Resident’s life after going blind

CBD ? Imagine having your sight and then having it taken away from you in the blink of an eye.

Well, that’s the reality of Mohlakeng resident Makgotso Sere who lost her eyesight at the age of 32 – following an alleged medical procedure gone wrong.

Since then, her life has been different and she has had to come to terms with her reality over the years.

Although she said acceptance of her condition was a bitter pill to swallow, she eventually had to put herself through it, to embrace life for what it is.

“I lost my sight back in 2014 and it was one of the worse challenges I’ve had to encounter. It took its toll on me and all I could do was wake up, sit, and think about my condition.

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“I went from being fully sighted to seeing nothing. I had to come to terms with my new normal and it certainly wasn’t easy, especially because I wasn’t born this way. Yes, it took me some time to get used to it but I am now in a better space and have since accepted and have adjusted to my condition,” said Sere.

She added that at the time, her son who is now 15 years old was about to start primary school and although he initially had no idea what was happening to his mother, he has learned about her condition over the years.

He is still adjusting to his mother being blind and is optimistic that she will one day regain her full sight.

Also read: Police, others informed how to treat the blind

Meanwhile, Sere said in all of this, what pains her the most is how community members view blind people as incapable and how job opportunities are somehow not available for them.

“People don’t consider us that much and I don’t blame them. It’s the lack of knowledge they have about the blind community. What also pains me the most is our inability to get jobs. It’s almost like we are being overlooked and we end up feeling like we don’t exist. Yes we are blind but we can bring something to the table,” said Sere.

While her struggles and those of many visually impaired people continue to exist, comfort exists for them at the Randfontein Community Library in the form of a state-of-the-art computer for the visually impaired and blind community.

This computer will allow the visually impaired and blind community to read, type, and surf the net as well as compile their CVs, for possible job opportunities.

It was brought in through a partnership in the form of a service level agreement between Rand West City Libraries, together with the Gauteng Department of Sports Arts Culture and Recreation, the Gauteng Provincial Libraries, and the South African Library for the Blind.

Programs Librarian at Rand West City Libraries Thandeka Legae said the creation of these mini libraries with state-of-the-art computers will empower the blind community.

“The mini-libraries for the blind are aimed at providing computer and reading services for the visually impaired and the blind society. The services in question include braille services, voice recorders, and reading services, where users can just scan a book on the magnifying glass attached to the computer and the machine then reads the contents of the book word for word. Through the mini-libraries end-user computing, skills can be imparted to the blind user, equipping him or her with typing, internet surfing, and browsing skills which may be beneficial if you are applying for a job or writing a CV,” said Legae.

Sere feels that although strides are being done to accommodate the blind community, she wishes other people would jump on board and stop treating them as invincible.