Gogo pleads for wheelchair
The pensioner resides alone with no one to care for her and suffers from osteoporosis, which has resulted in her not being able to walk.
Duduza – The residents of Bluegum View are concerned about the safety of 80-year-old gogo Matlhodi Matlhabane.
The pensioner resides alone with no one to care of her and suffers from osteoporosis, which has resulted in her not being able to walk.
She says her biggest struggle is that she has no one to run errands for her.
Also read:
Concerned KwaThema resident donates wheelchair to gogo Elizabeth
“Because walking has become a challenge for me I have to ask people who are passing by to go to shops and buy me things I need, some of them take my money and don’t come back.
“Even the children from around here do that.
“I sometimes go hungry because I can’t do things for myself and I can’t go buy food for myself,” she says.
She suffered a mild stroke a few years back and in 2015 she had a minor incident which resulted in her breaking her right thigh.
Also read:
Mayor donates electric wheelchair to KwaThema man
Gogo says not being able to walk is a major challenge.
“I believe if I can get a wheelchair it would improve the quality of my life.
“Because at this point I am really struggling and with my pension money I cannot afford to buy myself one.
“Another challenge is that when it rains I can’t go outside at all, the rain water pulls up in my yard and gets very muddy,” She adds.
She used to reside with her two young grandchildren until 2019 where social workers took them to welfare as she was deemed unfit to care for them due to her illnesses.
Also read:
“I was the legal guardian of two of my grandchildren after my daughter died, but late last year social workers had to take them because I was no longer able to care for them.
“I spent my festive without any food or money because I had bought them clothes,” she explains.
Neighbour Clement Khumalo says they have tried to find her help without any success.
“Gogo needs support even if it’s a wheelchair. She can’t go out so she is forced to spend most of her time indoors and can’t stand for too long.
“And it is not safe for an elderly person in her condition to be staying alone without anyone to keep an eye on her or be helping her out with household chores,” says Khumalo.
Follow us on:
