2008 MANY STORIES ONE VOICE ONLINE COLLECTION

Dan Ngcobo, Age 24, South Africa

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My name is Dan Ngcobo  and this photo of me and my niece  was taken at my home in KwaNgcolosi where I live with my parents and my brother and his family. In South Africa, actually in the whole world, they are many people who don't understand about disability and it up to us as people living with disability to come out and use our voices. To say “Hey, we are here and we have something to offer to the world.”  We can use our voices to make sure that people living with disability get the same respect, love and humanity as everyone else.

FRIENDS            

by Dan Ngcobo

One sunny morning John was just sitting outside then his friend Mike came to visit him. "Hey John! How's it?" John just looked at him and nodded his head. "Bro don't tell me you've just got up?" John replied "Okay, Mike I have  just got up. Now let me just sit. Actually, you know what? Come lets go and sit next to the road." Off they went. Mike had something to sit on and John was in his motorized wheelchair. "So tell me my friend, how you're really doing?" Mike asked.  John just took a breath and said, "I'm alive so that means I'm fine." The two boys laughed. "Oh man! John! Look at that!" John turned his head and looked. Mike smiled and while he was going up to this good looking girl, he said to John, "Watch and learn my boy.”

When he came back he had a big grin on his face. "Man, Oh man! Am I good or what?" John looked at him and asked, "What is her name?" "Umm wait let me check my phone." "She gave you her phone number?"  "Oh! John, what are you asking? What is my name? Oh it is Sindi. Actually, let me call her." When John looked at Mike the big grin was gone. "What’s wrong?" John asked.  Mike looked at John with a disappointed face. "Well it says the number you have dialed ..." John just looked at him and just burst out laughing, “anyway she wasn't that hot." "Oh please Mike! She was hot." Mike looked at John and asked, "Did you want to speak to her?" John just looked down and said, "No man." "Tell me John, What is the hardest for you about your disability?" "Well yes, I can’t walk and I can't use my hands very well but man to talk like this. It’s really hard."

John grinned, "You know to get a phone call and hear someone asking if you are drunk." "What?" Asked Mike with a perplexed expression on his face. "Yarh! If someone calls a wrong number and it comes to me, Yarh I get told that I'm drunk." "You get told.... you are drunk?. Wow! I don't know how I would handle that." "Believe me, you do learn. I mean I remember trying to call my grandma, I dialed a wrong number and a lady picked up. When she heard the way I'm speaking, she just laughed and told me that I was drunk." "Did you tell her that you are disabled?" "Yarh! I did" "And?" "And she said disabled, and laughed." "Wow I actually can’t believe that. How did you feel?" "Man I felt the tears coming down." "Well now you've got this ABC." John laughed and said, "It not ABC, its AAC."

"Does it help you?" "Yarh, I mean look at how I can stand in front of people and tell them about disability. Imagine if I did that without my laptop?" Mike smiled and said, "Yarh I can just imagine, everyone will be like. Well I was with him up to the first  line, after that I got lost." The two guys laughed.

The Ngubane Family      

by Dan Ngcobo

They were a family of four, Mr. and Mrs. Ngubane and their two children, Paul and Sammy. Paul is six years old and his sister is twenty and in grade ten. One evening while they were watching T.V. Paul asked his father when he was going to start going to school. His father laughed and shouted, "Wait, wait! Turn down the T.V! No, no turn it off! My son is talking.” He continued “Now Paul you were saying?"

Paul, thinking that his father was so happy to hear that question, asked again, "When am I starting school?" The parents looked at each other and just burst out laughing. His father told Paul to ask again and when he did, they laughed even more but Sammy didn’t laugh. Mrs. Ngubane told Sammy to take her brother to his room. When Sammy picked up her young brother Paul asked, "Sammy do you think dad and mom will take me to school tomorrow?" Sammy looked at him with a long, sad face. "I don't know Paul, I don't know."

Next morning off she went to school. At school that day they had a motivational speaker. He spoke about disability and he talked about AAC. When he finished speaking, Sammy went to him, "Hi, I'm Sammy." I have a six year old brother and he is also disabled. He can't walk and he speaks like you do but I don't think he realises how he sounds”.  Sipho, the motivational speaker said "Well at six years, I also thought that I spoke like everyone else. So, I think just give him time." "Okay, but my parents don’t believe he can go to school”. Sipho replied “Have you asked them about school for Paul? Maybe you must ask first to see what they will say."

When she got home Sammy screamed, "Mom! Dad!" "What!" they both shouted back. "Don't tell us that you're getting married now, we had enough jokes last night from your brother for this week." Sammy said "Please listen, today I met a disabled guy who came to give a presentation." "Hang on, hang on didn't you say he was disabled?" "Yes mom, I did." Mr. and Mrs. Ngubani just burst out laughing, "A disabled person giving a presentation? Please!" "Mom, dad, I'm not making this up and he speaks like Paul." Sammy's dad looked at her. "So your school got someone that can’t speak clearly to come to speak to you?" "Yes dad only he didn't use his voice. He had a laptop and the laptop spoke for him." Incredulously Sammy’s dad asked "So you are telling us that you saw a talking laptop?" "Yes I did and I got the guy’s number." “Well, call him and ask him to visit."

Two days later Sipho came to visit. He showed them the laptop and they were very impressed.   Sipho told them that the most important thing they could do for their son was to take him to school. He also told them about Interface and that they would help Paul to communicate using AAC.  So they did just as Sipho  had said and fifteen years later Paul is doing what Sipho did,  teaching people about AAC.