J4Joy brings light into a difficult life
Joy as Mdantsane woman receives motorised wheelchair
ALIGHT appeared at the end of the tunnel for disabled Zizipho Ndleleni, 24, of NU9 in Mdantsane, who received a motorised wheelchair.
The J4Joy Foundation in partnership with SABC presented the wheelchair to her yesterday.
Mpumalanga businessman Jacobs Mnisi, 50, a founder and chairman of J4Joy, gave Ndleleni a custom-designed battery operated wheelchair worth R48 000.
The donation was in response to Ndleleni’s heartbreaking story, aired on the TV show Cutting Edge, where she told how she was rejected by her parents and had to depend on her grandparents for assistance.
Ntsiki Nohiya and Hlubikazi Kulu of Cutting Edge, who presented the clip on Ndleleni, were also present to witness the handover yesterday.
They said the moment was touching, but their only concern was the vulnerability and safety of Ndleleni because an ex-boyfriend had destroyed one of her wheelchairs and stolen her money.
Ndleleni said her old wheelchair was giving her trouble.
“I’m happy to receive this gift. It is going to change my life, especially when going to school,” said Ndleleni. “Sometimes I pay people to drive me home after school.”
Mnisi said his foundation had given wheelchairs to more than 100 disabled children in the Eastern Cape.
“The foundation tries its best to bring hope to disabled people with the understanding that most of them feel abandoned and look down on themselves. The only concern now is the condition of the house, which seems undesirable for the wheelchair, but we hope other relevant authorities will make an effort on the journey of helping Ndleleni.”