Bona Lesedi a light in the darkness for Diepsloot’s disabled
DIEPSLOOT - A single disability centre provides a multitude of essential services and a safe haven for the disabled township community.
“We are all disabled in our own way,” said Patrick Maseko, manager at Bona Lesedi disability centre. “It’s just not visible.”
Maseko’s vocation is advocating for and aiding the disabled of Diesploot, where Bona Lesedi was founded in 1999, primarily as a day care for disabled children and adults from the township.
But Bona Lesedi goes further, empowering the disabled through a wealth of programmes.
Patients receive essential physio, speech and occupational therapy on a daily basis at Bona Lesedi. Those who cannot be transported to the centre receive home care, while the centre’s Profound Unit provides special care and support for profoundly disabled children and their families.
The centre even runs a hippotherapy programme in conjunction with nearby ShumbaShaba, where interaction with horses provides therapy and encourages development.
Through a second productive partnership with the Department of Health and Wits University, occupational therapy and physiotherapy students spend a month working at Bona Lesedi, helping to care for the disabled of the township and receiving practical experience in return.
Providing direct care and support for disabled people represents only a fraction of Bona Lesedi’s activity, however. Education, skills development and integration programmes are all fundamental to the centre’s mission.
“Disability is still a stigma,” said founding member Aggripa Thabede, explaining that in a township as new and as constantly expanding as Diepsloot, few people understand the dynamics of disability.
Antenatal classes at O.R. Tambo and Diepsloot South clinics educate pregnant women in maternal and child health, while engagement with local schools promotes disability recognition and management. Bona Lesedi is also involved in empowering the elderly of Diepsloot, while its gardening and baking projects encourage skills development and independence for disabled individuals.
Through nationwide connections with disability centres, Bona Lesedi supports even those who leave the township, extending its influence beyond Diepsloot to the rest of the country.
“We are impacting not only within the community, but in greater South Africa as well,” said Maseko.
Details: 011 464 7342; bonalesedidp@polka.co.za; www.bonalesedi.co.za
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