Blind bowlers thrive in Berea

BLIND and visually impaired bowlers gather at the Berea Bowling Club every Sunday for a game on the greens. The club, Visually Impaired Bowlers Port Natal consists of several totally blind bowlers who are accompanied by assistants known as directors who assist them with their shots.

The Berea Mail recently visited the club to learn more.

A rope is placed along the green from the mat down to the jack, to give bowlers a sense of direction as they feel the rope. The director then stands about 3m in front of the bowler and uses their voice to give the bowler further direction.

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Dumani Shezi, who volunteers as a director, explains the process.

“As a director, you need to place the bowler on the mat and make sure they are standing in the perfect position. You are their direction because they can’t see. They follow your voice. You stand 3m away and they respond to your voice. It’s very exciting to tell them how close their bowl came to the jack,” he said.

“I just love helping people. I am not a bowler myself, I just come here every Sunday to help anyone who needs help,”added Shezi.

Chairperson of the club, Peter Lonsdale said new members are welcome.

“We play every Sunday afternoon, unless the weather stops us. At the moment we have seven bowlers and five helpers that we call directors – they are fully sighted people. We need sighted people to help us. We also have plenty of room for blind or visually impaired people to come and join and we can teach them to bowl and provide them with bowls. If they have transport, all the better, but some of our helpers offer transport as well,” said Lonsdale.

Lonsdale said a blind person has limited outdoor activities to enjoy, making the club an important part of their lives. This is certainly true for blind bowler, David Mpungose who said bowls is often the most exciting part of his day.

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“It’s beautiful to be on the greens. It keeps me active,” said Mpungose

Mpungose, who is totally blind, has been bowling since 2009. He lost his eye sight at the age of 15 due to a genetic disease.

“When I play bowls, I don’t see any shapes, colour or light, I can only hear the voice of the director,” he said.

When he is not on the greens, Mpungose works from home, making crafts.

Another bowler, Tryphina Zwane lost her sight at the age of two.

“I like bowls because it keeps me moving and active, I am totally blind, I can’t see at all. It’s very interesting to come and play bowls,” said Zwane.

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