Miss Brilliance Mguni (34) from Luveve, Bulawayo reportedly
lost her sight in 2005 after developing a brain tumour which damaged her optic
nerves.
“I had finished my first year of nurse training at Gwanda
Provincial Hospital and was starting my second year when I lost my sight after
being diagnosed with brain tumour. The journey hasn’t been so easy, being not
able to see was a heavy blow in my life. Now I had to be dependent on others if
I wanted to move from point A to point B.
“I had a successful operation to remove the tumour in South
Africa, initially doctors thought I would regain my sight after the operation
but they then discovered that the tumour had damaged my optic nerves,” said
Miss Ndlovu.
She revealed that being born with her sight and losing it
as an adult affected her psychologically as she went for years without coming
out of their family house.
“I honestly felt like my life was coming to an end. I so
badly wanted to be a nurse because in my family there is no nurse, therefore I
was ecstatic when I was offered a place at Gwanda Provincial Hospital.
“When I lost my sight, I knew there was no other way to go
back to nursing because nursing requires sight. I wanted to commit suicide. I
thought my life was over. I had given up on life,” said Miss Mguni.
She said her glimmer of hope came in 2010 when she was
informed of a rehabilitation centre in Harare where she learnt a number of key
survival skills inclusive of mobility and cooking.
“Between 2011 and 2017 I was employed by a certain
Non-Governmental Organisation in Bulawayo but my contract was terminated after
the NGO lost its funding partners. It was then that after staying at home the
whole of 2018 I decided that there was a need for me to do something hence my
application at Solusi University to study for a degree in Religious Studies.
“My major challenge for now is that at Solusi University there
are no resources for people who are visually impaired like books in Braille and
the computers do not have the necessary software for me to be able to study.
However, I would like to pay gratitude to university authorities, who have been
really supportive since I enrolled for this degree, my life has taken shape
once more,” she said.
Miss Mguni said her family had been supportive right
through her struggles saying they made sure that they continuously encouraged
her through her challenges.
“When I feel like giving up, my family always knows the
correct buttons to press and I will see myself up on my feet. I have a very
supportive brother who makes sure I don’t run out of groceries when I am at
school, the society has been supportive in its own special way.
“My message to others who might be in a similar predicament
is that they should never give up on life no matter which situation you may
find yourself in. There is life after any type of disability. Let go and let
God be the ruler of your life,” she said. Sunday News
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