In her wheelchair, Patricia Maphela from Matholesville, tilts her head and smiles. Her upper body, the only part that moves, rises to make a point in her crime-ridden community, which is plagued by numerous social ills.
Often, women with disabilities are invisible and marginalised in society, but Maphela who has seen a lot in over many years as someone living with a disability, decided to make a difference in her community and started a dance and drama group for children.
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The Imbabazana Cultural Group was established in 2021 in Matholesville by Maphela with six children and currently have 20 children consisting of young girls and boys.
“These kids love me as I am disabled, so when they come to visit me, we decided to start a dance group.
“My aim is to remove them from the streets and save them from a lot of wrong things that are happening in our community,” said Maphela.
Maphela who is a disability grant beneficiary told the Record that she uses some of her money to share with the children as some of them come from very poor households.
She also attempted to start a soccer club but due to a lack of funding and support the idea did not materialise.
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Currently the group does not have any funding even though Maphela tried approaching the relevant City of Johannesburg departments for assistance.
Uniform, dance equipment and transport for travelling to events where the group gets invited to are some of the challenges faced by Maphela who at times has to dig deep into her shallow pockets.
“I am appealing to the community and the councillor’s office to come on board and assist me in shaping the future of these children as they need the support from us as adults.
“There are orphans among the children and I try by all means to assist them but I am unable to approach some people because of my condition,” said Maphela.
According to Maphela she used to receive food parcels but that has stopped for some reason and to add to her list of disappointments, the wheelchair that was promised to her by care workers also failed to materialise.
Members of the community who would like to assist Maphela with her dance and drama group are advised to contact her on 060 315 8477.
The group was also invited to perform at the upcoming Road Safety Awareness campaign to be held in Matholesville on Tuesday, January 10.
