Support Casual Day : I feel free – life without sight
With Casual Day coming up, we spoke to a local Durban man who is thriving despite a visual impairment - he cooks for himself and travels to work by bus and teaches the art of basket weaving at the KwaZulu Natal Blind and Deaf Society.
Casual Day has been launched and runs until September 1. The campaign is the annual fundraiser for the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities’ (NCPD). This year’s theme, #ShareASmile with Persons with Disabilities, aims to promote kindness, goodwill and positivity in support of persons with disabilities in South Africa.
BEING partially sighted has not stopped Elija Ngwenya from grabbing life with both hands. He has cycled in races like the Tsogo Sun Amashova Durban Classic, learned to be self-sufficient and is working as a facilitator, teaching the art of basket weaving at the KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society in Durban’s Central Business District.
Ngwenya is on a quest to share his optimistic outlook with others who are blind or partially sighted – put simply, his message is this: ‘Be free’.
Ngwenya was born with a visual impairment – he is totally blind in his right eye and has about 10% vision in his left eye. Hailing from northern KwaZulu Natal, he was schooled up to Standard Five [Grade Seven] at a special school for children with visual and hearing impairments. It was there that Ngwenya learnt to be free.
“I schooled from 1969 until 1976. During those days, because of apartheid, the highest class [available] was Standard Five,” he said, adding that he learnt to read Braille during his schooling.
As a cyclist, Ngwenya has competed in events on a tandem bicycle.
“We are two people on the bike. There is a pilot in the front who can see where we are going, and I ride as the stoker at the back,” he explained.
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Ngwenya said he tackled the Tsogo Sun Amashova Durban Classic in 2011 and also rode in the Cape Argus around the same time.
“Now I just ride for exercise if I am not busy in the morning,” he said.
Inclusivity goals
Despite people like Ngwenya with achievements like this, people with disabilities are often pushed to the sidelines of society – a point Ngwenya hopes to address.
“I like to be with people. I don’t want people to treat me differently,” he said. “Each of us must accept every person in the world. This world is not ours. We are all just passing through. Today, you will see the sunrise, but you don’t know if you will see the sunset.
“It is important for the broader community to be inclusive and for those with visual impairments to stay optimistic,” said Ngwenya. He recalled working with a man who contemplated suicide after losing his sight.
“He came here [to KZNBDS] in 2013. He stayed with us for about three months and then went home. After about one year, I called this man to see how he was. He said that when he left here, he had decided to [commit suicide] because he did not think he could stay in this world after he lost his sight,” said Ngwenya.
Also read: Blind seamstresses sew blankets for homeless
He called on those with visual impairments to stay positive.
“It’s not the last kilometre of your life. Some people who go blind are afraid to walk – they think there will be a hole in the ground. Just feel free. When I went to school, they would hold your hand and run with you – just to teach you to feel free. Because I learnt that at a young age, I have always felt free,” he said.
Despite his visual impairment, Ngwenya is self-sufficient – he cooks for himself and travels to work by bus.
“When crossing the road, I listen for the [clicking] sound the robot makes. Then I know it is safe to walk,” he explained.
Ngwenya said he moved to Durban to find work, leaving his wife, four children and three grandchildren in his home town of Paulpietersburg.
Support Casual Day campaign
To support the campaign, purchase a sticker for a donation of R20 from the Associations of and for Persons with Disabilities (APDs), government departments, schools, Alpha Pharm, BKB, ESKORT, Clicks, JAM Clothing, Jet, Loot Online, The Hub Finbond and Toys R Us or visit Casual Day online at https://casualday.co.za/.
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