NKOMWA FOUNDATION TRUST CELEBRATES EDUCATION MILESTONE AS BENEFICIARY ATTAINS UNIVERSITY DEGREE
By Staff Reporter
Gwanda- Nkomwa Foundation Trust (NFT) is celebrating a significant education milestone following the successful graduation of one of its early beneficiaries, Nomathemba Mathe, who has attained an Honours Degree in Radio Television and Multimedia Production from Midlands State University after progressing from secondary school to higher education. Nomathemba Mathe was born with physical disability (clubfoot).
Noma’s achievement represents an important milestone for the organisation’s Education Pillar, which seeks to promote access to education and create sustainable opportunities for young people with disabilities, particularly young women and girls who continue to face multiple barriers within education and society.
NFT Executive Director Dr Pick Nkomwa had the opportunity to witness Noma’s achievement firsthand. The occasion provided a powerful moment of reflection on the journey that began several years ago when Noma became one of the NFT’s first education beneficiaries.
From secondary school through to university, her journey has demonstrated the importance of sustained support, personal determination and access to opportunities.
“Seeing Noma reach this milestone brought back many memories of where her journey began. She was among the first beneficiaries of our education programme, and witnessing her graduate with a degree is deeply fulfilling. I am extremely proud and genuinely happy for her,” said Dr Nkomwa.
From Support to Sustainable Impact
For Nkomwa Foundation Trust, Noma’s graduation is more than an individual academic achievement. It is evidence of the importance of investing in inclusive education and measuring development interventions by the tangible changes they create in people’s lives.
The NFT believes that interventions without meaningful outcomes cannot deliver lasting development impact.
Education remains one of NFT’s key pillars because it provides persons with disabilities with the knowledge, confidence, skills and opportunities necessary to participate meaningfully in their communities and pursue economic independence.
For young women with disabilities, access to education can be particularly transformative, helping to challenge stereotypes, reduce dependency and open pathways to employment, leadership and entrepreneurship.
Persons with Disabilities as Agents of Change
Noma’s story reinforces NFT’s belief that persons with disabilities should not be viewed primarily as recipients of charity or welfare.
Rather, when provided with inclusive opportunities, appropriate support and an enabling environment, persons with disabilities can become powerful agents of change and architects of their own futures.
“Persons with disabilities are masters of their own destiny when given the right opportunities. Our role is to help create pathways, remove barriers and ensure that those opportunities are accessible and sustainable,” Dr Nkomwa said.
Noma’s journey therefore serves as an important reminder to development partners, government, communities and other stakeholders that investment in disability inclusion must go beyond short-term assistance.
It must create lasting opportunities, measurable outcomes and pathways towards independence.
Looking Ahead
Nkomwa Foundation Trust remains committed to strengthening its education and empowerment programmes and expanding opportunities for young women and girls with disabilities.
The organisation acknowledges that achieving inclusive education requires collaboration among families, communities, schools, government, development partners, donors and organisations of persons with disabilities.
As Noma celebrates this important achievement, NFT hopes her story will inspire other young people with disabilities to pursue their educational aspirations and encourage stakeholders to continue investing in inclusive education.
Congratulations, Noma, on this remarkable achievement. Your success is not only a personal victory—it is a powerful demonstration of what becomes possible when opportunity meets determination.
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