travel just to save her child. Even the men who came when I ran for help revealed that they could have never had gathered the courage to jump into the narrow well but would have first looked for a ladder and by then the child would have surely died," said Pastor Ncube.

Fumukwe village head, Mr Ndodana Sibanda said when they first heard the calls for help they thought it unlikely that the toddler would survive.

"This is a brave lady. We all thank the Lord for her quick thinking because we could today be talking of a different scenario," said Mr Sibanda.