"Disabled people just need that one chance to prove that they can do it," said Sonwabo Somyalo. His dream is to be a radio DJ which he says will help "motivate other disabled people to make something of their lives.
Most disabled people drop out of school because they feel that they do not have a reason to go on," he said.
"Disabled people just need that one chance to prove that they can do it," said Sonwabo Somyalo. His dream is to be a radio DJ which he says will help "motivate other disabled people to make something of their lives.
Most disabled people drop out of school because they feel that they do not have a reason to go on," he said.
Somyalo lost his sight after he had a rugby accident in 2002 but this did not stop him from dreaming.
"I was at a mainstream school but after the accident I enrolled at Khanyisa School for visually impaired learners and finished my matric there," he added, "after that I did computer studies.
I just got my certificate in June." Somyalo is a facilitator for computer studies at Gadra and helps other blind people acquire computer skills.
Blind or partially sighted people use Jaws (Job Access With Speech), software programme which is a screen reader for visually impaired users which enables them to access the information displayed on the screen via text-to-speech.
"I pushed myself with learning computers at Khanyisa. Jaws used to be off line most of the time at the student computers and then I would go to one of the teacher’s office to teach myself as he had Jaws," he said.
Somyalo then underwent training at King Fisher Christian radio station in 2008 through the School of Broadcasting.
He also conducted field reporting for King Fisher during the National Arts Festival and he went for an interview with Umhlobo Wenene FM for producing shows. Unfortunately he did not get the job.
"As much as I did not get the job, I am grateful that Umhlobo Wenene did not look down on me because of my disability. They took me for who I am and gave me a chance to prove myself," he said.
He has submitted demos to two radio stations already but not getting a job yet has not dampened his spirit, "I have a strong support system, my family takes me as the Sonwabo I am.
Nothing changed when I went blind, they consult with me before they decide on anything," he said proudly. Somyalo did a demo with Algoa FM and is hoping to get a job soon. "I talked with people at Radio Grahamstown and there is hope that they might hire me," he added.
Being a radio DJ will be a big achievement for Somyalo. "If I get the job, I will go back to Khanyisa and give students a motivational talk as a way of telling them that they can do it and that being blind doesn’t have to limit any of them."
