Disability didn’t stop me from chasing my dreams
Nathan Tshabalala also had an opportunity to visit Japan Jica where he learnt more about human care through the Department of Social Development.
Nathan Tshabalala, who is also known as Modibe, used to be a dancer and a hairdresser before he was involved in an accident in 2003. The accident left him without the use of his legs and despite his disability, the wheelchair-bound Tshabala has not let this deter him from pursuing his passion.
He said, “After the accident in 2003, my mother took care of me since I become disabled and after her passing, I realised that this was not the end of the world.”
Tshabalala continued with his passion for hairdressing and he had an opportunity to work in Limpopo and also has a salon in Killarney.
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He continued, “There is more that I can offer the world and when I networked with people in a similar situation, I met Ntombana Ngomezulu who introduced me to Independent Living Centre for people with disabilities, which is also known as Soweto Independent Living Centre for people living with disabilities where they offer peer counselling, do awareness campaigns and support groups.”
Their aim is to encourage people with disability to go and study, meet other people and deal with feelings of self-pity.
“There is also a stigma around disabled people where families tend to hide them and we find this very disturbing,” he said.
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Tshabalala also had an opportunity to visit Japan Jica where he learnt more about human care through the Department of Social Development. He learnt about accessibility, disability, rights and how to sustain ourselves.
He is also a co-founder of Meadowlands Get to Know where they meet and have programmes for the disabled.
“Jica Japan has also offered us transportation and we are still in talks with the government. This will help so many of us since it is also a challenge for us,” he said.
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