A Durban crèche where a two-year-old girl suffered a brain injury after allegedly falling from a balcony will close its doors on Friday.
Honey Bunch Day Care, a well-known facility in Chatsworth, informed parents via WhatsApp that it would be shutting down due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
“Regretfully, with much sadness and a very heavy heart, I have to officially close Honey Bunch Day Care as of March 28 at 5 pm due to unforeseen circumstances. The decrease in the number of children attending crèche is not feasible to keep it open,” read the message from the crèche’s administrator.
The closure follows an investigation into the facility for alleged violations of Section 32 of the Child Care Act after two-year-old Aariya Sewnarain sustained an extradural hematoma – a serious head injury involving internal bleeding between the skull and brain lining.
Conflicting Accounts of Incident
Aariya’s mother, Shivana Sewnarain, described the ordeal, stating that her daughter is slowly recovering but has endured immense trauma.
According to CCTV footage obtained from a neighbour, the toddler was left unattended when she fell from the balcony. However, the crèche’s account of events has reportedly changed multiple times.
Sewnarain initially received a call from the school’s principal informing her that Aariya had suffered an accident and needed to be picked up. "When I asked how it happened, I was told she was playing outside with other children and she fell," she said.
Upon arrival, she found her daughter with severe facial injuries, bleeding from the nose and head, and struggling to remain conscious. A GP later advised that Aariya be rushed to the hospital, where tests confirmed severe head trauma.
When the mother sought further clarification from the crèche, she was given conflicting explanations. Initially, she was told Aariya fell on concrete while playing. Later, a teacher claimed that while she was breaking up a fight between two children, Aariya had gone back inside and up the stairs, which was not mentioned in the first account.
Adding to the confusion, Sewnarain’s husband visited the crèche the next day and was given yet another version, suggesting their daughter had fallen at the back of the building. A security guard at the entrance denied witnessing the fall.
Parental Outrage and Investigation
The parents say they are devastated. "We trusted the crèche to care for our daughter while we were at work, but they returned her to us critically injured," Sewnarain said.
She also revealed that when they enrolled their daughter at the crèche, they were assured that the stairs were blocked off and inaccessible to children.
The crèche has yet to respond to media inquiries, and investigations into the incident are ongoing.