NKOMAZI- Not even a single day in her seven years had she ever saw the brightening of the sun nor had she walked on own like kids of her age.
This is what best describes the miserable life of Smangele Mabaso from eMagudu in the Nkomazi Local Municipality who was born blind and paralysed. Attempts by her family to get help for her from the department of Home Affairs proved fruitless because her mother is a Mozambican national and doesn’t have legal documents to stay in the country while the girl’s father though is South African but not legally married to the mother.
Members of Ama Wheelies in the province heard about the girl’s plight in November last year and started asking for assistance for her and her poor family. “Fortunately we manage to get someone who bought her a wheelchair and had been delivered to her but the challenge remains she doesn’t have a birth certificate and Home Affairs can’t issue one for her because her mother is from Mozambique and doesn’t have a passport but the father is South African and have a valid South African ID,” marked Ama Wheelies chairperson Bonginkosi Mlombo.
“She is a very intelligent girl and if she can get proper mental stimulation and orientation that will activate her intelligence she will be amongst the best academic persons with disabilities, “he added.
Her family relies on her granny’s pension grant which is however not enough to cater for all her needs including medical requirements and nappies and that of the whole family.
For assistance the family can be contacted via Bathuthukisi Disabled centre of Nkomazi on 073 027 4371 or Ama Wheelies on 079 052 3500
