Help Othandwayo achieve more
WHILE many young men dream of owning a sports car, 19-year-old Othandwayo Nchayichibi from Ezibeleni dreams of a new wheelchair and proper roads to travel on.
Nchayichibi, who was born disabled, visited The Rep offices last week in his dilapidated chair.
“I would like to have a new wheelchair and better roads in my community. I would like to see the roads fixed because my wheelchair is getting damaged.”
The soccer coach of Young Stars FC does not let his disability hold him back from being of service.
“I love helping people. I would like to see the situation of other young people change. I would like people to help me make the world a better place.
“I coach soccer because there are not a lot of people in wheelchairs who coach and understand the game like I do.”
However, he faces a lot of daily challenges.
“My life became a struggle after my grandmother passed away in 2002. She used to do everything for me. Since then, my life has been tough and I had to drop out of school in 2008.
“I have to ask someone to bath me every day. Even going to the toilet is a challenge. Sometimes I fall and have black-outs, so I need daily assistance. I have had 15 operations.”
The facilities at home are not conducive to his condition and he said it was difficult to ask someone to help him go to the toilet.
“I feel disgraced. I like reading and writing poetry. It would be nice to have a laptop so I can teach myself things that I should have learnt at school.”
He praised his aunt Nolothando Nibe.
“I was born like this. My aunt plays the role of a mother to me. She helps me and is by my side when I need her. I like sitting with older people, talking to them and praying for them because I am a believer in Christ. God loves me and I would like to share that.”
Nibe said the young man’s wheelchair was only a year old but had been damaged by the roads in Ezibeleni.
“He has had a challenging life. Sometimes people in taxis do not show any care towards him. A wheelchair and any other way in which he could be assisted, would change his life for the better.”