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Since establishing the Ukhanyo Disability Foundation in 2023, Ncumisa Magadla has been helping some of Mdantsane’s most vulnerable residents access the support they need to live with dignity.
Through the foundation, Magadla provides mobility aids to people living with disabilities and assists disadvantaged families with food vouchers, school shoes and sanitary products.
Working with five volunteers based in NU17 and Potsdam, she identifies families in need through home visits and then mobilises sponsors to help.
“Because my volunteers live in the communities I work with, they are the ones who are able to identify homes that need support,” she said.
“They then come to me, and we visit the homes to verify the need. With the help of sponsors, I am able to step in and assist.”
It was during these visits that Magadla became aware of the challenges many children faced in attending school.
“While doing the home visits, I would sometimes find school-age children at home because they did not have shoes, or it was that time of the month and there was not enough money, so they used toilet paper instead,” she said.
“During these visits, I would also find elderly bedridden people and children living with disabilities who needed mobility aids.
“With the help of Gift of the Givers, we are able to provide the equipment they need.”
Those experiences led to the foundation’s school shoes and sanitary products programme, aimed at helping pupils remain in school despite financial hardship.
Through another disability support initiative she worked with, Disabled People South Africa referred 68 young people who are now receiving skills training in cellphone repairs and bookkeeping.
“From that knowledge, I decided to write to various organisations to seek sponsorship so I could ease the burden and ensure that children stay in school,” she said.
Today, the foundation receives support from organisations including Sweetheart, Move Africa, ANCA Meats, Boxer, Shoprite, SPAR Value, Crickley, Sexy Socks, aQuellé, Switch and the Tshepiso Foundation.
Although the organisation was formally registered in 2023, Magadla’s commitment to community development stretches back more than two decades.
In 2003, while working as a project manager at Rail Sack Rail in Komga, she helped create employment opportunities for hundreds of unemployed young people.
“Through the career project I was working on, I employed 300 unemployed youth from Dutywa, Mdantsane, Mthatha and Komga through Universal Sleeper, which was working on level crossing projects,” she said.
Magadla estimates that more than 300 people, most of them pupils from Thandulwazi Senior Primary, Khayalethu Senior Primary, Qhasana Senior Secondary School and Fundulwazi Senior Secondary School, have benefited from her initiatives.
Songezo Mqwashini, who nominated Magadla for the Daily Dispatch Local Heroes Award, described her as a dedicated community leader who quietly addressed barriers preventing children from accessing education.
“School is free, but shoes wear out, uniforms get torn and sanitary pads aren’t always in the budget. The result is quiet absenteeism,” Mqwashini said.
“Kids show up for a week, then disappear. Teachers know why, but they didn’t have a way to fix it.”
Through monthly donations of school shoes, socks and sanitary pads, pupils receive support discreetly and with dignity.
Shoes are handed out privately, while sanitary products are kept in bathrooms and staff rooms where girls can access them without embarrassment.
Mqwashini said teachers at Thandulwazi and Khayalethu had reported fewer pupils missing school, while girls at Qhasana Senior Secondary who previously missed several days of classes each month were now attending more consistently.
“What makes this work stand out is how it’s run. This isn’t a one-off charity drop.
“Donations are collected monthly, sorted by school and delivered directly to the principals and designated teachers who know their learners best,” he said.
Mqwashini said the programme had also helped reduce stigma around menstrual health, with older pupils assisting in distributions and boys becoming part of the conversation.
“This is what local heroism looks like in Mdantsane. It’s not flashy.
“It’s showing up month after month at Thandulwazi, Khayalethu and Qhasana with exactly what learners need to stay in school and focus on learning,” he said.
“God bless Miss N Magadla, for she has given hope to the hopeless.”
Among those whose lives have been changed by the foundation is Makhi Nqayana, whose leg was amputated in 2021.
Before receiving a wheelchair from the foundation, he relied on crutches and often avoided leaving home.
“I used to isolate myself because I knew that if I had to go places, I would end up being a burden to other people,” Nqayana said.
“After receiving a wheelchair from the Ukhanyo Foundation, I am now confident enough to motivate other people living with disabilities as well.”
He said the donation restored more than just his mobility.
“The foundation not only helped me with a wheelchair, but it also restored my hope and confidence.
“That is why I wish more people who are going through what I went through could get to know about her work and reach out for assistance.”
Nqayana hopes the organisation will continue expanding its reach.
“I wish the foundation continued success, because living with a disability is far more painful than many people can imagine, especially when you do not have a support system,” he said.
“There are many people out there who need this kind of help and encouragement.”
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