Mpho Mathabi needs no arms to be an everyday hero

Born in Dididi, a small village in the Vhembe District, Mpho Mathabi (26) has dreams beyond imagination. He was born without arms.

He remembers that, despite his disability, he had blended in well with all the children in his community, because of the love and support of those closest to him. When asked about his childhood sports, Mpho laughed. “Soccer is my favourite sport and I play it with great skill,” he said.

He started his primary schooling at Tshilidzini Special School. During this general education training phase, Mpho learned to write by using his lower limbs. Once he completed his primary education, he proceeded to Filadelfia Secondary in Pretoria. He followed a commercial stream, with computer studies as subject.

“I completed my matric at Filadelfia and eventually a one-year internship with Polmed,” said Mpho, who now holds a marketing management diploma with working experience.

He is running a non-profit organisation called Vhumatshelo Hashu - Our Future - and the mandate of the organisation is to motivate the youth, especially schoolchildren.

“The motivation is centred around the idea of overcoming physical and circumstantial handicaps that obstruct the education vehicle,” he said.

Mpho is now doing his motivational talks online, live on Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 19:00. The programme is called Online Motivation With Differently Abled Mpho (Tshisima tsha ndivho, hune vhawana thuthuwedzo), which is sponsored by the Gifted Local Talent Foundation from Madombidzha village, a foundation headed by Gift Nefolovhodwe.

“I have a goal to develop an even bigger business model that will set me up as an employer, to be able to recruit the youth in my community,” he said.

Mpho has so far freed himself from physical challenges and is ever eager to better himself. His wish is for the youth in Vhembe to work harder and to sharpen their life goals, irrespective of their challenges.

Mpho is available on 082 715 4273.

Date:28 September 2020

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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