Man turned blind at 33 due to rare condition
He hails from Soweto in Gauteng and now lives in Grassy Park where he works at the League of the Friends of the Blind (Lofob)
Unable to read in brail due to nerve damage that has affected his hands and parts of his body, he studies via an electronic screen reader.
Going to bed with perfect vision only to wake up blind the next morning for Tsheko Tlou felt like “the end of the world”.
“I wasn’t born blind,” explains Tlou. “It is something that happened in a day at the age of 33.”
Tlou, who hails from Soweto in Gauteng and now lives in Grassy Park where he works at the League of the Friends of the Blind (Lofob), will never forget that fateful Saturday night.
“I worked in the events industry with lighting and visuals. When I woke up that morning I thought maybe I couldn’t see because I worked long hours the previous week and thought if I just slept another hour I would be fine.”
However, an hour later, blinking and only seeing darkness confused and angered him.
“After that, I went to many hospitals and my journey with the public hospital was really sad,” he says.
“I explained that I couldn’t see, but they told me to come back after three months. A week later, I went back to the hospital because my eyes were paining like hell.”
At this stage, Tlou explains he was admitted to the hospital for two weeks where numerous tests were carried out to ascertain the cause of his sudden blindness.
“They said there wasn’t much they could do because the blindness was caused due to optic nerve damage. They said it was rare, it was not a virus or bacteria but inflammation.”
For 18 months, Tlou could not muster the motivation to leave his bedroom.
“I just wanted to be alone and thought it was the end of the world. It was hard because I lost my income and I had to rely on other people for almost everything, it was horrible.”
A call to a local radio station ultimately led Tlou to Lofob which helped turn his life around.
“I woke up one day and wanted to be productive again, so I contacted a radio station to ask if there was a place I could receive training and one of the listeners called Lofob on my behalf.”
In 2016, Tlou joined a programme “Adjustment to Blindness” at Lofob and later went on to improve his matric results.
Unable to read in brail due to nerve damage that has affected his hands and parts of his body, Tlou studies via an electronic screen reader.
“I did the orientation and mobility course which is a two-year diploma offered by Lofob.”
Tlou now works full-time at the Lofob training the blind and visually impaired in safe, independent and efficient mobility.
“My responsibility is to teach recently blind people and people who are born blind.”
The first step to getting where he is now was to accept his blindness and to heal he adds.
“What was important for me was that I found healing and one of my healing components was to interact with other blind people which helped to heal me.”
With his confidence growing, he went back to the hobbies he loved such as being a DJ.
His advice to visually impaired and blind individuals, who suddenly find themselves in the same situation, is to not give up.
“Get up and do something, just try. It won’t be easy but go and learn something.”
His advice to able-bodied individuals is to go for regular eye exams.
“People should go for eye tests at least once or twice a year because many eye conditions can be prevented. In many cases, by the time you realise that the damage is already done.”
Shahiemah Edwards, Lofob’s executive director, commended Tlou for his resilience and determination.
“Tsheko Tlou is a passionate advocate for disability rights and he has faced and overcome numerous challenges throughout his life,” she says. “His journey is not defined by obstacles but by resilience, determination, and a relentless drive to make a difference in the lives of others.”
Like many such organisations, Lofob feels the impact of a struggling economy and appeals for financial assistance from the community to continue this work of changing lives.
- More information, and how to support Lofob, can be found on the website: www.lofob.org.za or e-mail to info@lofob.org.za
