As the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) marks Disability Awareness Month, the institution turns its gaze to the quiet, powerful voices that often teach us the most.
Through the Faces of Strength series, VUT honours the lived experiences of students and staff whose journeys reflect courage and human possibility.
Among them is second-year Human Resource Management student, Teboho Maeko, from Sasolburg, whose path reminds us that ability often begins where sight ends.
Maeko is completely blind, yet he walks the world with a clarity many never achieve.
His learning journey at VUT is shaped not by what he cannot see, but by the resolve that guides him forward each day.
For him, education is more than an academic pursuit.
It is a space where independence grows, confidence takes shape, and life skills unfold in their own rhythm.
Navigating campus is not always easy.
Without a dedicated mobility assistant, each movement requires planning, memory, and trust.
Yet Teboho has woven a circle of support around himself.
Friends walk with him when they can, and on other days, campus security becomes his guiding link across buildings and corridors.
“Usually, when I need to go somewhere far and my friends are nearby, they help me. If they are not available, the security team assists me,” he shares.
This quiet network of care is a reminder that inclusion begins in the simple act of showing up for one another.
Maeko’s learning style is a blend of technology, institutional support, and the adaptive intuition he has developed over time.
While other students follow visual lecture material, he relies on screen readers and accessible formats prepared by VUT’s Disability Unit.
During assessments, he adapts depending on the task at hand.
“For theory, I can write on my own or speak, and the invigilator writes for me. For questions that involve calculations or graphs, the invigilator reads, and I guide them step by step,” he explains.
These accommodations affirm a simple truth: assessments must measure knowledge, not the limits created by inaccessible tools.
His talents reach beyond the classroom.
Maeko is skilled with computers, often helping others with system tasks that many take for granted.
He holds an IT End User Computing certification, an achievement that fills him with pride.
Creativity moves through him as well.
Music, with its colours and textures, offers him a space to explore the world in his own way.
His message is one of encouragement. “I always tell people with disabilities not to give up. They should try to do things and not stay at home assuming they will not be helped,” he says, his words steady and hopeful.
As the country reflects on Disability Awareness Month this November, Maeko sees its value clearly.
Awareness, he believes, can soften attitudes and open understanding.
“People who do not know anything about disability get to learn how we live and how we do things,” he reflects.
