By Byron Mutingwende
One of the leading mobile telephony companies, NetOne has donated motorised wheelchairs to persons with disabilities and some 200 netballs to women’s teams from the country’s uniformed forces.
Lazarus Muchenje, the NetOne Chief Executive Officer, on 19 May 2018, handed over a wheelchair to Vernon Tukuta at Thornhill Airbase.
“It is my great honour and pleasure to be here today to handover this wheelchair to Vernon. Vernon is a 22-year-old young man and he was born with a disability and has been using a wheelchair. He contacted us with his plea, requiring a new electric wheelchair as the one that he is currently using is becoming smaller and old since it was bought nearly a decade ago.
“I am proud today as I handover this wheelchair to Vernon. As NetOne, we are delighted to be able to support him as Vernon will be able to do his day-to-day errands freely in a wheelchair where he fits properly,” Mr. Muchecnje said.
Vernon wrote his O’ levels in 2015 and is currently enrolled with College of Creative Arts Africa – an affiliate college of Midlands State University in Bulawayo where he is currently studying Radio Broadcasting.
As a student, the wheelchair will assist his mobility as he moves around campus doing his studies. NetOne remains committed in the development and sustenance of Zimbabweans. The welfare and wellbeing of our nationals is at the heart of NetOne.
On the same day, the NetOne Chief Executive Officer handed a wheelchair, headgear and i7 laptop to Kudakwashe Doba at Guinea Fowl compound
Kudakwashe Doba is a Cerebral Pulse patient whose appeal was seen by Mr. Muchenje on ZTV main news on the 16th of April 2018.
“Indeed, they are many such cases but his was very touching as he has shown that disability does not mean inability. His strong will to succeed in life has seen him master the art of script writing skills by using his head to type on the laptop. Furthermore, many like him tend to lose opportunities of going to schools and participating in social activities.
“I immediately engaged my team to see how best we could assist him. In order for NetOne to get the correct wheelchair, we engaged a special sitting practitioner- Mr Emmanuel Dube who has been attending him. I am pleased to announce that Mr Dube is here with us today for Kudakwashe’s continuous assessment as well as wheelchair preparation and fitting. I would like to thank you sir for the guidance as today, Kudakwashe will sit properly and positioned in a way which will enable him to be functional, prevents contractures, promotes independence and prevents chest infections,” Mr. Muchenje said.
NetOne delights in being able to support such a worthy causes as Kuda will be independent to do some of the things alone.
The laptop will further enhance his passion and develop him into a world-class scriptwriter.
Sport is one area that keeps people physically fit and beneficiaries of the netballs were happy with the NetOne donation that they said would go a long way in developing their talents and capacitate them to compete not only at the national but global level.