By Beverly Bizeki
Craft Properties, a civil and construction company headquartered in Kadoma donated 10 wheelchairs to persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Masvingo as part of its corporate social responsibility on June 7, 2024.
Speaking during the handover ceremony held at the City Town hall, Craft Properties Chief Executive Officer Kudakwashe Taruberekera said the donation was meant to assist PWDs in mobility to reduce the burden on those who look after them.
“We have observed that usually PWDs face challenges of discrimination from people in their surroundings hence we have seen that it is better when they are able to move around for themselves unlike when they have to depend on other people for mobility.
Taruberekera said the programme which begun in Kadoma saw 10 people from Kadoma getting wheelchairs while 10 received residential stands and five people with albinism received residential stands also.
“The programme started in Kadoma where we donated 10 wheelchairs as well and 10 residential stands to PWDs. We have plans to build houses for those who have received stands when we get partnerships. This is to ease accommodation challenges for the less privileged with hopes that they will also help others with same challenges as them,” said Taruberekera.
In his speech Masvingo City Mayor Alec Tabe thanked Craft Properties for the initiative which he said was crucial in improving lives of PWDs.
“Access to proper mobility equipment is a fundamental right, yet far too many in our city lack the means to obtain these. Today we take an important step in rectifying this injustice and ensure that those in need can participate fully in the social fabric of our community. These wheelchairs represent improved physical mobility, renewed dignity, independence and opportunity.
“I want to thank Craft Properties Holdings for their tremendous generosity and commitment to making a difference in the lives of or citizens. To our new wheelchair users, I encourage you to make the most of this gift,” said Tabe.
Martha Mambara, grandmother to 15-year-old Simbarashe Mashiri, one of the beneficiaries expressed her heartfelt gratitude as she was responsible for her grandson’s mobility whom she said could neither talk nor walk.
“My grandson cannot walk or do anything by himself and relies on others for mobility. Since he had no wheelchair he had no freedom to move or play around with other children and could not attend school. I am grateful now that he has a wheelchair which will assist him in moving around independently,” said Mambara.
