Sam’s Story

Sam Makhasi was a successful chauffer. He is a tall, handsome man who has a lovely disposition, always keen to chat and pass the time of day with whoever he meets. Ukuthasa met him when we were refurbishing the community centre in Lwandle, having completed the construction of 35 low cost houses in Fatyella Square. Sam was employed as a casual painter to work onsite and painted from his wheelchair, or the floor, by crawling around the rooms. He would paint the lower parts of the walls whilst other workers painted the higher areas! During the period of pre-election violence in Cape Town, Sam was caught in crossfire and suffered a bullet wound. Under the triage system in an overworked hospital A&E unit he was classified as unlikely to survive and left on a stretcher in the corridor until someone had time to attend to him. He remembers laying there sleeping, waking, perhaps semi-conscious for many hours. When he did regain consciousness he began to shout for help. He was rushed into a treatment room and found to have a bullet lodged in his spine. Months later after many operations, he was discharged from hospital but had no feeling or use in one foot. He could limp and crawl but was not able to walk. We discovered that he could do fine beadwork and we were able to put him in touch with a company that employed him to make beaded labels and jar covers. When the company relocated, Sam began to make HIV beadpins for tourist operators in Cape Town with start- up funding from Ukuthasa. The Health Service had been prepared to operate on Sam's ankle and foot, however the long and ardous journey to hospital was difficult for him to manage and often he would wait all day only to be sent home due to surgery lists being superseded with emergency procedures. Through Helderberg Christian Church, we were able to connect Sam with a local surgeon who, having met him, agreed to do the operation without charge at the local hospital in Somerset West. After many months of physiotherapy and post operative treatment, Sam is now able to walk. Ukuthasa also funded alterations to his low cost home (provided by the local authority) so that when he is tired and needs to use his wheelchair, he can access the whole house. Sam is one of Ukuthasa's success stories. We believe that we have been able to make a real difference to the quality of his life. Beaded pin badges can be purchased for £2, contact Laia Martinez to get yours.

Small Business

Development

Ukuthasa supports small businesses with start-up funding. We sell handmade jewellery, see below for more information

HIV beaded pin

badge

These handmade HIV awareness pin badges are only £2, contact us if you would like to place an order.

Other projects

Handmade Jewellery Ukuthasa supports small business projects with start-up funding to help men and women develop skills which can be used to create a source of income.

More success stories

Lwandle Housing Project One of Ukuthasa's biggest projects to date. After receiving a grant from the National Lottery's Community Fund, Ukuthasa built 35 houses for families in Lwandle in the Western Cape. Lezaine Davis Helderberg Academy provides mentorship and life skills training through sport to young people in disadvantaged communities.