‘Ma Tasha’: Heartbreaking clip of Joslin Smith with ‘second mom’ [watch]

A heartbreaking clip of missing Joslin Smith with the woman who begged to adopt her, Natasha Andrews, has gone viral. The Diazville resident – who was a childhood friend of the missing girl’s mom, Kelly – offered to take the six-year-old in as her own.

Instead, she claims that her pleas to both Kelly and the authorities were blocked.

This week marks one month since Joslin disappeared from her home in the Middelpos informal settlement in Saldanha Bay. 

Four suspects – including her mother and her boyfriend Jacquin Appollis, as well as friends Steveno Van Rhyn and Lourentia Lombaard, have been arrested for kidnapping and human trafficking.

They are currently in custody.

JOSLIN SMITH PRAISED BY ‘SECOND MOM’

In a clip that has been reposted on TikTok, little Joslin Smith is seen sitting at a table while doing her schoolwork.

“See Ma Tasha,” the green-eyed girl tells Natasha Andrews, who films the clip. Little Joslin claims that Natasha’s daughter Tyla gives her “homework” to do every day.

Praising the little girl, the woman responds: “My child writes so well, she is so clever.”

The heartbreaking clip of the little girl speaking left many followers feeling emotional, particularly under the circumstances in which she disappeared.

Here are a few comments from under the post:

“Just to hear her little voice breaks me“

“Thank you, Andrew family, for loving her.”

“How could her own mother do this to a sweet child?”

@sexymamma74 #SAMA28 #joslinupdatetoday #findjoslinsmith #awareness #MISSINGCHILDREN #GAYTONMCKENZIE #AwarenessMatters #oombizavandiekaap #Findjoslin ♬ original sound – 🇿🇦SEXYMAMMA🇿🇦

‘KIND AND FRIENDLY CHILD’

Meanwhile, Diazville Primary School principal Lee-Anne Davids-Hartzenberg said that Joslin Smith was a “happy child.”

She told IOL about the grade one learner: “Joslin is soft-hearted and a very kind and friendly child. Whenever I saw the smile on her face, I saw a happy child.

“There was no indication in her behaviour that she was unhappy about something.

JOSLIN SMITH ‘SECOND MOM’: ‘I LOVED HER LIKE MY OWN’

Earlier this week, Natasha Andrews shared that she and her husband Lionel had loved Joslin Smith like their own daughter.

The couple, who also lived in Saldanha Bay and knew Kelly from childhood, often took the grade one learner to sleep over at their home, where she had her own bed.

According to the charity organisation Hashtag SA Unite, the Andrews family also gifted her clothing, school supplies, and trips with their own children.

They were also credited for the blue debutante dress Joslin is seen wearing in pictures posted on social media, which they had specially made for her.

In a clip posted on TikTok, Natasha said she decided to speak out to quell rumours that Joslin was neglected and unwanted.

Natasha said in the video: “I loved Joslin like my own child. People are saying there was no one there for Joslin….people must know that Joslin was loved, and she loved us.

“We were there for her, and we did everything we could for her. She was like another child in our home.”