Determination trumps visual impairment
Four visually impaired graduates from the Faculty of Humanities once again proved that there is nothing like determination to beat the odds in life.
From losing his eyesight at the
Practice graduate, Thabelo Muedi (24), never allowed his condition to determine his destiny.
In 2015, he enrolled for a
and passed all his modules, graduating in record time.
“I always advise people to go to school and be educated to be rec-
don’t have any educational backup,” he said.
With the help from the department of labour, he obtained a bursary to pay for his fees. Muedi has now enrolled for a B-tech in
In future, he would love to become a lecturer at one of South Africa’s universities.
Samuel Mokolobete Makwane (26), from Monsterlus in
to ever graduate in his family. According to Statistics South Africa, the national disability prevalence rate of successful graduates is 7.5% in our country. Makwane is another great example of the many differentlyabled students who have made it against all odds.
After passing matric, Makwane, who was born blind, enrolled as
the recent autumn graduations he received his BTech.
He wants to enrol for his mas- ter’s next year and he believes that a seat is reserved for him at the SABC.
“I want to become a news anchor and work as a translator behind the scenes,” he said.
Age and being blind never stopped Moses Ngoato Malatji (38) from pursuing his dreams. He recently graduated with BTech in Public Management.
After a long struggle and lack of knowledge about free bursaries that are offered to blind students for university study, Malatji finally enrolled for a National Diploma in 2014 at the age of 35.
A single mother who only depended on social grants for survival raised him.
“It has never been easy for us. I had bigger dreams of starting my own business, but I found that hard to pursue, because I had no financial support system.”
Malatji plans to enrol for a master’s degree soon and hopes to find a job in government’s Public Works sector.
Caroline Ncebakazi Tyalisi has just received a BTech in Public Management. The courageous woman was not born blind. Due to severe meningitis and a sixmonth stay in hospital in 2007, she was told she would never see again.
She never allowed her condition to stand in the way of achieving her dreams. In 2011, she enrolled for a BTech in Public Management. She received a Transource bursary, which paid her fees for her four years of study.