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Lovemore Meya Features Writer
Perched on a stool fashioned out of cardboard behind a matching table where his various wares including stationery are on display, Simon Sekete appears to be just another Harare vendor. The lime reflector vest means that he also sells airtime credit vouchers. The black cap and dark sunglasses could be a fashion statement. It is only on engaging the man that the client discovers that Sekete is visually impaired.
Paraffin, as Sekete is affectionately known at his base near the commuter terminus popularly known as Charge Office, says the nickname has nothing to do with the late comedy character. “Paraffin is a praise name that my friends gave me during my days when I used to sell paraffin in town, hopping from one place to another with a 20-litre container.”
“I survive on vending, selling different items like shoe brushes, stationery among other small things. I started vending in 1982 and took a break when I went to school to further my studies and obtained certificates in business management and art and craft.”
Losing his sight at the age of 23 did not deter Sekete from his chosen mode of survival.
Sekete lost sight in 1987 when he went to water the garden and fell into a deep well.
“The incident caused eye problems till I lost sight in 1990. My parents quickly took me to a school of the disabled people and that cushioned me much since I started learning and reading using my hands. All that mattered most to me was to survive.
According to the African Disability Rights Year Book Volume 2, 2014, “There is no recent statistical data on the total number and percentage of children with disabilities (CWDs) in Zimbabwe. The last comprehensive study on the prevalence of disability amongst children in Zimbabwe was the Inter-Censal Survey.
“The Survey recorded a total of 218 421 people with disabilities (PWDs) in the country, which was approximately two per cent of the country’s total population.
“Of these, 57 232 were children with disabilities (CWDs), which was about 26 per cent of the total population of PWDs in 1997. Another study which was conducted by the United Nations Children’s Emergence Fund (UNICEF) in 1997, estimated CWDs to be 150 000.”
Sekete said, “My family accepted it though at first it troubled them and much of my time would be spent at school. During the holidays they would come and take me to Harare where I started learning to move around with the aid of a walking stick,” he said.
Eventually Sekete was able to move around by himself without having to rely on the guiding hands of well-wishers. His working day starts at 9am and ends at around 5pm. He said life of a disabled person is determined by their skills. Sekete, who is a second born in a family of five boys, helps his siblings fend for his mother following the death of his father.
Said Sekete: “I was born at Harare hospital on October 4, 1964 and I grew up in my home area, Seke under Chief Chivasa and am happily married to my wife who is also visually impaired. “We met at school and now we stay in Glen View, blessed with three children, a girl who completed her Ordinary Level two years ago and her twin brothers doing Form 2 back home.
Sekete went to different schools for his Ordinary Level including Shingirai High School in Mbare, Nharira and George Stark. He obtained seven units at Grade 7 and three subjects at Form 4. Sekete who was bright before the mishap acknowledged the failure to pass all the subjects was due to difficulties in adapting from reading with his eyes to using hands.
At that time, he was living in Masvingo before he came to Harare to do courses in art and craft and later business management. After realising that his educational qualifications could not get him a job, Sekete bounced back to vending. He said in order for people with disabilities to fully realise their potential, they need financial muscle.
“These days it is difficult for people to help someone who is handicapped, hence I ventured into vending to fend for my family,” he said. In conducting his transactions, Sekete gets help from shop assistants when he goes to order his wares. “I do not have a problem in counting my money when I go to order my items since help is at my disposal and even here, a lot of people assist me.”
Sekete relies heavily on his sense of feeling as he could easily differentiate his airtime top up cards which are placed in a single pocket. Sekete has created himself a family along South Avenue where everyone close-by guards him jealously. “If someone approaches me with fake money or a bigger denomination, any one of my colleagues here comes to my aid. They can even alert me by calling out the amount. If I do not have change, they help get it,” he said.
Sekete had reached a point where he found the going getting tougher with continuous running battles with municipal police and the owners of the building from whose front he operates. But now things are more settled:
“For now the situation has improved after the bosses acknowledged that I am blind and allowed me to order my wares in their shop. “Sometimes I get help from my relatives in different ways though as a family we do not base our survival on it.” Sekete said the city centre has turned into a death trap following the ever increasing numbers of vehicles and reckless drivers.
“The most dangerous part when crossing streets is the behaviour of commuter omnibus drivers especially when they are evading the police. “Again, the changing of roads from two-way to one-way streets is a major challenge and any visually impaired person relies on the next person to cross a robot,” he said.
Tonderai Munemo, who drives a truck for hire based at Mahommed Mussa Wholesalers said Sekete has defied the odds by refusing to be handicapped by his disability.
“He is very professional, talented and skilful in his trade. Paraffin has become a darling to many as he is proving to be an dedicated husband and father working hard for his family better than some able-bodied people can do,” he said. Sekete dreams of accumulating enough capital to venture into chicken farming.
Online Reporter