Following a tractor accident 15 years ago that left him semi-paralysed, all that Lehutso Ntini wanted to do was end his life, and he attempted suicide a few times.
“The life I knew was gone, I hated myself and I couldn’t sit up and use my hands. It was during that period that my jaws locked and my mouth was wide open and couldn’t close it for a few months,” he said.
“I had to be fed, I used diapers … Getting bathed was the worst because it was a reminder of how useless and worthless I was. I had to relearn everything and it took me a while to adjust and a long time to accept.”
On Tuesday next week, the 35-year-old Ntini, who is paraplegic and mute, will graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce in Financial Management from the University of South Africa (Unisa).
It is a dream come true for Ntini, who said he had to believe in himself when few people did not and look beyond his disabilities to realise his potential.
“I completed my NCV [national certificate vocational] NQF level 4 in 2011 at the then Waterburg Further Education and Training [FET] College,” he said.
The NCV NQF level 4 is equivalent to matric.
“It took me six years to get into university because I had no one to assist me. I asked a few people to help me get into university, they probably thought I was just being ridiculous,” he shared.
“One day, I asked my sister to buy me a cellphone and eventually she agreed. My world opened up, I downloaded WhatsApp and communicated with some people including my former lecturers at the FET college, who told me about Unisa, but I wanted to go to a full-time university.
“So, I contacted the University of Limpopo by e-mail and they advised me to do a one-year certificate at Unisa to qualify for degree admission and come back to them afterwards. I applied at Unisa and my cousin helped me with NSFAS [National Student Financial Aid Scheme] application. When, I finished the certificate, I didn’t see a reason to leave Unisa.”
He said after the accident, he was treated like a bird in a cage.
“When I finally got a chance to study, I wanted something which would challenge me mentally and free my spirit. Commerce with the variety of career paths enticed me,” said Ntini, whose dream is to become a financial accountant and investment specialist.
Ntini from Ga-Maja Kopermyn, about 30km outside of Polokwane, Limpopo said he did not anticipate the challenges he would have to overcome as a person living with a disability studying at a tertiary institution.
“My biggest challenge was communication. Because of my mutism, I was not able to make phone calls and my only mode of communication was through e-mails, and Unisa doesn’t respond to e-mails in time, if ever.
“So, I must say without the university’s disability unit, Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities [ARCSWiD], in particular Ms Pearl Kgoete in [the] Polokwane [office] and Mr Pintias Nkuna in Pretoria, I would have dropped out.”
Ntini also mentioned the lack of support from NSFAS to access assistive devices and challenges with the delivery of study material, which would be returned to Pretoria.
“The courier service would call me three to four times and I couldn’t answer. Instead of calling my mom on the alternative number I had provided, they would return the study material back to Unisa, which would require me to contact ARCSWiD, but Ms Pearl was always ready to help.
“It frustrated me a lot at the beginning of every year or semester and it used to cause me panic attacks,” added Ntini, noting that he is looking forward to entering the job market.
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