DATING WHEN YOU HAVE A DISABILITY

● THEMBELIHLE NGCAI IS A COMPELLING VOICE IN THE DISCOURSE ON LOVE, ACCESSIBILITY, AND IDENTITY. AT 31, SHE
EMBODIES RESILIENCE AND PASSION AS A DISABLED BLACK WOMAN LIVING IN THE VERY HEART OF SOUTH AFRICA'S
VIBRANT YET CHALLENGING SOCIO-ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE. WITH A RARE NEUROMUSCULAR CONDITION KNOWN AS
SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY, LIHLE NAVIGATES LIFE FROM A WHEELCHAIR, FACING SOCIETAL AND LOGISTICAL
CHALLENGES WITH UNWAVERING COURAGE. RESIDING IN A NATION MARKED BY ECONOMIC DISPARITIES AND
ENTRENCHED ABLEISM, LIHLE'S JOURNEY IS EMBLEMATIC OF EMPOWERMENT AMIDST ADVERSITY. HER PROFESSIONAL
LIFE AS AN AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST OFFERS A KEEN LENS THROUGH WHICH SHE EXPLORES NARRATIVES OFTEN
OVERSHADOWED BY MAINSTREAM TOPICS. FROM HER HOME IN A RURAL PROVINCE TO HER CAREER IN AN EVOLVING
INDUSTRY, LIHLE'S EXPERIENCES REFLECT A NUANCED UNDERSTANDING OF LOVE AND POWER DYNAMICS.
● DELVING INTO INTERABLED RELATIONSHIPS, LIHLE ENGAGES WITH PARTNERS WHO MAY NOT FULLY SHARE HER
EXPERIENCES YET PLAY INTEGRAL ROLES IN HER JOURNEY. HER PERSPECTIVE THAT DATING TRANSCENDS ECONOMICS AND
ENTERS THE REALM OF POLITICAL AND STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES IGNITES CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ACCESSIBLE
SPACES AND SOCIETAL ATTITUDES.
● THEMBELIHLE NGCAI IS A SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVANT, DISABILITY INCLUSION AND MEDIA STRATEGIST, AND
FOUNDER OF “FROM LIHLE'S DESK,” A DIGITAL FEATURE THAT OFFERS SHARP, PERSONAL, AND POLITICALLY GROUNDED
REFLECTIONS ON DISABILITY, JUSTICE, IDENTITY, AND SOCIAL CHANGE—WRITTEN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A BLACK,
DISABLED WOMAN LIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA’S RURAL EASTERN CAPE. SHE IS ALSO A DIVERSIBILITY D-30 LIST NOMINEE
(2025 - HONOUREES TO BE ANNOUNCED IN JULY 2025).
● THEMBELIHLE NGCAI JOINS US LIVE IN STUDIO