Blind athlete surfs with heart and soul
Para surfer, Danito Mondlane is totally blind - he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma as an infant.
BEREA resident, Danito Mondlane (18) placed first in his category when he competed in the KZN Para Surfing Championships at Addington Beach last weekend. The event was hosted by Made for More, an NPO that aims to empower people with disabilities through sport.
As an infant, Mondlane was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a type of cancer that affects the eyes. Today he is totally blind, and with a host of awards and achievements in tow, he is proving that a visual impairment does not make him disabled, but rather differently-abled.
Mondlane lost his sight at a young age.
“I had cancer at the age of one or two. Doctors had to remove my eyes. The ones I have now are prosthetic,” he said.
While he has always enjoyed swimming, Mondlane said surfing presented a new challenge. He took up the sport in 2016 when he was a Grade 7 learner.
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“Gaining the correct momentum and balance to stay on the board is a challenge. After years of practice it gets easier to stand in the right place on the board. I have an idea of where to stand now,” he said.
Taking to the ocean may seem intimidating without sight of the waves, but Mondlane takes it in his stride. When he faces myths and misconceptions about visual impairment, he doesn’t take it to heart.
“I let people believe what they want because I know what is true,” he said.
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Father, Marciano Monjane echoes Mondlane’s strong vision, saying, “His only limitation is that he can’t see – and we all have limitations. I can’t speak Afrikaans, so when I’m in an Afrikaans environment, I’m ‘disabled’. In the same way, Danito can do anything except those things that strictly require vision. He started riding a bicycle when he was two years old.”
The youngster has also swam in the aQuellé Midmar Mile, tried his hand at skate boarding and has been bungee jumping. Adding to these feats, Mondlane is an accomplished musician- he plays clarinet, saxophone, guitar and keyboard. He is also a mixing engineer and shares the songs he produces online.
“He has already achieved what most musicians aspire to – he has performed (clarinet) as a soloist with the KZN Philhalmonic Orchestra,” added proud father, Monjane.
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