WHEN community members heard about Nhlanhla Mqadi’s accident, which claimed both his legs, they pooled their resources to help make this young man’s life a little easier.
Part-time lifesavers, Nhlanhla and his friends, Siyabonga Mfunda and Vumani Makhanya, were walking home after their shift at Hibberdene Tower 13 station when they were involved in a hit-and-run incident on the toll road near Umzumbe in June this year.
Nhlanhla, who had both his legs amputated, is now wheelchair bound. His friend Vumani, who had both his legs broken and had metal plates implanted, is battling to walk and is suffering great pain, so much so, he is unable to attend school some days. Their friend Siyabonga has recovered well.
Largely instrumental in making Nhlanhla’s home wheelchair friendly are Kerry and Louis Koekemoer from Handy Hardware, who have built a bedroom and an easy-access bathroom for Nhlanhla. Louis and his team have worked, during his three months’ leave, to help extend Nhlanhla’s home. “The toilet was orginally metres from the house, so we built a temporary toilet before we started on the alterations,” he said. Louis and Kerry thank all those who made donations towards the cost of the building materials.
A team from Solar Primeg travelled from Durban to install a 200-litre solar geyser on Tuesday this week. It was that evening that Nhlanhla was able to try out his newly fitted shower. Hannelie Millar from The Beekman Group said they had approached Solar Primeg, who provided the geyser at cost price. She explained that this kind of donation was part of their CSI projects, which was a brilliant corporate contribution that allowed the company to apply a budget to an ad-hoc project after careful consideration. Claude Naude from CTM donated the tiles for the bathroom. Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, who had found the teenagers lying on the freeway after the hit-and-run, recently visited the three friends. He has promised to assist them and has, so far, arranged for the Red Cross to transport Nhlanhla and Vumani to and from school and for Nhlanhla to receive physiotherapy. The Hibberdene Lions have also supported Nhlanhla during this difficult time.
Nhlanhla was overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and was excited about his new bathroom, which has been fitted with suspended handles to help him in and out of the shower. Nhlanhla, who is positively upbeat, lives with his family of 11 members. “When the accident happened and the doctors told me they were going to cut off my legs and I would never walk again I told myself ‘I won’t cry’. I believed that God would help me to walk again and that many would support me,” he said bravely.
The grade 9 pupil said that school was going “perfect”. Nhlanhla wants to be a paramedic when he completes school. “I want to help save lives, like I saved lives when I was a lifeguard,” he said. As a surfer, he has a deep love for the ocean, but has not seen it since his accident. However, he has plans to go for a swim soon. He also dreams of being able to surf again.
Although much has been done to help this young man, much is still needed. Some 17 asbestos roofing sheets are needed to fix the leaking roof of the original house and roofing, cement and poles for a small veranda. As Nhlanhla is bound to his wheelchair, his wish list entails reading books, stationery, exercise books and his own TV or laptop or games. “I can’t go and visit my friends, like I did, so I would like something to watch or to do,” he added. If you can help, please contact Lion Susan Smuts-Steyn at 082 564 9815.
