Support the KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society on World White Cane Day
In honour of World White Cane Safety Awareness Day, Caxton Local Media visited the KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society to speak with Elija Ngwenya who runs the Basketry Department and teaches the art of basket-weaving.
WORLD White Cane Safety Awareness Day is commemorated every year on October 15. The date is set aside to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane. For blind people, the white cane is an essential tool that gives the visually impaired the ability to achieve a full and independent life. It allows blind people to move freely and safely from place to place – whether it’s at work, at school or around neighbourhoods.
In honour of this day, Caxton Local Media visited the KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society (KZNBDS) located in the Durban CBD to speak with Elija Ngwenya who runs the Basketry Department at the KZNBDS, where he teaches the art of basket-weaving.
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.
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He joined the KZNBDS in 2013. “I have been here for almost 10 years now, and this year is my last year. I will be retiring in December of this year. I started the Basketry Department shortly after I started here, when the KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society was called the Bantu Blind and Deaf Society, and I trained deaf and blind people. There are no limitations here – we use special equipment. The deaf people do the cutting, measurements and crafting. And for the blind people, there are rulers with measurement dots for them to measure and feel – we work as a team.”
Ngwenya says the Basketry Department receives orders with specific measurements and designs, and the team then get to work based on the specifications. “We are sometimes told that the prices we put on our items are too expensive, but you will find that the same item will be bought from customers at a higher price from a mainstream retailer. We set our prices based on how much it costs to make the item. We are passionate about what we do, and I encourage people to support local.”
Ngwenya says that to make the baskets and other wicker items, the team uses masonite, a type of hardboard made from wood and wicker from sugar-cane stalks. “The masonite and the wicker are measured and cut, and the wicker is washed in chlorine water before we start to weave it into the shape we want,” said Ngwenya.
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Ahead of his retirement, Ngwenya says he is grateful to have met and worked with so many amazing people through the KZNBDS. “I have had very good years here. The people who will be taking over have been trained well, and I am confident they will do a good job. I am sad to be leaving, but I am also looking forward to my retirement – I can’t wait to just sit all day and enjoy my retired life.”
If you would like to order a wicker item from the KZNBDS Basketry Department, call 031 309 4991 or email info@bdskzn.org.za.
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