Welverdiend resident helps disabled

Ms Dorah Biko (42) was one of many medical staff members who lost their jobs when AngloGold Ashanti’s hospital at Western Deep Levels closed years ago. She worked as a support nurse in the hospital’s spinal ward, where miners who were para-lysed in mining accidents were treated.
She did not sit still after her retrenchment, however; she got a job at Huis Anna Viljoen, a retirement home in Potchefstroom. Due to her love for working with the disabled, Biko registered an NGO called Vuselel ‘Ithemba (Revive Hope) Care Centre at the beginning of last year. Administrative issues between her and members of a church in Khutsong who acted as board members brought this dream to a standstill during the lockdown, however.
Earlier this year, Biko heard of a disability home that was running into trouble elsewhere in Welverdiend. She decided to take over some of the patients, who were accommodated in a garage in the town. With the help of the Department of Social Services, she re-registered her NGO to get assistance. Biko is currently struggling, though. One of the big problems she faces is expenses. She takes care of three mentally and physically disabled “boys” and a 90-year-old pensioner whose family does not have the knowledge or means to meet her physical needs. “I currently only have the grant money from the granny and two of the boys to take care of them; the other one comes from Swaziland. They all wear adult diapers, which cost me a fortune. I also have huge water and electricity accounts every month as I must wash their clothes and linen and cook for them. It also costs me a fortune to take the boys to the Khutsong Main Clinic every time, as it is the only clinic where they can be helped,” she says. She also hires two caregivers to help with the patients at times and pays monthly funeral cover for them.
Meanwhile, Biko also helps other disabled people from Welverdiend, some of whom just turn up at her home for help. “I am stealing my family’s privacy at the moment. My children often cannot use the bathroom because I am busy with the patients,” says Biko.
To solve her problems, Biko has spoken to her ward councillor and the municipality about getting an empty house to open a centre for the disabled. So far, neither of these avenues has been successful. Although she had an appointment with the mayor on Monday, she could not go as her caregiver had not arrived and she could not leave the patients alone. Despite all the problems, Biko is not giving up hope yet.
“These people are human beings, God’s creatures, and I was called to help them,” she says.
Anyone who can assist Biko with items like adult diapers or extra food can contact her at 078 947 6605.