Page 3 - DUT The Edge - Aug/Sept 2021

KHUZWAYO DOES NOT LET HER DISABILITY DETER HER ON THE ROAD
TO ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS
Up-and-coming entrepreneur and Durban University of Technology (DUT) Diploma in Business Information Management student Nqobile Nomfundo Khuzwayo has not let her disability become a deterrent in her academic studies or entrepreneurship journey.
Her study journey
“My study journey began at Ekuthuleni Combined School, KwaMashu, where I completed Grade one to Grade three. I then attended the Paul Sykes Primary School from 2006 to 2010. This was followed by attendance at Hill Grove Secondary School until 2011. It was then that my life changed forever. I suffer from Hypoxic Brain Injury (a brain injury that forms due to a restriction on the oxygen supplied to the brain), so I had to nd another school that would accommodate my disability,” she said.
She completed her matric in 2018 at the AM Moola Spes Nova School, which specialised in physical disability education. She could not apply for university in 2019 because she did not have an electric wheelchair and so decided to take a gap year. In 2020, she was so excited to get an opportunity to become a student at DUT.
However, with the onset of COVID-19, she could not attend physical classes and is now doing her studies online, which she admitted has its disadvantages.
She joined the Differently Abled Students Association (DASA) on becoming a student, which has been a great support structure for her.
Know your rights!
“It is a vital to be part of the association because you get to know your rights as a student living with a disability on and off campus. Students can like our Disability Rights Unit on Facebook as it’s important to educate themselves and their peers about disability,” she said.
Explaining how going through her journey as a differently- abled person had impacted her, Khuzwayo conveyed that it had changed her life as she now has to, at times, rely on other people to help her with her daily routine.
She struggles with doing daily chores but gets help from friends and family in getting ready for school or doing her washing and ironing.
Academic challenges
Khuzwayo also spoke about some of the challenges (pre- COVID-19) she faced as a student when she was attending
classes physically.They included the fact that some campuses still do not cater for differently-abled students in terms of having adequate facilities such as lifts on campuses. She said that most of the time, the lifts were full or not working, making it dif cult to get to class on time.
She also said that some classes on campus are not yet wheelchair friendly, and at residences the issue of lifts was also a problem as they did not have adequate ones.
A successful peer mentor
Besides her academic studies, she is currently a peer mentor for rst-year students and loves helping people, especially other DUT students.
“The peer mentoring is going well; it’s a one-year contract and entails me (pre-COVID-19) showing the rst-year students around campus, helping them with their modules that they are nding dif cult and giving them support and guidance in terms of their studies. I enjoy this because I am keen on helping other students and I want them to succeed,” she said.
DUT nurtures her
entrepreneurial dream
Khuzwayo said that DUT has helped her discover who she is and what she wants in life. “Since I want to grow as an entrepreneur, I have gained a lot from the DUT’s Entrepreneurial Desk,” she said.
“I feel honoured to be a DUT student because I now have an opportunity to study; not every person living with a disability gets this opportunity,” she said.
She is very excited about her academic journey because due to the lack of job opportunities, she wants to become a fully- edged and knowledgeable entrepreneur and her studies at DUT will allow her to become one.
Khuzwayo started her business called Dimplez Digital Invitations in 2019, which entails creating and making invitations for all kinds of occasions. Her idea behind the business came about because of her immense passion for digital design.
“I am proud of my business and am keen on growing it really big. I would like to employ other students, since these days it’s hard to get employment; students are sitting at home with their quali cations,” she added.
In terms of the help that she had received at the Entrepreneurial Desk, she said that she now knows how to do a business plan. “I know how to do a value proposition and I also was motivated by the people who came and spoke to us (pre-COVID-19) during our boot camps,” she said.
Khuzwayo’s advice to other students living with disabilities is to never let one’s current situation determine one’s future.“Anyone can change the world so what makes you think that you can’t do it? Anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I’m a living testimony of that; I was declared brain dead, but look at where I am today. I passed my matric and now I’m a proud DUT student and I’m elated to say that I’m passing my modules with distinctions,” she said.
Future plans
Her role models are her mother and sister, and her future plans are to establish a company that leaves an indelible mark in the industry as well as own and drive her own car. “I want to study until I do my PhD, and I want to be nancially stable in order to move forward and achieve my entrepreneurial dreams,” she said.
Waheeda Peters
RISING STARS
3
DUT'S TYANGASI GAINS CONFIDENCE IN HER ONLINE STUDIES DESPITE SUFFERING FROM MARFAN SYNDROME
Second-year Business and Information Management student Nokuthula Tyangasi loves being part of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) community and shares her journey at the Institution despite having Marfan syndrome.
“It’s a genetic disorder that I have been born with; it is when the lenses in your eyes have moved out of their position and in turn your vision is affected,” she said.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 21-year-old differently-abled Tyangasi had to begin studying online. “It has been hard for me since I am a visually-impaired student, and being in front of the laptop for long hours does cause my vision to become a bit blurry, making it dif cult to focus at times. I am gradually adjusting to online learning and I work at my own pace in order to get things done,” she said.
She spoke of her af liation with the Differently Abled Students Association (DASA), an organisation that is responsible for helping students transition from high school to university life, and which plays a vital role in her journey at DUT.
“I have gained con dence being a member of DASA at DUT.The members have made me believe that I am capable of so much more than just limiting and feeling sorry for myself. Also, as a member, it is very helpful because whenever I have a problem I can report it to the chairperson, who ensures that students get the help they require, whether its basic or complex,” she added.
Besides her love for studying, she thoroughly enjoys swimming, reading and listening to music. She doesn’t prefer to have a role model, but enjoys being motivated by people from time to time.
Her greatest ambition going forward is to make herself and her family proud by working hard, producing good results and graduating in record time.“I want to go out into the real world to gure out what I can offer and to experience life,” she said.
Waheeda Peters
Marfan Syndrome
Marfan syndrome is an inherited disorder that affects connective tissue – the bres that support and anchor one’s organs and other structures in one’s body. Marfan syndrome most commonly affects the heart, eyes, blood vessels and skeleton.
People with Marfan syndrome are usually tall and thin with unusually long arms, legs, ngers and toes. The damage caused can be mild or severe. If one’s aorta – the large blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body – is affected, the condition can become life-threatening.
Treatment usually includes medications to keep blood pressure low to reduce the strain on the aorta. Regular monitoring to check for damage progression is vital.