Meet Umngeni Municipality

After meeting Chris Papas at a local event in Hilton, the Rejuvenate team had the opportunity to share our story—how we started and our mission to make a difference in KZN. Chris was deeply interested in our cause and mentioned that after taking over Umngeni Municipality, he had received complaints about the premises being unfriendly to wheelchair users. As an able-bodied person, we felt Chris might not fully grasp the severity of the issue, so a few months later, we proposed a challenge to him.

We asked Chris to spend a day in a wheelchair, going about his usual tasks. He and the deputy mayor both accepted the challenge and were placed in wheelchairs to carry out their responsibilities at the local municipality. Curious to see how they would manage, we had a film crew follow them for the day. It was eye-opening to watch how their perspectives shifted as they encountered difficulties with everyday tasks, like something as simple as getting into a parking space.

Both Chris and the deputy mayor embraced the challenge with enthusiasm and determination. Since then, they have taken steps to improve the facility, making it more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities. Both chairs used for the exercise were purchased for anyone with a disability to request upon arrival at the Municipality.