Boksburg organisation making life easier for disabled people
Edwina Makgamatha, a survivor of a horrible car crash, is the founder of Thusanang Enabling Support Services.
Car accident survivor Edwina Makgamatha didn’t stop dreaming of making something of her life.
Makgamatha was just 25 years old when the car she was travelling in was involved in a crash which left her paralysed.
Since the accident in 2010, she has spread her wings to embrace new business opportunities.
Today, the 33-year-old mother of two from Edenvale is the founder of Thusanang Enabling Support Services (Tess) based in Boksburg.
After being discharged from hospital, she endured a humiliating battle to get the medical supplies she needed to manage to live with her disability which then prompted her to establish Tess.
Tess supplies medical or surgical consumables to the Road Accident Fund beneficiaries or claimants to their doorsteps anywhere in South Africa.
“After being discharged from hospital, I found it difficult to access medical consumables after the hospital package was depleted,” said Makgamatha.
“I met a lot of other impaired people with the same challenges, I then decided to open the company.”
Tess also provides motivational upliftment services to road accident survivors or victims at rehab centres where they are still fragile.
“We use ‘the see it believe it’ psychology to make our patients realise that we were once where they are and have conquered obstacles and challenges.
“We also offer product training to make them understand just how important it is to use the products correctly.
“In addition, we offer care attendant training to the claimant’s care attendants by giving them a full understanding of the spinal cord and its challenges, as well as the communication and approach towards someone who has a spinal injury.
“We touch on subjects like pressure ulcers and urinary tract infections as well.”
Not only is she committed to making the lives of those living with a disability easier but she is also a motivational speaker and she’s studying towards a degree in industrial psychology.
- Equipping home-based care attendants
To give back to the public, the business woman leads an NPO called Thuso Ke Botho which equips home-based care attendants who look after their disabled loved ones.
“Most people in our society are unemployed, so when something as tragic as a car accident comes into the family they feel the need to care for their loved ones but don’t know where to begin.”
Thuso Ke Botho is looking into raising funds in order to assist children in communities with new wheelchairs, sanitary towels, food, building and equipping nursery schools, intervening in the foundation phase in township schools and rural schools where children need remedial therapy and speech therapy.
Makgamatha advises those who haven’t come to terms with their disability not to give up.
“Giving up is not an option, never allow it, keep moving forward and you will conquer. There’s life after disability and I am a living example of surviving and prospering,” she said.
To find out more about Thusanang Enabling Support Services visit their website on www.te-ss.co.za or call 011 453 0480.
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