A 65-year-old ouma has been waiting patiently for a new wheelchair after the screws and nuts literally started falling off her old one.
But thanks to Youssef Kanouni of the Woodstock Community Policing Forum, Aunty Mymoena as she is fondly known, can now roll again.
Youssef does a lot of charity work in his community, donating bread and food to the disadvantaged during lockdown.
When he met Aunty Mymoena recently, he discovered that she was a double amputee for the past 24 years after suffering from diabetes.
Her daughter, Soraya Adams, 40, is currently caring for her mother and is the breadwinner in the family.
SPEECHLESS: Aunty Mymoena, 65, from Woodstock in her new wheelchair
On Tuesday, Soraya, a mom of two, showed the broken seat and bars of the rolstoel which had been making life very uncomfortable for her elderly mother.
“She has had this one for about six years and the screws and nuts and bolts started falling out when she would wheel it around,” Soraya says.
“The seat is broken and even the bars are exposed, so she sits there very uncomfortably.
“I am a single parent and I am the only one working.”
Youseff, who has been visiting various night shelters in the City, met up with DA councillor, Sumaya Taliep, encouraged her to visit Mymoena’s home.
When Taliep saw the need, she managed to source a new wheelchair within a few days, which was taken to Aunty Mymoena yesterday.
“I was deeply moved when I met Aunty Mymoena, she could hardly sit on the wheelchair.
“I told her do not worry. We need to not forget the vulnerable and the aged,” says Sumaya.
DEEPLY MOVED: Sumaya Taliep
Youssef says they are grateful for the new chair: “We really appreciate this, for making a dream come true for Aunty Mymoena.”
Aunty Mymoena says she was speechless when she saw the reason for the visit: “I am a very private person, but I just want to say thank you and I simply love it.”