Brother and sister have made it their mission to help the disabled

If you think siblings running a business together is too far-fetched, then you clearly haven’t met Lerato and Bongani Mthombeni. The pair brings meaning to the saying “great minds think alike.”

“Working together as siblings is perfect; I’m not going to lie to you. We come from the same background which makes things easier. I think the only challenge that we might encounter is that we think the same and there’s no one that is going to correct the other if they are wrong,” said Lerato.

Lerato and Bongani are the brains behind Lebongz Holdings (the name was derived from combining their two names), a company that provides arts and crafts skills to people with disabilities. Lebongz Holdings is situated at the June 16 Memorial Acre in Jabavu.

“I have worked with people who are deaf for 10 years. In those years I discovered that there is a need for them in the workplace but the problem is that most people don’t know how to accommodate them. I want to help them to help themselves.

“I don’t want to just store them like they are some kind of charity case. Hence we don’t just provide arts and craft skills but we also provide marketing skills to them so they can be independent and start their own businesses. We also hire some of them and this actually gives them work experience,” explained Lerato.

The Mthombenis inherited their love for arts and crafts from their father.

Lerato stated that she attained her sewing skills from her aunts, while Bongani attained his carpentry skills from his father.

The company is reaching 6 months now and it is slowly gaining recognition.

“The number of people that we train is growing and now we have a challenge of accommodating all of them financially,” said Bongani “I have learned more about people with disabilities as well as their disabilities since starting this company.

“At the end of the day, they are normal people just like us and they work hard.

“We just want to help more of them and we also need to hire more people who are patient like us, people that will help us train them in future. We want to see them being permanently employed and not just attaining leadership,” said Lerato.

For more news follow us on these platforms:

Twitter      : @SowetoUrban

Facebook   : Soweto Urban News

Instagram  : @SowetoUrban

News site: Westside-Eldos Urban News

News site: Soweto Urban News