I am always ‘me’, not my disability, at Vodacom

I have been at Vodacom for the past 16 years. I am a Content Creator in Talent & Culture: Capability team.   I look after the design of Vodacom Business New Products, Curriculums and Projects, working closely with Product Managers to ensure relevant content is captured in the Learner Guides, PowerPoint Presentations, Videos, and eLearnings.

I live with a disability, but I am seen as an individual and treated fairly, with the support I need, provided. There is disability awareness training provided for everyone, which provides a better understanding of employees with disabilities and creates a supportive work culture. One of my colleagues assists me with my laptop bag, and sees to it that I have water, coffee or tea throughout the day, and during emergency evacuations, my colleagues immediately decide who is going to wait or walk with me

How I acquired my disability 

In 1996 I was diagnosed with an intramedullary tumour within my spinal cord. I had an operation and after it I was paralysed. I followed a strict rehabilitation routine and various medications to rebuild the tone in my muscles, and today I am mobile and active although I  walk with difficulty.  

I started to experience an increase in tightness and spasm in my gluteal muscles, quadriceps and hamstrings in 2022. An MRI showed degenerative changes of the L4-S1 vertebra, and a lumbar fusion was done. During 2023 the same happened again, and this time the MRI showed degenerative changes of L2/3 and Level 3/4 levels. Again I had surgery. Now I am almost a year post-surgery and following a rehabilitation program with my physiotherapist. Currently I am making use of a crutch but hope to be able to walk without it in the next few months  

Vodacom has ensured I can sit or stand at work by providing me with a desk that has an adjustable height. This helps a lot as I can’t sit for long periods. They have also allocated me a parking bay close to the entrance. I also receive a lot of support from mySenior Leadership and colleagues. They are always concerned about me, making sure that I am okay and not needing anything. 

The Disability Employee Forum

I am in the fortunate position of being the secretary of the Vodacom Disability Employee Forum (DEF), a role I’ve had since the forum was established. My main function is to keep the agenda and take the meeting minutes and send it out to all in the forum.The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is always a highlight on the calendar. We invite various organisations to join us, such as the Society of the Blind, Guide Dog Society etc, and they address - the audience. We all work closely together in the forum to ensure that all the stalls are ready, guests are taken care of, and keynote speakers are fully briefed. 

We also hold webinars throughout the year addressing various kinds of disabilities.   Recently, we created a video –introducing  ourselves, and providing a little information about our disability and how we adapted to it. 

At Vodacom, having a disability doesn’t stop me from being included in anything. And for me, being part of our DEF community has been especially valuable. It helps me understand other people with a disability as well as myself better, and allows me the opportunity to learn new perspectives, feel empowered and supported by others, and contribute towards a common goal while building meaningful relationships.