A kind hearted, morally inclined person with a great personality are the best qualities to describe 29-year-old Siyabonga Vilakazi.
In 2004 Vilakazi was involved in a tragic car accident which landed him in hospital for a couple of months. Unfortunately, Vilakazi lost his eyesight two years after the accident, a diffcult reality for him to accept.
“Even if I don’t see the structure of a beautiful house or a car driving pass; the desire to live gets me up in the morning. I believe God knows why this happened to me,” he said.
Although he is blind, Vilakazi says his personality has not changed much. He is the same person he was when he lost his eyesight. “I am a very busy person. I don’t just sit at home and do nothing regardless of my state. I wash, cook and clean for myself. Being blind has taught me not to depend on others because people are not going to be around every time I need them,” he said.
Vilakazi is also a supervisor of the programme: Khari Kude run by the Department of Education; where volunteering teachers teach blind people how to read and write.
Vilakazi is now working on a proposal for an initiative which will help young people feed themselves. He also desires to do media communications because he is very passionate about the media, but mostly radio. He has applied to universities to study towards a degree in this area.
– S’nennhlanhla Mnqayi
Pictured: Siyabonga Vilakazi, who continues to live his life to the max despite being blind.