mbulelo smpofu
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
IT is a sweltering Monday afternoon in the sprawling suburb of Cowdray Park, Bulawayo where the sun throws down its scorching rays as if with unrestrained glee, making people squirm at the discomforting crawl of heat.
To some, the heat was a menace, to others, it was just a hot day to be tolerated, but to 12-year-old Sean Zingoni, it seems not to exist.
The boy firmly gripped the handles of a wheelchair with his backpack slung over his shoulders.
His Mkhithika Thebe Primary School shirt was drenched in sweat, but he kept pushing, determined to get home safely with what at first glance appeared to be his sibling.
Just as they say, the siren of an ambulance is only noisy when it is not coming to your house, in as much as the darts of a madman are only funny if he is not your relative, it took a painful incident where the duo was struggling to navigate a steep sandy pathway to unravel the story behind the two.
It is the story of a kind-hearted and thoughtful Sean, which is a reminder that true friendship knows no boundaries and that even on the hottest, toughest days, there are people who care enough to lend a hand.
It is a story that shows how Sean’s decision has not only tested his strength, patience and love for his 15-year-old disabled friend, Maqhawe Ncube, but has become an inspiration to their parents, proving that kindness and friendship can make even the longest journey feel a little lighter.
So sacrificial has been Sean’s love that at times he puts away his bus fare and embarks on a tiresome six-kilometre walk from Mkhithika Primary School to Esigodweni (a section of Cowdray Park) pushing Maqhawe under intense heat and sandy soils that make it even more heavy to navigate with the thin wheels of a wheelchair.
According to Maqhawe’s 26-year-old sister, Ms Sanele Ncube, who is his guardian, he was amputated at a tender age but could walk with the assistance of artificial legs until he outgrew them while he was in Grade Three.
“Maqhawe developed blisters on his legs at a tender age. We sought medical attention but the situation continued to deteriorate. They turned black and we were advised that he needed to be amputated.
“We used to stay with our aunt near Mkhithika Primary, which is the reason why we enrolled him there. When we recently moved here, though it is far, we felt there was no need to transfer him but thought he should just finish off his last two grades there. I would take him to school every morning and would go to fetch him after school but since last year, his friend Sean offered to push him after knocking off,” said Ms Ncube.
The friendship is in its second year, but what Sean has done for his friend so far is beyond any human imagination.
“I started my schooling in Botswana and transferred last year to come and do my Grade Six here. I enrolled at Mkhithika Thebe Primary School and that is where I met Maqhawe who asked me where I stayed and I told him I stayed in the Esigodweni section of Cowdray Park.
“He also informed me that he stays there. One day, he approached me and asked if I was boarding a commuter omnibus home or walking. He informed me that he was using a wheelchair and that is when I started assisting him,” said Sean.
This was to be the beginning of a unique friendship that has lasted more than a year. The friendship has seen Sean being the first line of response in case of any emergency at school, at times even abandoning his important programmes to respond to Maqhawe’s plight.
“In one of the incidents, I was doing athletics and since Maqhawe is over age, he remained in class playing. Before I could even session for my favourite discipline (javelin), I was called by the school head that Maqhawe was injured.
“What happens is that, when indoors, Maqhawe crawls. So, on that particular day, he stepped badly and his knee, twisted. He was crying and deeply in pain. I had to drop everything I was doing and take him home,” narrated Sean.
In her early 60s, Sean’s grandmother, Mrs Sibongile Tokwido has always been a pillar of wisdom and kindness in his life and has seen her fair share of life’s challenges and triumphs, but nothing has touched her heart quite like the bond between her grandson, Sean and his best friend, Maqhawe.
Over time, Mrs Tokwido not only accepted Sean’s deep love and dedication to Maqhawe but also found herself profoundly inspired by it.
At first, she had been cautious. She was worried about Sean’s friendship with Maqhawe thinking it might affect him. However, as she watched them together, her concerns melted away.
She saw how naturally Sean cares for Maqhawe, pushing his wheelchair without complaint, helping him navigate obstacles, and always ensuring Maqhawe feels included in every activity.
“He had always mentioned that he has a friend who stays in our neighbourhood, about a kilometre away. I had never seen him until he asked to go and take him so that they could do homework together. As he arrived here, I was shocked to see Maqhawe’s condition and above all, how Sean helped him balance and crawl into the house.
“I saw the love and compassion he has for him and it really melted my heart. After doing the homework, he takes him back home. At times we give Sean money to commute back home because it is far and temperatures will be a bit high, however, I observe that he might arrive here visibly tired and when I enquire, he tells me that he came with Maqhawe. I have accepted and understood their friendship,” said Mrs Tokwido.
Maqhawe lives with his 26-year-old sister who is not employed and his eight-year-old younger sister.
Their parents are in the rural areas where they are subsistence farmers. Ms Ncube said the family cannot afford to buy Maqhawe artificial legs. — @nyeve14
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