Learning to master his adversity
MASTERS graduate Lucky Shange’s (right) goal had been to become a top-class footballer after he was chosen to represent Kwazulu-natal towards the end of 1999, but his hopes were dashed when he lost his eyesight.
The almost overnight loss of his vision is a mystery, but over the years he has learnt to cope. Shange said there were challenges, as he suffered from depression after spending months in hospital for diabetes and meningitis.
His thesis for his Master of Commerce degree was titled “Key Success Factors for Implementing a Workplace Skills Plan: A Case Study of the Limpopo Department of Education”.
“As a football player, I wanted nothing to do with books. I only attended school out of respect for my parents, and because of the school’s football club,” said Shange.
However, his priorities changed, and his academic qualifications now include a Bachelor of Arts degree, as well as a post-graduate diploma in leadership and management from UKZN, a post-graduate diploma in management from Regents, and an honours degree from Mancosa.
Shange works as a human capital development practitioner at the SA Social Security Agency in Nelspruit. He previously worked in the skills and training unit of the Department of Education in Limpopo, which led to his research interest in skills development.
He remembers being encouraged by medical staff in hospital and his mother to go back to school, and he later heeded the call and enrolled at the Zamokuhle Special School in the Eastern Cape.
“When I met other students with disabilities, I decided to take life head-on.”
While at Zamokuhle, Zwane interacted with blind UKZN student Zodwa Zwane, and that boosted his confidence. He later registered as a student at the university.
He commended UKZN for the support it gives students living with disabilities.
Shange has written a short story about his life titled “Eliminating the Limits” and is currently translating it from English into isizulu, with plans to launch it later this year.