Impact, In the Media, Workplace & Entrepreneurial, Youth
Diary of Advocacy: NCPD Team’s Journey Through the Eastern Cape
Mar
From the 24th to the 28th of February 2025, a team member from the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) visited the province of the Eastern Cape.
The team comprised of Therina Wentzel – National Director, Andrew Hofmeyr – Advocacy and Programs and Lubabalo Mbeki – the Development Partner for NCPD
They travelled from East London to Mthatha as well as Bizana, visiting a selection of LSEN schools and organisations that cater to persons with disabilities.
Their visit was mainly to meet with the APD OR Tambo team in Mthatha. They were greeted upon arrival by the youth who are currently on an internship programme sponsored by FirstRand as well as FNB.
Under the mentorship of Beauty Ntengo, the Director of APD OR Tambo, the interns showed off beautiful, beaded work they created.
The team was happy to meet the long-time friend and muse of many in the disability sector, “Mom Beauty.” From Mthatha to Bizana, she was clearly well known and well regarded in the community. Also, on the morning of Monday, February 24, the team had a captivating exchange with Beauty about her vision for OR Tambo APD. These included:
- Utilising the expansive open space on the property for agriculture and food production to serve persons with disabilities.
- Creating a wheelchair repair workshop that could train youth with disabilities to repair and maintain wheelchairs.
Understanding how crucial these initiatives were for Beauty and her team, the NCPD team pledged its support for turning these dreams into reality.
Later in the day, they came together with the APD board and were heartened by the enthusiasm and commitment from its members to support Beauty’s vision. Together, they were able to identify how NCPD could provide support to the board in areas such as training support, advocacy materials, and programme development support.
iKwezi Lokusa Special School
On Tuesday, February 25, they visited the School Governing Body (SGB) and senior educators at the iKwezi Lokusa Special School in Mthatha. This school had recently been in the news because of challenges reported on social media and by the DSTV program, Carte Blanche.
Staff members and parents expressed relief over the appointment of a new principal, Mr Magoswana, in August 2024, saying that conditions had begun to improve.
The team noted the most recent renovations, such as newly painted dormitories, although they saw that the new beds were too small to accommodate the needs of learners with physical impairments. What worried staff most, however, was that bathrooms were still barred, and one employee saw a child trying unsuccessfully to use a toilet alone.
Other Special Schools
Continuing south and toward Bizana on Wednesday, February 26, the team dropped in on Nolitha Special School in Mount Ayliff that caters to learners with intellectual disabilities.
They then proceeded to Bizana to meet staff from Vukuzenzele, Nompangalanga, and Zamokuhle special schools.
And at each location, they found committed educators who were making do with very little. Common challenges included:
- Inappropriate placement of learners based solely on their predominant disability
- Safety concerns due to broken fences and poor security
- Poorly maintained and inaccessible school buses.
Various LSEN School Visitations
On Thursday morning, February 27, the team visited what they described as “the most accessible SPAR” they had seen – SPAR iKwezi in Mthatha. The manager, Sakkie Siphuka, recognised Beauty immediately, and his positive attitude matched the accessibility of his store.
The next stop was a visit to Mr Joseph Zacharias, the principal of Holy Cross School and a long-standing friend of APD OR Tambo, to thank him for his friendship and support.
Then, the team headed to Tembisa Special School to meet with Mr Mzimasi Ben Magqabi. The school was buzzing with excitement for an upcoming sports day. There was a brief but meaningful discussion with Mr Magqabi.
On their way out of Mthatha, they visited Mthatha General Hospital to meet Dr Nangamso ‘Soso’ Malashe, who has a physical impairment but carries out her work with great skill and dedication. She expressed interest in becoming involved with APD OR Tambo, and Mom Beauty was grateful to connect with her.
Later that day in East London, the team met Athenkosi Fani, referred by Gert Klopper from Bloemfontein. A young man with great energy and enthusiasm, he is passionate about improving the lives of persons with disabilities. He shared his personal connection; his sister has a disability and expressed interest in meeting Dylan Mashele, NCPD’s PR and Media Relations Officer, and the Casual Day team when the team returns in April 2025.
They continued the trip to Vukuhambe Special School for physically impaired learners, where they spoke to the principal and senior teachers regarding possible support from NCPD.
On the way to the airport, there was time to visit the East London Rehab Centre, where the team met Ms Chipo Gwaze, the manager, a young and impressive social worker dedicated to creating opportunities for persons with disabilities. The centre has benefitted from Casual Day funds, and further ways were discussed to further support the centre’s programs.
Casual Day funds have supported the centre previously, and they were able to recognise several ways NCPD could contribute to their programmes.
The Eastern Cape visitation revealed many advocacy programmes that aligned with the NCPD programmes:
- Education advocacy: Advocating for appropriate facilities and resources in special schools and ensuring they have qualified staff to cater to the needs of learners with disabilities.
- Streamlining Accessibility Initiatives: Advocating for accessible infrastructure in schools, businesses, and public spaces.
- Skills development: Providing funding for initiatives that equip persons with disabilities with marketable skills, as proposed by APD OR Tambo for a wheelchair repair centre.
- Raising awareness: About disability and disability rights can also lead to increased capacity to support persons with disabilities.
iKwezi Lokusa Special School Challenges
iKwezi Lokusa Special School has gone through a lot in the past couple of years. Media coverage and a Carte Blanche episode exposed neglectful living conditions, poor healthcare, and mismanagement. These problems had a profound impact on the learning and well-being of learners with disabilities.
The NCPD has been engaged in advocacy efforts related to these issues:
- Working with education oversight and management.
- Advocating for qualified leadership appointments.
- Tracking the implementation of remodelling the bedrooms.
- Advocacy for accessible facilities, especially bathrooms.
- Giving strategic direction to the school governing body.
Although a new principal was hired and some renovations accomplished, progress is being made. The NCPD continues to press for broad improvements to ensure that all learners have access to quality education in safe and accessible environments.
NCPD Raises Up Education Advocacy
There are many reasons why the NCPD’s involvement in the education discussions remains critical:
- It is meant to protect the rights of learners with disabilities.
- It brings to the surface gaps in service delivery that may normally be glossed over.
- It assists in sustaining the movement in the required development.
- It helps dedicated teachers in difficult settings.
- It develops networks between schools and additional support amenities.
In highlighting needs and progress, the NCPD also generates accountability — and makes the case for inclusive, quality education for all learners.
The NCPD and APD Partnership
The collaboration between the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) and the Associations of and for Persons with Disabilities (APD) is based on their long-standing complementarity.
The NCPD functions nationally, concentrating on policy advocacy and programme development, as well as mobilising resources, whereas more grassroots APD offshoots, such as OR Tambo, partner locally with communities.
This partnership enables the effective rollout of disability rights initiatives:
- NCPD offers strategic guidance, technical capacity, and policy tools.
- APD branches run programmes, dispense services, and find local needs.
- They form a network linking national policy to the realities of community.
The collaboration between NCPD and APD OR Tambo demonstrates the way in which national organisations can provide support to local initiatives whilst also learning valuable lessons from the respective challenges faced on the ground.
Beauty Ntengo’s vision for a farming project and the wheelchair repair centre are examples of community-based projects which the NCPD-APD partnership hopes to make more sustainable.
The facilitated exchange of information and ideas between the NCPD and APD is an ongoing process that integrates their respective expertise toward their mutual goal of building an inclusive society where persons with disabilities have the opportunity to participate fully and equally.