Members from the Praise and Worship Prayer Group in Mthatha brought relief to the life of Nothembile Gwele (75), who used to crawl or push a crate in order to move around.
This group gave her a wheelchair, which would make things much more easier for her.
One of the members of this group, Philomina Banks, said that they saw an article that was published by Mthatha Express on August 4, about the plight of Gwele. She said the article was shared by one of their members in their group and that was how she saw it.
“I then spoke with one of my friends, Steven Rossouw from Kokstad, who sponsored it [the wheelchair]. Since Kokstad is very far from Mthatha, another group member, Beryl Pierce, played a role and brought it to Mthatha. I am very happy that we managed to change the life of this lady,” said Banks.
She also thanked her group members for the role they played in order to ensure that her request was successful. Gwele was very happy to receive a wheelchair stating that it would help her to go around. “I am speechless because I did not know that I would receive such a gift. Through God’s grace I am smiling now,” said Gwele.
She added that she used to walk properly until last year, when her knees, feet and hands started to swell, especially if she touched some water.
“It was hard even to go to the toilet, owing to my situation. Even around my yard, I used to crawl,” said Gwele.
She said what was more painful was that everything was falling apart in her yard, even though she was present because she could not do anything. Gwele said even though she is getting a pension grant, she uses it to hire people to help in her garden and buy wood because she cannot do anything for herself.
“Now that I have this wheelchair it will help me a lot. I was using a walking stick that I borrowed from one of the neighbours, so this was a relief.”
The director of the Masizakhe Support and Services organisation, Nylon Fodo, said he was very happy because his prayer had been answered.
“I thank all the people who managed to play a role in ensuring that Gwele got a wheelchair,” he said.
