Scores of Stroke Survivors Wellness South Africa Foundation (SSWSAF) members from Makhaza urged local business people to assist them with exercising equipment.
This emerged during their weekly training session at Desmond Tutu Community Hall in Makhaza on Thursday 2 May.
SSWSAF is a non profit organisation (NPO) for stroke survivors based in Khayelitsha. The NPO educates and empowers survivors about the illness.
SSWSAF co-founder Themba Tsotsobe, who has a stroke, described the organisation as one of its kind. He said they established the foundation in 2016 to motivate and support each other.
“After I suffered my stroke in 2016, I used to attend physiotherapy at the Helderberg Stroke Support Group in Helderberg. When I returned from the sessions, I used to share my experiences with a friend who did not have a stroke. One day, he suggested we start our group and assist people living with stroke in our area,” said Tsotsobe.
He said they initially used word of mouth and social media to mobilise people.
To date, the NPO has 28 members from Khayelitsha.
They are divided into two groups to make the numbers manageable.
“Our training sessions are every Thursday. There is a group that starts from 18 to 39 years of age. Another group is for people from 40 years and above. So, we can’t attend at the same time. Each group comes twice a month,” he explained.
Tsotsobe stated that besides exercising, they also have sessions where they speak about their challenges and progress.
“It is like a club. We sit down and talk, sharing our experiences. Other members don’t have people to guide them. So, this organisation is a safe space for them to offload or learn,” he said.
However, he stated that their main challenge is they don’t have training equipment.
When the City Vision asked him about the whereabouts of other members he said they didn’t come because of transport.
“The majority of us walk when we come here. We don’t have transport to fetch us from home and take us back. It is difficult for others because they are not walking properly and they get tired. Some members are coming once a month,” he said.
Tsotsobe expressed that stroke is a health-related problem, not witchcraft.
He urged people to stop associating stroke with black magic.
“When I first had a stroke I went to the traditional healers for help. They (traditional herbs) didn’t help me until I decided to consult a professional doctor,” he explained.
He said its symptoms are trouble walking, speaking and understanding.
A group member Vathiswa Msila said she joined the group early this year. The mother of two said she suffered from a stroke in 2016.
“I was staying at VT informal settlement in Site B at that time. It was in May. I was coming from the toilet in the evening. When I was trying to open a gate I felt the left side of my body numb and heavy. I couldn’t close the gate until I called one of my children to assist me.
“My face was already twisted aside but I was still able to speak and walk,” he explained.
She said the following day that was when everything started to change and both her left arm and leg were giving up. Msila said her stroke was caused by heart-related problems.
“I got a heart problem when I was still young. My doctor told me that my arteries to the heart burst because of too much pressure of blood pumping into the heart. So, my life has changed since then. The doctor said the stroke has something to do with my heart-related problem,” explained Msila.
She described the foundation as a safe space for them.
Msila said keeping on exercising every week helps her a lot.
She urged other stroke survivors not to sit at home and come and join them.
