JANSENVILLE NEWS – A deserving Jansenville teenager was the lucky recipient of a specialised wheelchair, which was presented to her during a wheelchair handover ceremony hosted by the Sweethearts Foundation in Port Elizabeth recently.
Fifteen-year-old Nombulelo Duma, who is paralysed from the neck down, has been on the Sweethearts Foundation’s national Wheelchair Waiting List for more than a year, awaiting the news that her wheelchair is ready to be handed over.
All this was set in motion in February 2017 when Warrant Officer Sias Bester from the Jansenville police first heard of the Sweethearts Foundation from local resident Anna Rossouw.
The sweethearts Foundation, a 100% non-profit organisation, collects plastic bottle tops and bread tags, recycles them and then uses the proceeds to purchase wheelchairs for those in need.
W/O Bester, who is also the chairperson of the local ATKV branch, knew that he had to set the wheels in motion as soon as possible to get this project up and running in his community.
W/O Bester immediately started urging those he knew as well as the broader community to start collecting the 450kgs of bottle tops and bread tags which is needed to provide funding for a standard wheelchair.
At the time, W/O Bester had already heard of Nombulelo’s plight and had it in mind to see that she was one of the next beneficiaries of this project to be gifted with a wheelchair.
Without a wheelchair, Nombulelo’s mother, Gladys, had to carry Nombulelo on her back, on a daily basis, for 15 years, wherever she had to go. As Gladys is unemployed, the expenses associated with a specialised wheelchair, meant that a wheelchair just wasn’t an option for the family.
With the assistance of Constable Nokuthula Maqakalana, Acting CPO at the Jansenville police station, who mobilized all the CPFs of the Graaff-Reinet Police Cluster, most of the required tags and bottle tops were soon collected.
Constable Maqakalana then wrote a letter to the Sweethearts Foundation informing them of Nombulelos’ plight. The necessary forms were submitted to the Foundation in June 2017 where after all involved played the waiting game.
In September 2017 the Sweethearts Foundation responded to the request made by W/O Bester and Constable Maqakalana informing them that a date had been set for Nombulelo to be assessed in Port Elizabeth.
After the assessment, the Sweethearts Foundation informed them that they would soon hear from them. All those involved then waited patiently, all the while still collection bottle tops and bread tags.
Early in 2018, the Sweethearts Foundation contacted W/O Bester to notify him that Nombulelo would soon be receiving her wheelchair. A date was set and plans made to take Nombulelo down to Port Elizabeth to receive the wheelchair.
After the assessment, the Sweethearts Foundation informed them that they would soon hear from them. All those involved then waited patiently, all the while still collection bottle tops and bread tags.
It was a dream come true for all of those involved in the project. For Gladys Duma, her heart’s desire was met.
W/O Bester and the Jansenville police would like to take this opportunity to extend a word of thanks to everyone that assisted with the project. Especially to the shopkeepers who never tired of keeping the boxes of lids and tags.
“We would also like to thank the CWP for raising funds when they heard about the project and the money donated. A word of thanks to Jalaal Jalaal from Rhubarb and Lime, 7th Avenue, Port Elizabeth, who also made a monetary donation. Special thanks to the CE Mobility and the Port Elizabeth International Airport, for their assistance.
To the ATKV, the Graaff-Reinet Police Cluster’s CPFs, the Jansenville CPF, we want to thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for the positive changes you make in our community. And most importantly, to the Sweethearts Foundation for not hesitating to help once they heard of Nombulelo’s plight,” said W/O Bester.
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