Mayor hands motorised wheelchair to young eMbalenhle learner to support her education, independence
Andisiwe Motha was born with an undiagnosed condition that her mother, Thobile Motha, began noticing when her daughter was nine months old.
Nhlakanipho Zuma, the mayor of the Govan Mbeki Municipality, recently handed a motorised wheelchair to seven-year-old Andisiwe Motha, a Grade Two learner at Maphala Gulube Primary School in eMbalenhle.
Andisiwe was born with an undiagnosed condition that her mother, Thobile Motha, began noticing when her daughter was nine months old.
“I realised something was wrong when she couldn’t sit up and was always lying down. When I gave birth to her, a drip was inserted into her left hand.
“A few days later, it began to swell. I reported it to the doctors, but they said it would heal. Eventually, I noticed the entire left side of her body wasn’t functioning properly,” said Motha.
Despite the challenges, Motha expressed gratitude to Maphala Gulube Primary for welcoming her daughter last year.
The motorised wheelchair, donated by the municipality in partnership with Standard Bank, has brought meaningful improvement to Andisiwe’s daily life. Previously reliant on a manual wheelchair, she needed constant help to move around.
“This mobile wheelchair has made a huge difference. The manual one required someone to always push her, which was very limiting,” Motha said.
She also highlighted ongoing difficulties.
“I still struggle to pay for transport to get Andisiwe to school and arrange helpers who can assist her with using the toilet during school hours. It’s not easy, especially because I’m unemployed and rely only on her disability grant.”
Zuma said the donation supported Andisiwe’s right to education while improving her mobility, independence and social inclusion at school.
Motha also thanked Lucky Skhosana, the chairperson of Disabled People South Africa in the Gert Sibande District, for his continued support.
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