Eyewitness News spoke to the founder, Thato Mphuthi, about the award and the work her organisation does.
Founder of disability NPO Enabled Enlightenment, Thato Mphuthi at the South African Heroes Awards on Saturday 24 September 2022. Picture: Supplied
JOHANNESBURG – In every community, we have unsung heroes who go out of their way to help others in any way possible.
These heroes make a mark in their communities without expecting anything in return.
And on Saturday, these heroes were celebrated by the South African Heroes Awards (SAHAs).
The awards, which are in their fourth year, were launched in 2019 with the aim of acknowledging community builders.
One of the winners of the awards was disability NPO Enabled Enlightenment, Eyewitness News spoke to the founder, Thato Mphuthi, about the award and the work her organisation does.
“Winning this award is like getting a warm embrace. We are grateful and inspired to continue disabling norms,” said Mphuthi.
These awards celebrate ordinary South Africans, who are doing extraordinary things to uplift their communities.
Nominees are chosen from communities by those who benefit from the services rendered by these people or the participants can nominate themselves based on the work they are doing.
“It’s important to recognise the human before their disability and limitations. Removing barriers to inclusion for people with disabilities and encouraging empowerment to fully participate in societal life benefits the entire community. As a result, barriers faced by people with disabilities are detrimental to society, and accessibility is required to ensure progress and development for everyone.”
The awards recognise the important social and environmental contributions made by organisations through the excellence of service, commitment to their beneficiaries, ethical behaviour and environmental sustainability.
Mphuthi lost the use of her legs when she was 8-years-old. She then endured years of bullying and discrimination.
“I have a mobility impairment which I acquired at the age of 8, just a few months before my 9th birthday. I started experiencing needle like pains under my right foot and my right leg started shrinking as I walked on my tippy-toes on the one foot. My parents took me to doctors after a while when I could no longer walk. It was believed that my hip was twisted from playing hoola hoop – this was one of the narratives that came from my community, which I also believed and later I was diagnosed with TB in my right hip, took treatment, it was clear but the condition was still there and was later found that I had osteoarthritis. Ever since, I’ve had my sixth total hip replacement operation done. I am managing the condition better.”
Through her experiences growing up in a society that sought to break her for being different, she decided to form a non-profit organisation, Enabled Enlightenment, making it her life’s work to help uplift disabled young people and educate society about disabilities.
“A space that seeks to educate, inform, and sensitise you on issues of disability. In the process, we will get an opportunity to learn, unlearn, and relearn new ways of doing and communicating better without offending any person living with a disability,” is how she describes her NGO.
“EE has dealt with social inclusion through education and training of individuals to change their outlook of disability and persons with disabilities. We have contributed to the amendment of the National Youth Policy 2030 to ensure that interventions and strategies speak to our needs and experiences” said Mphuthi to Eyewitness News.
We had the honor of being joined by peer advocate @_mphuthithato of @ee_enabled at the Research Literacy Zone as she shared with #AIDS2022 that all planning and interventions should center the experiences of Black and Brown women and women with disabilities. Watch more here! pic.twitter.com/1FEGxuh2lD
AVAC (@HIVpxresearch) July 31, 2022
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