By Michael Gwarisa
Imagine growing up functioning like any normal child, only to lose your eyesight in your adulthood. Such is the story of 33-year-old Tendai David Muranganwa, who in 2015 lost his eyesight following a severe Meningitis diagnosis. In early November of the same year, before the Meningitis diagnosis, Tendai was involved in a minor car accident which subsequently led to a series of headaches.
On November 20, 2015, Tendai was hospitalised and diagnosed with a severe case of Meningitis. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Meningitis is the inflammation of the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, if no medical attention is rendered on time, it can be fatal.
For Tendai, Meningitis came as a double blow as he lost both his eyesight and became paralysed as a result. Even though he has regained mobility, Tendai recounts how the situation almost crushed him emotionally and mentally.
It was a dark chapter in my life which saw me completely losing my eyesight, becoming paralysed and my health deteriorating to the point of near death,” said Tendai in an Interview with HealthTimes.
Before the unfortunate turn of events, Tendai worked as an Administrator at a Borehole Drilling Company in Waterfalls, Harare. He however had to discontinue working after he acquired blindness.
As hopeless as his situation appeared when he was still in hospital, Tendai refused to be limited by his new condition and vowed to rise from his situation. In 2017, he enrolled at the Dorothy Duncan Centre for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, where he was rehabilitated and inspired to pursue his academic studies at the Midalnds State University (MSU) Harare Campus.
“Coming to the centre was an eye-opening experience for me because after attending rehabilitation, I was able to go back to school and pursue a Master’s in International Relations. This was through the training that I received for computers, mobility and orientation, and also benefiting from the Library Services that the Dorothy Duncan Braille Library Offers. I am grateful to the staff at the institution for the services that they offered that time, and continue to offer me as a former student of the centre.”
Tendai says his story has sparked a fire in him to speak hope and inspire others to see above their limitations. He intends to use his visual impairment and rehabilitation story to empower and encourage others to dream beyond their blindness.
Gladman Makwenya is also among other products of Dorothy Duncan’s centre who have excelled academically despite having lost his eyesight in 2017 following a reaction to Malaria medication.
“I came to Dorothy Duncan in 2018 from January to April for rehabilitation. When I came here, I was down in terms of my hope and energy to move on with sight loss,” says Gladman.
“I benefited immensely through the rehabilitation process that I went through. Firstly through counselling, through mobility, the use of the white cane and also
the use of Braille, and also the use of computers. It was when I was here that I learnt that I could proceed with education if I was eligible so I went on to the University of Zimbabwe to do my Undergraduate Degree in Social Work from 2018 to 2022 June. After 2022 June I went on to do my Masters until December 2023.”
Vision loss has a significant impact on the lives of those who experience it as well as on their families, their friends, and society. The complete loss or the deterioration of existing eyesight can feel frightening and overwhelming, leaving those affected to wonder about their ability to maintain their independence, pay for needed medical care, retain employment, and provide for themselves and their families. Vision loss can affect one’s quality of life (QOL), independence, and mobility and has been linked to falls, injury, and worsened status in domains spanning mental health, cognition, social function, employment, and educational attainment.
However, the Dorothy Duncan Braille Library has come through to bridge that gap and offer those who experience vision loss in adulthood a fighting chance. Dorothy Duncan Braille Library, Transcription and Rehabilitation Centre is a local non-profit organization which trains and equips visually impaired individuals to be independent and self-reliant.
Having opened its doors to the public 30 years ago on April 14, 1994, the Dorothy Duncan Braille Library has been offering rehabilitation training to individuals who lose their sight in adulthood. The training program covers Braille, computers, mobility and orientation, daily living skills and switchboard operation. These courses have empowered our students post-rehabilitation to pursue further education, gainful employment, start their income-generating projects and reintegrate into the community.
The Centre also provides literature for all degrees of visual impairment in the form of Braille, large print and audiobooks through library services. The Centre also offers transcription services to make print material accessible in Braille to the visually impaired in schools, colleges, universities as well as various organizations.
The centre on Friday, April 5, 2024, graduated eight individuals completed their three-month-long intake where they gained several skills.
““The training does help because when one gets blind, some are breadwinners in their families and the challenge will affect the individuals and even the families so when they come here they will be down but after going through the rehabilitation work, we do some counselling and help them get their lives back on track,” said Mr Anderson Robertson, the Director of Dorothy Duncan Braille Library.
The centre runs a three-month-long intake where they rehabilitate those who would have gone blind. The three intakes comprise plus or minus 10 individuals per intake. The next intake is in May which is the second intake. The Centre provides literature for all degrees of visual impairment in the form of Braille, large print and audiobooks through library services. The Centre also offers transcription services to make print material accessible in Braille to the visually impaired in schools, colleges, universities as well as various organizations.
Mr Mike Frudd, the Dorothy Duncan Centre’s Chairperson said the centre has given those who lose vision in their adulthood a new lease of life.
“Those that are blind from birth or become blind while at school generally learn from their sighted peers, but those that have become blind as adults have a much more difficult transition. We run three courses a year, the one is just completed which we are celebrating today, where a trained teacher for the blind takes up to 12 blind adults through a course which has all the facilities needed to teach them to clean, bath, toilet, to cook, to walk down streets and to shop. And they’re also taught, very importantly, computer skills with programs that talk back to the individual,” said Mr Frudd.
There’s an app for a smartphone that can be pointed at a shop’s shelf and will tell the user the location of certain household, toiletry and daily use items.
The Zimbabwean government under the new dispensation has introduced a facility in all state Universities whereby people with disabilities are allowed to study for a degree of their choice.
Dr Mathias Mukona a leading government ophthalmologist and eye surgeon who was guest of honour at the Dorothy Duncan Open Day said the Dorothy Duncan Centre’s vision and work align well with the government’s vision of leaving no one and no place behind.
“You know, you see many, many people with visual impairment who are doing their universities, going through their universities, from undergraduate to postgraduate to PhD level, some they become even board chairs, some they even become presidents of countries with their visual impairment. Having visual impairment does not make you incapacitated to a point where you have to lose hope, you become depressed, you become anxious and you think that’s the end of life,” said Dr Mukona.
Meanwhile, globally, approximately 340 million people are living with visual impairments and out of these people who have visual impairment, 39 million people in the world, including Africa and Zimbabwe, are blind. And of these people, 240, million need low vision aids. Of these 285 million people who are blind, 80% of their blindness is preventable and it actually can be treated on time.
