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Unemployment graphic.
A 26-year-old man living with a disability says lack of employment opportunities has led him to start his own business.
Bongeleni Khumalo from Elim outside Louis Trichardt, Limpopo, was born with cerebral palsy and uses crutches to walk.
The condition is described as a disorder caused by abnormal brain development that often affects a person’s movement and posture.
Khumalo has opened a barber shop in Elim where he employs one person and makes enough to provide for his family.
He says he was motivated to open the shop in 2021 after struggling to get a job after passing matric.
“I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a baby. Doctors said I would struggle to walk as my spinal cord was affected. I started this business because I struggled to get employment due to my disability and business is going well,” says Khumalo.
Video | Disabled man beats odds to start his own business
Meanwhile, some of Khumalo’s regular customers, who happen to be twins, Danko and Fhulufhelo Mathumba say they love Khumalo’s establishment.
The Mathumba twins says they have been Khumalo’s customers since 2021.
‘He is a very good worker that is why I come here to support him. I see from another people and I told myself that I can come here and try so I come and try and I like it even if I pay him I don’t have a problem cutting my hair here for three years. I like it here because he is good at his job and he treats customers well, I often come and make payments later, ” says the Mathumba twins.
