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Leonard Ncube , Victoria Falls Reporter
AT the age of 83, visually impaired Mr Sabelo Makhuza’s prayer is for God to perform some miracle and make him regain his eyesight so he can look for a job to take care of his family.

Mr Makhuza and his wife, Oliva (68), had five daughters and a son but the son and one of the daughters are late, leaving the couple with four girls who are all married and living with their husbands.

Three are in South Africa while one lives in Mkhosana, Victoria Falls.

Mr Makhuza was born in Fumugwe, Matobo District before his family was displaced by the settler white regime and dumped in Ndlovu area outside Victoria Falls.

He is a former driver at Avis garage and Victoria Falls Municipality.

He left his job at the local authority after developing eyesight problems before completely becoming blind close to 10 years ago.

He has been in and out of hospital in Bulawayo, St Luke’s in Lupane and also in Livingstone in Zambia and doctors diagnosed glaucoma, which develops when the nerve connecting the eye to the brain is damaged, usually due to high eye pressure.

At some point a doctor recommended some spectacles but they didn’t help, Mr Makhuza said.

He and his wife said they live from hand to mouth and appealed to well-wishers to help them especially with food and to pay some bills.

The elderly couple was one of the resort city’s residents who responded to the mass vaccination rolled out by Government a fortnight ago although health officials advised them to wait for the third phase of the national vaccination exercise when the elderly will be jabbed.

Mr Makhuza said he prays to regain his sight so he can work as a taxi driver and raise money for himself and his wife.

“Life is difficult for me now and it is painful how I have become an ordinary poor person when I used to work. I have no pension after all savings were eroded when the country dollarised. If it wasn’t for challenges with my sight I would have gone to any garage and asked for a car to use to carry people and make money for the family. Right now, I have to rely on ugogo to fend for us,” he lamented.

With the aid of a walking stick, Mr Makhuza can only move around the yard without another person’s assistance but needs help when going outside the yard.

A news crew spotted him being led by his wife who was holding one end of the walking stick as he slowly followed while holding the other end as they left Victoria Falls Hospital vaccination centre a fortnight ago.

A visit to their house in Chinotimba later showed he was lonely.

Mr Makhuza was alone while his wife had gone to harvest their crops in their rural Jengwe Village in Chisuma.
Their daughter Sicolani (44) sometimes visits to help.

“I have memorised some features in the yard hence I can use my stick to walk around. However, I can no longer work or meet friends so life has become difficult for me and sometimes we get food from well-wishers. We wish we could get more help although my main concern is on health.

“I can no longer afford to go to Bulawayo for treatment and I wish I could get help locally or in Hwange where I can get examined,” said Mr Makhuza.

He said he started having challenges with his eyes when he was still working as a driver.

His condition got worse and he completely lost sight about a decade ago.

Mr Makhuza said he also has a problem with his bladder and was once operated as he had challenges passing urine.
He said he misses going to church where he is a member of the Twelve Apostles Church and congregants sometimes visit his house to pray for him.

Mrs Makhuza said she feels sorry for her husband as she can no longer do heavy tasks because she also has problems with her knees and feet.

“Life has been difficult for us and as we speak, I am harvesting groundnuts at home so that we can at least have something. It is just the two of us at home as all our daughters got married and are staying with their husbands. It is difficult to get all provisions and pay for water and other rates hence we wish we could get people who can assist us,” she said.

The couple stays at its own house and has two tenants. Anyone wishing to help can contact Mrs Makhuza on 0777747084.
— @ncubeleon