Chronicle Editor
Rutendo Nyeve/Blessing Karubwa, Chronicle Reporters
THE Rotary Club has handed over 24 wheel chairs to people living with disabilities in Umzingwane District, Matabeleland South.
More than 1000 people in the district are disabled and cannot afford assistive technologies or tools used by people living with disabilities to accomplish tasks.
Rotary Club is a global network with 1, 4 million people all over the world assisting communities in the areas of health, education, water and sanitation.
The guest of honor at the handover ceremony on Saturday, Umzingwane constituency MP Retired Brigadier General Levi Mayihlome said those living with disabilities in the district have different needs
“Umzingwane district has a large number of people who are disabled with different levels of needs as some need wheelchairs, crushes, walking sticks, hearing aids and some need capacity building so that they can do things for themselves in their respective buildings. Society usually turns out to focus mainly on people who are able bodied while forgetting those who are disabled. People who are receiving wheelchairs are the neediest persons.
“We told the doctors and Social Welfare to find out those who are urgently in need of the wheel chairs as we believed that the doctors and Social Welfare Department knows better about who needs what,” said Rtd Brig Gen Mayihlome.
He hailed the Rotary Club and said those who are yet to receive assistance should also wait for their turn,” he said
Bulawayo South Rotary Club’s president, Mrs Mercy Moyo said the club realized that there was a serious need for wheelchairs for the disabled people in the district.
“Rotarians are in every country. Rotary comprises business people, leaders and even individuals from different communities. We all come together so that we can find ways of helping each other wherever there’s a problem. In Bulawayo we have 10 clubs while in Plumtree we have another club. We’re not political, we don’t belong to any political party. It’s just about people identifying the community’s needs,” said Mrs Moyo.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr Sipho Khumalo (26), appealed for financial assistance as he said he hopes to use the wheel chair to go to school.
“I did not go to school because I had no wheel chair and there was no one to pay for my school fees as far as school needs were concerned. I am now happy because I know that this wheelchair will make me go to school. I want to study computers, and my hands are good enough to do such jobs. I am appealing for donations,” he said.
Mr Khumalo said her mother is not employed so she could not manage to send her to schools in Bulawayo which are catering for people like him. She said her mother is also struggling to send even his siblings to school. – @ TichaKarubwa
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter