The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
WHEN Zimbabwe Assemblies of God-Africa (Zaoga) founder, Archbishop Ezekiel Guti’s late son Ezekiel “EJ” Junior (pictured below) took to the pulpit, he dazzled his audiences.
EJ, as he was affectionately known, defied the odds as he overcame physical challenges to become an evangelist.
In a book titled “The Man Who Defied Condition”, EJ revealed personal experiences of how he conquered speech and other disability impairments to lead a normal life.
He died in 2017 aged just 35.
Tongai “Greatman” Gwaze is another one.
The 25-year-old took to music to tell his story through song. It shocked and inspired many. The Mhangura-born artiste proved to all and sundry that living with disability does not mean inability.
Gwaze was born with myopathy, a condition that affects shoulder and limb muscle groups, and reduces muscle strength and power in older children and adults.
Greatman currently sells his own CDs and remains undeterred.
He is not the only one.
When he was 13 years old, Ben Madzivanzira spent a whole year bed-ridden. He underwent nine surgeries on his right leg before it was amputated on the 10th attempt. This was in 1980.
Madzivanzira remains unknown to those who have not passed through Chinhoyi Trek fuel station or live near him, but his story is an inspiring but also nerve-wrecking tale of a man who refused to be grounded by disability.
Recently, The Sunday Mail Society caught up with him as he finished off his 12-hour shift.
“I came back from school one day feeling like I had been pricked by a thorn. As days went by, the pain got worse until I was taken to Banket Hospital. I was transferred to Chinhoyi, where I underwent nine surgeries to no avail,” narrated Madzivanzira.
As he awaited the 10th surgery, one of the surgeons suggested he be transferred to Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare for further examination. He still has memories of the day he was told that he had cancer. He remembers the grief he read on his father’s face.
The following day, he was amputated.
“Emerging from the theatre, my life changed and it was tough to understand. After counselling, I gradually adjusted, although it took more time for my father to accept it,” he recalls.
Now a father of five at 53 years old, Madzivanzira dreams of attaining a university degree in business studies in order to run his own enterprise.
Currently, he has four O-Level subjects and plans to sit for a Mathematics paper in November this year.
What makes his story even more fascinating, touching and inspiring, is that for 40 years, Madzivanzira has had no artificial leg. Yet, he never gave up, never went begging, and at 53, he still wants more out of life.
He walks with the aid of crutches and has been a fuel attendant since 2000. He works long hours, most of which he spends on his “feet”.
Being a plot owner, he also has to work his piece of land like everyone else and sometimes walks a distance of nearly 23 kilometres.
His story is one of many, in a nation trying to wake up from years of marginalising people living with disabilities.
Esau Mugadziwa (49), a blind vendor in the Harare’s CBD, is another one.
Despite being taken advantage of by crooks, he continues to earn his own living. Born with full sight, he attended Njovo Primary and Chekai Secondary schools.
He started working in 1992 but was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2006. Unfortunately, he was mistakenly given the wrong medication. What should have taken just six months to cure turned into a full-blown nightmare that still haunts him to this day.
“I reacted to the medication they were giving me. They then conducted a minor surgery to drain the medication. Unfortunately, things got worse,” he said.
Apart from the problems with his sight, Mugadziwa started experiencing headaches and seizures. His employers ended up relieving him of his duties. By the end of 2008, he had become totally blind. To fend for his family, he became a vendor.
Despite economic challenges, he can afford to send his children to school.
While people like Mugadziwa have managed to turn lemons into lemonade, there are thousands that still need help navigating life.
Government stance
Most of the country’s infrastructure needs to be upgraded to cater for people living with disability.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Lovemore Matuke said after the Government’s directive for institutions to create disability friendly environments, some have complied while others have not.
“While others have complied in creating a disability friendly environment, as Government we need to be at the forefront. We will be taking it to schools, universities and colleges to ensure that they create such an environment,” said Deputy Minister Matuke.
Zimbabwe is one of the first countries in the world to enact disability discrimination legislation.
Deputy Minister Matuke said Government will soon look into re-aligning Zimbabwe’s Constitution with the country’s laws to ensure that its provisions for people living with disability remain relevant.
Part of the re-alignment process, he highlighted, ensures that all new constructions are disability friendly.
Currently, funds are available for institutions that want to renovate, expand or build disability friendly structures.
“The loans are open to anyone, they simply need to present their project proposals and budgets,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s Disability Act provides for the welfare and rehabilitation of people with disabilities.
