DURBAN - The needs of and challenges faced by people living with disabilities were highlighted during an awareness programme outside the KwaDukuza (Stanger) town hall in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday.
Menzi Nxumalo, the founder of NGO Nokusa Support For Disabled People, hosted the awareness programme, which aimed to educate people about the challenges and needs of those living with disabilities.
The NGO is a start-up that supports people who need wheelchairs and other necessities, such as nappies, skills empowerment, social services support, and so on.
Nxumalo said the NGO created awareness of the needs of disabled people and donated wheelchairs to disabled people around KZN. The NGO also educated the disabled community about gender-based violence, because women and children living with disabilities were also affected by this scourge.
Nxumalo said not every disabled person needed a wheelchair or walking stick, but they did need employment.
“They want to be farmers, property owners, have their own businesses, be radio presenters, be fashion models, and have aspirations of becoming mayors or traffic officers, but we cannot give them that if we still cannot open doors or speak freely about disability.”
Nxumalo said people needed to be open and learn about all types of disabilities.
He urged all citizens – including celebrities, pastors and politicians – to make time to visit schools with students with special needs and disabled persons living in their communities.
“About 80% of youth living with disabilities are unemployed in South Africa. We have donated wheelchairs to the community around the province for the past four years.
“It is sad when a person we donated a wheelchair to informs us that he or she needs a new wheelchair because the one they were using is too small because they have gained weight.
“If we train a person to work, and he or she has a skill to support himself or herself, then that person can buy or fix his own chair.”
Nxumalo challenged three radio station DJs to work for three hours while sitting in a wheelchair.
He said that if they did this they would have a better understanding of what people with disabilities experience on a daily basis.
Nxumalo said he would love to challenge others, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, to try using a wheelchair, so they understood that, even though your legs may not work, your hands and mind still do.
Proper support would give people with disabilities hope and courage. They would realise that nothing prevents them from following their dreams, and that South Africa is a land of opportunity.
The NGO intends to source funding, services and support from individuals, companies, the government and other organisations to deliver wheelchairs to identified individuals.
“Our aim is to create awareness of the needs and abilities of people with physical disabilities, to promote the joy of giving, to create friendship, and to deliver a wheelchair to every child, teen and adult in our communities who needs one.
“As Nokusa, we want to help people with mobility while giving (them) a skill they can use to sustain themselves in future in different sectors, such as maritime, ICT, rural and township development, and agriculture.” Nxumalo said.
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