host posted on December 31, 2005 22:04
Graca Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela, visited patient, Maria Gulele, at Arwyp Medical Centre this week. Gulele, a landmine victim from Vilanculous in Mozambique is undergoing extensive rehabilitation at Arwyp with the aid of Sole of Africa, a landmine victims’ assistance programme supported by among others, Sir Richard Branson, Queen Noor and Brad Pitt. The programme takes care of landmine victims across the world, particularly in Africa.
Maria, a victim of a landmine and above-the–knee amputee for 20 years, started her own hair-dressing business in front of her house in the sand, where she sat on a small chair with her clients in front of her on a grass mat, in summer temperatures of between 35- 45 °C to have their hair braided and styled. During the torrential rainy season, Maria could not attend to her customers in her open-air salon. Without customers, she had no income.
In 2005 the leader of a South African project assisting landmine victims with prosthetic limbs and humanitarian aid enquired about landmine victims who could not reach the rehabilitation centre in Vilanculos. He was told about Maria and decided to visit her. After traveling along the rough, sandy roads which are typical of the area, he found her sitting outside her hut, busy braiding a client’s hair. After seeing the conditions in which she worked, and having witnessed her irrepressible energy, he decided to build her a truly African hair salon: a spacious oval structure with cement floor, pole-framed walls, and thatched roof. Maria and her clients were now more comfortable - shaded from the harsh African sun in the extreme summer heat and sheltered from the rain.
Since then, Maria’s business has expanded; her income has increased; she has started to teach others the art and craft of hairdressing; and she is now in a position to employ the students she has trained. The treatment she is receiving at Arwyp will go even further to enable her to lead a more normal life. Visiting Maria at Arwyp held special significance for Graca Machel, not only because of the role she plays in the Sole of Africa project but also because of the ties to Mozambique which she still holds dear.