Lehutso Ntini, a paraplegic with a speech defect that only allows him to communicate via text on his cellphone or use partial sign language, refuses to allow his physical disability to determine his future.
Despite his challenges, Ntini, 35, from Ga-Maja Kopermyn in Limpopo has just completed his Bachelor of Commerce in Financial Management at the University of South Africa, which will see him being the first in his family to graduate at tertiary level.
From struggling to access public transport to go to the Polokwane campus because of his wheelchair, battling system crashes when completing online assignments, to National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) system errors that led to his fees not being paid, Ntini has beaten tough odds.
A tractor accident in 2007 left him with a brain injury, which resulted in him being in a wheelchair and suffering from a speech defect. As a result, he communicates using texts and partial sign language.
“Communicating with the university was also a challenge because of my speech defect. I could only communicate via emails and that is the most ineffective way to communicate with them. They weren’t responding to emails timeously, if ever. If it wasn't for Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities at the university, I probably would have dropped out,” he said.
“They would also intervene when I had issues with lecturers who would refuse to assist with system crashes during online assignments. There is a time when I needed help with a particular chapter but the lecturer wasn't responding to my emails. Other students got helped because they could call him. There are many incidents I can mention, but one thing is certain: without my disabilities, I probably wouldn't have experienced 95% of them.”
One other challenge that stands out, he says, is having to use public transport to commute to the Polokwane campus, where some drivers even charge him a higher fare to accommodate his wheelchair on one of the seats.
He said South African universities still had a long way to go in accommodating people living with disabilities as he had to go through his studies without any assistive devices.
But it appeared that no odds stacked against him would prosper as Ntini, through sheer willpower and determination, pushed through systems that were not designed to accommodate people living with disabilities.
While his disability may have changed his life forever, nothing was going to stop him from studying.
“My parents never had a home of their own, so we were raised in my grandparents' home and we were many, I think we were three and four families in a six-roomed house. Only my granny and aunt worked. Life was okay because my granny made sure we had school uniform and food.
“I was determined to study. The challenges I faced made the journey a bit unpleasant but looking back I feel like everything I went through has prepared me sufficiently for the real world because I have developed a thick skin,” he said.
He said he aspires to be an investment specialist and financial accountant, with his qualification placing him in a good position to work for his dream employers — Investec, Sasol and Anglo American.
He advised people living with disabilities not to allow challenges to derail them from their set goals and dreams: “In this journey, the challenges we face are part of the curriculum.”
sibiyan@sowetan.co.za
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