By Nontokozo Gemani
- Mkhonza cannot use her hands, but she types with her lips and operates her laptop with her mouth every day.
- She founded the Living Able Foundation in 2013 to support children and young people with disabilities through advocacy and education.
Katlego Mkhonza cannot use her hands. She runs her laptop with her mouth, types on her phone using her lower lip, and her speech needs careful listening to follow.
The 36-year-old from Kwa-Thema was born with spastic cerebral palsy, a condition that affects movement and motor function. She is also wheelchair bound.
Mkhonza founded the Living Able Foundation in 2013, to empower children and young people with disabilities. Someone helps her with meetings and funding applications, but she directs the work herself.
Her journey into advocacy began at nine, when she joined the Disabled Children Action Group. It taught her to speak up for herself.
“That early experience ignited a lifelong mission to challenge discrimination, influence policy and create spaces where people living with disabilities can thrive,” she said.
Young people with disabilities face extra barriers to work. One study found only 13.1% of young people with disabilities were employed, compared with 32.9% of those without a disability.
The foundation runs disability awareness programmes that bring children with and without disabilities together. In 2025, it held an integration fun day at Matshidiso LSEN School.
“Disability should never determine the value of a person’s dreams or their contribution to society,” Mkhonza said.
Mkhonza has been nominated for a KwaTsaduza Imbokodo Award as Most Promising Community Builder. In 2024, she received the Kwa-Thema Icon Award for her work in disability inclusion.
Mkhonza matriculated from Muriel Brand School in 2011. She hopes to study Political Science, to help shape policies on accessibility and equality for people with disabilities.
Her greatest hope is that young people with disabilities grow up knowing their disability does not define their potential.
Image caption:Pictured above: Katlego Mkhonza operates her laptop and phone using her mouth and lips.Image source: Supplied
