Summary
Robert Malunda was born sighted in the Makokoba township in Bulawayo, Southwest Zimbabwe. He was affected by glaucoma and when he was 4 he became totally blind. Braille textbooks were scarce, so he depended on his sighted classmates for most of his academic needs. In 2011, a friend from the UK sent him a laptop and he began training himself in computer use with a voice synthesizer. That opened a gateway to a lot of opportunities because he could now read books and access information on his own… Read about his inspiring journey in this blogpost.
by Robert Malunda
My name is Robert Malunda. After having 2 girls, my parents were very happy to get a baby boy. I was born as a sighted child in 1988. When I was 3, I was affected by glaucoma. Doctors tried to cure it, but I eventually lost my sight at the age of 4. Two years later, my parents decided to take me to school just like any other child and there I learned Braille and daily living skills for the blind.
The major advantage of going to this school was, that specialized teachers encouraged my parents to treat me like any other child. Thus, while growing up I could lead an independent life. This meant introducing me to skills like washing, playing, interacting with others, and many more. So, I enrolled in an integrated primary school.
I managed to pass through primary and high school even when Braille textbooks were scarce. I depended on sighted classmates for most of my academic life. After completing high school, I went to university. Lecturers demanded that work had to be submitted as soft copies. I felt that need to do things on my own and that’s why I researched how blind people can use computers. I discovered that blind people can use a computer with the aid of a screen reader. I convinced someone to get me one and that completely changed my life.
On the other hand, I was training myself in mobility and that involved memorizing the streets and avenues of Bulawayo. All this seemed to differentiate me from other blind people who felt assistance from sighted people was their right. Therefore, I wanted to challenge their mindset by opening a gateway to the world for them through computer training, mobility, and team sport/adventure.
As I faced some challenges in my life as a blind person but found a way to overcome the same, motivated me to dream of a world where blind people can use computers, walk on their own safely and independently, and socially interact with their society and/or environment just like anyone else.
After graduating from kanthari in 2015, I started an organization named Gateway to Elation that provides training in computer literacy, mobility, and social interaction for the blind in Zimbabwe.Since 2016, I have worked with 70 blind people in Zimbabwe’s rural- and urban areas. With the advent of covid19, blind people who went through my program were well-informed about taking precautions.
I also did get a few calls from blind people internationally through platforms like Zoom who wanted to be assisted in being independent.
The goal of the training that I provide is that the blind participants, start to take their lives into their own hands. For example, after the Gateway to Elation training, Themba Moyo started a chicken-rearing project.
Adornice Makuvalo became a blind dog breeder using the information he gathered online by smart use of the internet. These two are just examples of what blind people can do after they received training. It proves that blind people can do anything if given the required skills and access to information.
Slowly, I am contributing to changing the mindsets of both the blind and the sighted towards having an integrated world that values a person’s abilities more than pitying the disability. Because of having had an interaction with my beneficiaries, I’m happy that the local media is now covering blindness issues and/or disability issues in a positive way.
In 2021 I was honored to be awarded the Holman Prize, an award that recognizes and empowers ambitious blind-led programs or any adventurous programs that blind people dare to pursue. This has fuelled my work to go far and wide.
Currently, I am back at kanthari to acquire further skills, specifically about income generation possibilities. And I am looking forward to bringing these newly learned skills into practice, as there is a lot more work to be done on the road ahead!
