While other children her age run around the streets of the Makause informal settlement, six-year-old Nilfa Mashawiro remains confined to a wheelchair.<\/p>\n
Nilfa was born with hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and is partially sighted.<\/p>
The wheelchair is a recent donation from Vintage Vibes as, before that, Nilfa was using a stroller.<\/p>\n
\u201cI met Nilfa and her family during the xenophobic attacks in April, this year,\u201d said member of the Johannesburg East Rotary Club and co-owner of Primrose\u2019s Kennedy Studios, Marion Brown.<\/p>
\u201cI had gone to the xenophobia refugee camp, in Primrose, just to see what I could do to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring my visit there I was met by Nilfa who was being carried by her mother, Editor Dongo, alongside her father, Brian Mashawiro.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown felt devastated for the family and took it upon herself to help them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so saddened by what I saw that I made it my mission to get a stroller for Nilfa which I did, shortly thereafter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always knew that a stroller was a temporary solution, as a wheelchair would be better suited to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI then told my sister, Helena Strijdom, that I was looking for a wheelchair.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister told a former student of mine, Irene Cleeton-Jones, about my plea for a wheelchair.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister and Cleeton-Jones know each other from way back as she (Strijdom) was a deputy headgirl at Ho\u00ebrskool Goudrif in the same year, 1986, Cleeton-Jones was headgirl.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown said the former headgirl contacted her brother, Jevon O\u2019 Donovan, from Vintage Vibes regarding her appeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy partner, Carolyn Gregorowski, and I were touched to hear about the little girl,\u201d said O\u2019 Donovan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were thrilled when we managed to get a wheelchair for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019 Donovan and Gregoroswski, who form Vintage Vibes, a vocal and trumpet duo, also donated clothes for Nilfa.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are truly grateful for all the help we have received and this wheelchair is wonderful and just what Nilfa needed,\u201d said the girl’s grateful father, Brian.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2009 Nilfa had a Hydrocephalus shunt put in.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt drains the excess accumulation of fluid from the brain to her stomach, where it can be absorbed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe goes for physiotherapy at the Bertha Gxowa Hospital,\u201d explained Editor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest challenge is that my husband and I are both unemployed and we battle to make ends meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe does get part-time jobs in gardening, painting and waterproofing, but it is nothing stable and permanent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really need funds as, among other expenses, I have to go to hospital to buy epileptic medication, every month, to help with the fits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to see Nilfa go to school; that would make us very happy,\u201d said Brian.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe each of us are angels with only one wing and we can fly embracing each other,\u201d said Brown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am trying my best to help where I can and I really hope the community will join in helping Nilfa and her family, in any way possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe battle to buy her clothes, toys and healthy food,\u201d explained Brian.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife and I also need clothes and food, but our child comes first; she is our first priority and we would appreciate it if we could get help for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that our purpose as humans is to help each other,\u201d concluded Brown.<\/p>\n
For more information, or to donate, contact Brown on 082 920 6486 or email her on alimar@vodamail.co.za.<\/p>\n