Source: THE SAD PLIGHT OF DISABLED VENDOR IN HARARE’S CBD – herald
Arron Nyamayaro
WHEN Isabel Takaindisa needs to use the toilet, she doesn’t simply walk in like what most people do.
At 53, and living with a disability that requires a wheelchair, she has to rely on her 20-year-old son, Malvern, to lift her from her vending stall on the streets of Harare and carry her into the toilet.
And her challenges don’t end there.
The ablution facilities were never designed for wheelchair users.
For Isabel, the struggle is not only physical.
It is a daily test of dignity, safety and independence in a system where basic needs are treated as an afterthought.
“In my case, it’s not that I don’t want to use the facility,” she says.
“It’s that the place was not made for a wheelchair.
“So, I have to depend on my son to lift me all the time.
“Sometimes I fail to get assistance when rains pour.”
Her son, though still young, becomes the person who shoulders the load, sometimes literally, so that she can meet basic needs.
“My son is like my other leg and his love is unmeasurable.
“Besides assisting me from one place to the other, he dresses me and I feel sorry for him.
“My worries are on whether this assistance is not affecting him psychologically.”
That is a burden that often falls unseen in communities where infrastructure is not wheelchair-inclusive.
Instead of buildings being designed for access, disabled people and their families adapt around obstacles that should not exist.
Isabel’s challenges extend beyond buildings.
She also recounts an incident when a kombi driver dumped her, with her wheelchair, on the road.
She describes being left in a dangerous and vulnerable position – an experience that underlined for her how easily disabled people can be treated as an inconvenience in public spaces.
Isabel’s message is clear: accessibility should not be charity.
It is a basic requirement.
What she and other wheelchair users need are ablution facilities that can be reached easily and safely, entrances and layouts that accommodate wheelchairs, and public transport practices that protect disabled commuters rather than endanger them.
As Isabel continues navigating barriers that were built without her in mind, her story stands as a reminder that disability access is not optional.
It is part of how society defines whether it truly includes everyone.
In an interview, her son said he has been assisting her mother at the age of 14 and is now accustomed to it.
“I have no problem in lifting my mother and giving her the care, she is my mother.
“I have been doing this for some time and assisting her is in my veins and strength,” said Malvern.
Despite these challenges, Isabel managed to acquire a residential stand under a cooperative in Harare South District.
“I have been vending since 2012 and got my leg amputated last year in March.
“I have been on a wheel chair since the age of 24.
“I managed to build and the house is now at window level.
“I fell sick and got hospitalised otherwise I could have completed building my house.
“At the moment I am renting one room and lives with my son,” said Isabel.
COMMENTS