Wheels of hope keep turning

 

Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter

DISABILITY is not inability!

The old adage has echoed through time, often repeated, but rarely embodied as fully as it is by 26-year-old, Mr Tendai Mazuru, a man born with a mobility impairment who has refused to be defined or confined by it.

Instead, Mr Mazuru has chosen to defy odds, and devote his life to transforming the lives of people with disabilities across the province.

Mr Mazuru was born and raised in Muchena Village under Chief Mutasa.

From the beginning, life was unkind to him, and without a wheelchair, he was entirely dependent on his mother to move around.

In an interview on Wednesday, Mr Mazuru said his mother would carry him wherever he wanted to go, including school and other events.

“I grew up with nothing. No wheelchair, no accessibility, nothing. My mother was my legs. She carried me everywhere, even as I grew older. Watching her struggle to lift me as I got heavier broke my heart. I told myself that one day, I will help others like me because I know how it feels to have nothing,” he said, his eyes filled with quiet strength.

Mr Mazuru’s early life was defined by harsh living conditions and relentless struggle.

He was raised in a one-roomed house, relying solely on his mother’s compassion.

“The living conditions were harsh and deplorable. I eventually ended up staying at Zororai Old People’s Home in Sakubva,” he said.

And yet, he never stopped dreaming.

Inspired by the work of the country’s disability rights pioneer, the late Mr Jairos Jiri, Mr Mazuru went on to establish the Tendai Mazuru Foundation for People with Disabilities and Their Families Trust, alongside his wife, Mrs Vimbainashe Mazuru.

“What inspired me to start this Trust is because I wished to see other Persons with Disability (PWD) get help,” he explained.

The Trust is doing exactly that, helping people with disabilities gain access to the support, tools, and dignity they have long been denied.

It sources second-hand wheelchairs from across the globe and donates them to those in needy.

Mr Mazuru said he is determined to shift the public perception of people with disabilities from helpless to hopeful, from burdens to bosses.

“Apart from donating wheelchairs and other assistive devices to those that need them, but can afford to buy, we also give life skills to PWDs. Funds permitting, we also give start-up kits so that they can start their own businesses and projects using the skills that we would have imparted to them. The whole point is that we want to stop begging among PWDs. We need to empower our own so that we do away with the notion that we are perennial beggars,” he said.

Mr Mazuru said the foundation empowers PWDs and their caregivers with poultry, tailoring and farming skills.

To date, the Trust has helped dozens of people in the province.

But Mr Mazuru’s ambitions go even further.

“Our Trust would like to train people with disabilities in every course they think they can do, not just those that I have mentioned. We will look for the best teachers. Whatever skills someone wants to learn, we want to help them get there,” he said.

At the heart of the Trust is, not just provision of goods or skills, but advocacy.

“Our Trust is a voice for the voiceless PWDs because we want them to enjoy the same things that everyone else enjoys in Zimbabwe. We are currently advocating for policy changes so that, for example, if someone builds a shop, it has to be compulsory for it to be disability-friendly or else he is penalised. We want to prove to our communities that we are also human beings,” Mr Mazuru stated.

It is this insistence on dignity and equality that gives the Trust its soul.

Mr Mazuru said he is not asking for sympathy, but is empowering beneficiaries of the Trust to also not beg for sympathy because of their situations.

He said he is calling for action, opportunity, and inclusion. “I envision a future where every person with a disability is, not only seen, but also respected and supported. The future plan is to see everyone working and not begging, but also helping others in the community. We currently operate from home, but hope to get land where we will run projects, supply products to customers, and help PWDs to become their own bosses,” he said.

For Mr Mazuru, the goal is, not just to change individual lives, but to build an entire ecosystem of empowerment and progress.

“My dream is big, but I believe that I will accomplish it. I want PWDs to know they can do it too. They are not broken as other people want them to believe. I want them to know that they too are powerful,” he said softly, but firmly.

His life is proof that power does not always come with loud declarations or perfect circumstances.

Sometimes, it comes from a quiet, persistent determination to rise and to bring others up along with you.

Through his Trust, Mr Mazuru is, not only changing lives, he is changing mind-sets.

And in doing so, he is proving that disability is not inability is not just a saying.

It is a lived truth.

“We have helped PWDs across Mutare in Zimunya, Dangamvura and Hobhouse, and we have also taken it further to other districts in Manicaland. We donate wheelchairs, blankets, beds, food, groceries and clothes. These are not just acts of charity, they are a restoration of dignity,” Mr Mazuru said.

Beneficiary, Mrs Rudo Chikomba of Zimunya said she struggled every day without a wheelchair and had to crawl or be carried, which was very humiliating for her.

“I felt like a burden on my family. When Mr Mazuru’s Trust came to help, it was like a miracle. Receiving the wheelchair was, not just about getting mobility, it was about reclaiming my dignity and independence. His work has changed my life, and I am grateful beyond words,” she said.

Mrs Tendai Mudzviti, mother and caregiver of a 14-year-old wheelchair beneficiary, Tinashe Mudzviti of Hobhouse said for years, she carried her son everywhere because he had no wheelchair.

“It was exhausting and painful for both of us. I watched him struggle with simple things like going to the bathroom or moving around the house, and my heart broke every day. When Mr Mazuru’s Trust provided a wheelchair, it changed our lives completely. Now, Tinashe can move on his own, and I am no longer his sole source of mobility. He is more independent and happier, and I can focus on supporting him in other ways. Mr Mazuru’s work is a blessing to families like ours,” she said.

But the road has not been without obstacles.

“One of the biggest challenges is resources. We depend on donations. Funding is hard to secure, but we keep pushing,” he said frankly.

To overcome these hurdles, the Trust is actively pursuing partnerships with established organisations and individuals who share Mr Mazuru’s vision.