Four-time lucky accident victim

Lumbidzanio Dima, Chronicle Reporter
BORN in a poor family yet rich in mind, Mr Abednego Moyo (30) has never given up on his dreams after surviving three road accidents. A fourth horrific accident changed his life as it left him wheelchair bound.

Mr Moyo, a teacher at Josiah Chinamano Primary School in Bulawayo’s Emakhandeni suburb, and a Masters student at Zimbabwe Open University, has had to endure a lot, but has accepted the twists of his life.

Initially, he managed to pass only two Ordinary Level subjects, but persevered. He continues to chase what his heart wants — being called ‘Dr Mox’ one day after obtaining a PhD.

The journey has not been easy.

He has been involved in four road accidents, the last one damaging his spinal cord.

The first accident took place on December 22 in 2012 when a bus overturned near Mutare. The second one occurred in 2015 when he was going for his graduation at the United College of Education (UCE).

The third one was in August 2018 as he was coming to Bulawayo from Solusi.

The fourth one which left him paralysed occurred in December 2018.

One thing is for sure, Mr Moyo has not let disability take away what his parents and himself have worked so hard for in funding his education. He said he was born in a poor family but rich in mind.

“I’m the seventh child in a family of eight, raised by my father and mother who would sell some baskets to fund my education. I remember going to school in tattered clothes and shoes but I kept focused,” he said.

He attended Mtshabi Primary School in Nkayi and continued at Sivomo Secondary School where his first O-Level attempt in 2009 was marred with poor results as he only passed two subjects — English and Ndebele. He never took it as failure, but as a stepping stone for his hunger for success.

“After failing my Ordinary Level, I organised some study groups where we could read while herding cattle, meet during weekends and discuss. I remember selling some catapults in exchange for chickens that I would later sell to get fees. My second Ordinary Level attempt was better as I managed to get four subjects except for Maths.

I then came to Bulawayo to look for a private tutor who helped me and I managed to pass Maths. In 2012, first and second term I did my temporary teaching at Mbazhe Primary School in Nkayi, where I raised my fees for college studies.

In September 2012, I enrolled at United College of Education where I completed in 2015 and was given an award for best student in Theory of Education. Each and every time when I started a new journey in my life, I met a lot of obstacles including car accidents,” said Mr Moyo.

Barely two years after completing his Diploma in Education in 2017, he started to pursue his first degree in Agriculture at Solusi University.

In 2018, he was involved in a horrific accident that damaged his spinal cord to an extent that he will not be able to walk again.

“In August 2018, I survived a car accident which was the third accident in my life. In December 2018, while I was on an officially assigned duty, I became a victim of the fourth car accident which left me with severe spinal cord injury.

“I received a chill in my spine and when the doctors told me that I will be in this condition for life. I was traumatised,” he said.

“I was hospitalised for one month at Mpilo Central Hospital, with no intervention done as I failed to raise surgery fees. I later went to South Africa after getting help from a good Samaritan doctor and some other good people all over the world who got to know my story and were touched.”

He said he had to accept the condition, pick up the pieces, and went back to Solusi University to finish his degree on a block-release programme. He faced a lot of challenges then.

“Things were not good then as I failed to raise fees. The little that I got was channelled to medication physiotherapy and continence aids (adult diapers) which I am now using daily.

“It was only after I had engaged Special Advisor to the President on Disability Issues Dr Joshua Malinga, who helped me to get my fees paid by the Department of Social Welfare for the last semester when I was at the verge of giving up.

“In August 2021, I was finally capped and conferred with Bachelor of Education Degree in Agriculture at Solusi University,” he said.

He is currently doing his Masters.

Mr Moyo appealed to well-wishers to assist in funding for his Masters and PhD studies, as well as wheelchair.

He urged people living with disabilities to be confident enough to strive for what they want, and the community to accept them as they are because they are equally human.

“The disabled community should not allow a situation where the so-called able-bodied look down upon them, they should strive for excellence to prove to the world that they can do anything.

“To parents and other so-called able-bodied communities, let’s change our mindset towards disability issues. As someone who has lived both lives, being able bodied and being disabled, I understand disability better,” he said.

“Let us shun stigmatisation and discrimination towards people living with disabilities they are humans; they have rights which they have to enjoy. Parents should not keep them indoors, it is not embarrassing to have a disabled child, to associate with them or even to marry them.”

He commended President Mnangagwa for launching the National Disability Policy which he says now needs to be implemented.