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| Rare insight helps blind radio man win award |
| November 11 2007 at 01:44PM |
Get IOL on your mobile at m.iol.co.za |
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By Agiza Hlongwane Khwela's own positive attitude belies the numerous obstacles he has had to overcome. "You can ask me anything, I won't feel degraded," he said, settling down in the studio from which he presents his inspirational show, Makube Khona Ukukhanya (Let there be Light), aired on Sundays and Wednesdays. Khwela, 63, lost his sight when he was about a year old. His two younger siblings had perfect vision. "I think I was born with it, although I was told it kicked in when I tried to stand up as a baby. That's when my eyes were inverted forever. I don't have recollections of any vision." To see Khwela stride independently across the station's narrow corridors, using just his stick as a guide, is to witness an exercise in precision. His exceptional hearing enables him to distinguish between a group of people at a distance. He answers his own cellphone and, besides speaking Zulu, is fluent in six other South African languages - English, Xhosa, Tswana, Pedi, Southern Sotho and Afrikaans. And as a winner, Khwela, has been in his element accepting congratulations from colleagues. He has been with the station on a voluntary basis since 1995. He didn't know much about radio when he joined the station. "But I was determined to learn." Born in Mbumbulu, south of Durban, in 1944, he learnt to read Braille during his primary schooling at Efata School, in the Eastern Cape, near Umtata. "I started school late, when I was about 14. I went up to Std 6 (Grade 8)." After leaving school, he worked for the Natal Blind Society in 1966, leaving to join the South African Blind Workers' Association as a proof-reader for 12 years. "I believe everybody should have the courage to try. We live in a world where you don't gain if you don't venture. What is important is to try to seize an opportunity when you get it." He said the radio show helps him give hope to disabled people and their parents. It's an extension of his passion and determination to uplift other disabled people. "We tell our listeners that they should understand that disability is God's will, and is something that can happen to anyone. We also try to give advice to parents that they should embrace them as they would any other children. "People who want to express their feelings, we go where they are and record them. Some of them give anecdotes of how they've overcome their disability, which end up inspiring others. That's very important." Apart from hosting the show, Khwela serves on the station's management and is a spiritual counsellor, engaging with the local youth and even professionals. "It's wonderful to get feedback from them... you feel it's worth living." He produces the show himself, preparing his scripts with a Braille machine which was donated to him by a government department. Daunting And while this may seem daunting, Khwela is an old hand at reading and writing in Braille, using his index fingers in piano-like movements to read the copy. He says there is still a lot of work to be done in other areas of life for disabled people. "Access to buildings and public transport is still a problem. The quicker this can be addressed, the better it would be for the disabled." He draws much of his inspiration from his wife Martha, the mother of his two teenage children. The Khwelas live in KwaSizabantu Mission, where the station is based. An ardent reader, Khwela is a fan of gospel and light classical music. He says he detests the vulgar lyrics in the music young people listen to today. His voice filled with emotion as he recalled how, soon after he settled at the mission, he fell in love with Martha. "She arrived in 1981, and sat here among other brothers and sisters. But there came a day when I heard her voice in the passage. It was a special voice, not like the other girls. "Something told me this was the one I could pin my hopes on. But at first I didn't accept it, thinking that maybe I was deviating from the 'path'. "I consulted with my spiritual helper about the matter. He made it clear it was up to me what I wanted to do about it. "After a while, God worked in her and made her feel what I felt." They got married five years later and have been together for 19 years. He refuses to consider himself a victim and, instead, believes his life has been charmed. "I consider myself very lucky because even though I didn't go far at school, I often find myself doing all these things. I get to rub shoulders with people in high places, the intellectuals. I am asked to play a role one way or another."
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