This Women’s Month, we take a look at women who support children living with disabilities and continue to make a meaningful difference in their lives.

Ntsiko Ledwaba, CEO and founder of the I Am an African Foundation, recently met with Germiston City News while making a donation in Germiston.

Ledwaba led a Mandela Day event, held at the South African Airways Museum at Rand Airport in Germiston on July 18. The SAA Museum and the I Am an African Foundation joined forces to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s birthday by hosting more than 150 children of all ages living with disabilities and special needs.

ALSO READ: SANBS encourages women to donate blood during Women’s Month

Several departments from the University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Health Sciences set up interactive information kiosks to educate and entertain guests.

Gift of the Givers once again ensured that everyone left with a generous hamper, while also donating modern wheelchairs to two deserving families.

A contingent of engineering students from Mega Aviation Training Academy (MATA) was also on hand to assist and ensure the event ran smoothly.

The atmosphere throughout the day was electric, with the success of the event evident as guests regularly broke into song and dance.

UJ Faculty of Health Sciences acting health training centre manager Dr Miriam Stoltz said the university brought together various departments to showcase the different career paths available to young people.

ALSO READ: City commemorates Women’s Month with summit for traders

She said the university also offered activities and services for children and other attendees, including face painting, games, drawing and colouring.

“Our ultimate goal is to serve and say: we see you, you are appreciated and you are loved. Our message is that we always need to work together. Unity and collaboration are key to moving this country forward,” she said.

CEO and founder of the I Am an African Foundation, Ntsiko Ledwaba, spoke about the organisation’s origins and her personal journey as a mother raising a child with special needs.

Ledwaba, a UJ alumna, said she founded the organisation while she was still a student at the university in 2016. She had previously started a food assistance programme at UJ to provide meals to underprivileged learners, a programme that continues to operate.

“I founded the organisation while I was still at UJ in 2016 as a student,” she said.

ALSO READ: Local women offered mentorship program in celebration of Women’s Month

In 2018, Ledwaba’s son was diagnosed with special needs. His condition resulted in frequent hospital visits during his early childhood, an experience that changed her perspective on the challenges faced by parents and caregivers of children with disabilities.

“His first four years, he was in and out of hospitals. I realised that most of the time parents don’t have time for themselves, while the child still needs to eat,” she said.

Ledwaba said her personal experience inspired her to bring mothers of children with disabilities together and find solutions to the challenges they now face as primary care givers to their children.

“So mothers with children with disabilities came together, and I formed the organisation with them in mind. And we care for caregivers caring for children with disabilities,” she said.

Over the past three years, the foundation has distributed wheelchairs to beneficiaries. Ledwaba said seven wheelchairs were distributed during the latest event, including those provided through a partnership with Gift of the Givers.

The foundation has also established an inclusion club through its Read, Write and Play Holiday Programme in collaboration with Joburg Libraries.

ALSO READ: In celebration of women’s month: Strauss & Co proudly exhibits Dream Invisible Connections

“It is fostering creativity, literature, play, inclusion, and truly tapping into our innate kindness and creativity.

“We want all our children to learn how to write, read and integrate,” said Ledwaba.

The organisation is also developing a centre at Observatory Precinct, where its programmes will cater for children from different backgrounds.

“The focus is on all children. We partner with schools and bring all children together. We also work with organisations that bring us interns,” she said.

Ledwaba also highlighted the involvement of Dr Wheelchair ambassador and board member Jennifer Warren, a Mrs South Africa semifinalist who supported the initiative.

She said the event demonstrated the impact that can be achieved when organisations work together.

“This shows that through collaboration we can go further. Many children are still struggling with accessibility, and our goal this year was to reach 100 wheelchairs. We are getting there,” she said.
Ledwaba said the foundation still needs support to expand its programmes, particularly its centre and library initiatives.

“Our centre needs a helping hand, and our library projects require transport. Most parents cannot afford school fees and medical bills, and those kinds of pledges go a long way. We welcome those donations,” she said.