Brothers finally mobile thanks to Tzaneen mayor
Born with severe developmental disabilities, brothers Eliah (33) and Tronny Mnisi (35) from Muhlava Cross village outside Tzaneen, cannot walk and are forced to crawl in order to get around.
LIMPOPO –Â As part of its 67 minutes for Mandela Day, the office of the Greater Tzaneen Mayor, Maripe Mangena, donated R1 000 in cash, food parcels, blankets and two new wheelchairs to the disabled brothers last Wednesday.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, local village induna, Eunice Shikwambana, thanked the mayor for helping their poor family.
“Two months ago, I visited the family and was deeply touched by the conditions of the two brothers. I shared my concern with some of the community leaders and a decision was taken to form a task team to investigate how we can help them.
“We decided to approach the mayor’s office for assistance, so their pictures were taken and letters were written asking for intervention. Today, we are very happy to see municipal workers and ward councillors coming here to deliver this donation. God is great,” she said.
Ward 24 councillor Thumas Mushwana praised the concerned residents who took the plight of the disabled brothers to the mayor’s office.
“As a municipality, we have a constitutional mandate to deliver services and to come up with programmes to improve the lives of poor people, but we need the involvement of other stakeholders such as indunas and community. You are our eyes and ears in the community, and if we work together, we can do more,” he said.
Family representative, Alphios Mnisi, said his two older brothers have been living indoors for the past 18 years because of their severe disability.
“To have one disabled child in a family is hard, but to have two in the same family is worse than words can express. We want to thank everybody who made a contribution in making sure that this donation becomes a reality,” he said.
Other Mandela Day activities in the municipality included the donation of tablets and study guides to learners at Modipe High School in Mothomeng village, painting of Sebone Primary School at Mokgoloboto village, building of toilets for disabled people, handover of bicycles to school children and cleaning campaigns at various places in the municipality.
