Thabisa Chwayita Sobuce (25) grew up in a village in Bizana from the Eastern Cape. She was raised by her grandmother who used her social grant to provide for the family. Thabisa and her siblings somehow survived and grew up under those circumstances, their grandmother made sure that they all get an education.
“I was bewitched at school and that is when I became disabled. I started feeling terrible pains in my stomach and I suffered for almost five weeks vomiting something black,” reveals Thabisa.
Her parents took her to different hospitals and doctors but she couldn’t get help as they could not diagnose her illness.The illness progressed slowly until she couldn’t walk at all.
“I never thought that the illness will last for such a long time. I always had hope that things will get back to normal until I realised that “no man life goes on”. Like I never pictured myself being on a wheelchair, so I kept on pushing and focusing on my goals, working hard to achieve them when I grow up. Most of the time I did not pay much attention to the pain. Besides, I wanted to show the devil that whether physically challenged or not Thabisa is still going to be successful.” She said.
Then Thabisa decided to go back to school but it was challenging. Her parents and relatives suggested that she goes to a special school for people living with disabilities. At first she was against the idea because she didn’t want to change schools. However, she ended up making peace with that. She recalls: “For the first time in my life, I met unique people (disabled). In the beginning I was afraid of them, I cried for hours and wanted to go back home, but with time I accepted the challenge.”