well being
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TYING a sari in two minutes, rolling perfectly round rotis and preparing what her brother calls the best mutton breyani may be a challenge for most people, but for visually-impaired Tunusha Naidu it’s all in a day’s work.
The 32-year-old of Umkomaas was born blind but it hasn’t stopped her achieving her goals.
To mark International Day for Persons with Disabilities tomorrow (Thursday), Naidu has opened her own company, Able, which stands for Ability Beyond Life Expectations.
The aim of her company, according to Naidu, is to help other businesses achieve their BEE compliance by having at least 2% of their workforce made up of disabled persons.
“We help companies achieve this quota via training courses and seminars. We also provide information on how to make the floor plan accessible.”
In the last month, Naidu has been busy setting up her company and is excited to begin working.
Speaking about her path to success, Naidu said she had attended Naidoo Memorial Primary School until Grade 7.
“The only school available for visually-impaired learners was in Pietermaritzburg and I did not want to board at the school.
“I attended normal schooling and had all my notes recorded by my mother. During |exams, teachers would read the questions and write down the answers (I provided).”
After 1994, Naidu attended the Open Air School in Glenwood.
“I was among the first Indian visually-impaired learners at the school.”
And while she could have opted for easy courses, Naidu |enjoyed the challenge and took up physics, maths, accounting and business economics.
“It was pretty challenging, especially accounting, but I passed with an exemption,” she laughed.
She didn’t stop there though, as Naidu then registered for a degree in linguistics, majoring in French and isiZulu, and graduated in 2004, cum laude.
She went on to complete her honours degree in 2005 and began lecturing first-year students the following year.
“I was then unemployed for many years. A year ago I joined African Lotus Productions working for Sunday Sadhana (a popular Hindu magazine programme aired on the SABC).
“I did productions, co-ordination and script writing. Learning how to use the (Apple) MacBook to edit interviews was challenging but fun,” she said.
“I resigned in September this year to pursue my business interests.”
As a motivational speaker, Naidu said that she had learnt to accept her disability from a young age. “I think it’s made me into the person I am. I am happy. This is my path and journey. Much of my success is |attributed to Sai Baba and my parents. I also believe that you have to be assertive. If you want to make it in life you have to be a self-starter.”
Naidu said she often heard people saying what she could not do. “There are a lot of misconceptions about persons with disabilities, you have to constantly prove yourself to people.”
She loves spending time with her parents, Jay and Shamilla, both of whom are involved in business, and siblings Devishini, 36, an attorney and Lovendra, 31, a logistics company owner, as well as sister-in-law Shinaaz.
“I love cooking. As for a sari, I can tie that in two minutes,” laughs Naidu.
The 32-year-old of Umkomaas was born blind but it hasn’t stopped her achieving her goals.
To mark International Day for Persons with Disabilities tomorrow (Thursday), Naidu has opened her own company, Able, which stands for Ability Beyond Life Expectations.
The aim of her company, according to Naidu, is to help other businesses achieve their BEE compliance by having at least 2% of their workforce made up of disabled persons.
“We help companies achieve this quota via training courses and seminars. We also provide information on how to make the floor plan accessible.”
In the last month, Naidu has been busy setting up her company and is excited to begin working.
Speaking about her path to success, Naidu said she had attended Naidoo Memorial Primary School until Grade 7.
“The only school available for visually-impaired learners was in Pietermaritzburg and I did not want to board at the school.
“I attended normal schooling and had all my notes recorded by my mother. During |exams, teachers would read the questions and write down the answers (I provided).”
After 1994, Naidu attended the Open Air School in Glenwood.
“I was among the first Indian visually-impaired learners at the school.”
And while she could have opted for easy courses, Naidu |enjoyed the challenge and took up physics, maths, accounting and business economics.
“It was pretty challenging, especially accounting, but I passed with an exemption,” she laughed.
She didn’t stop there though, as Naidu then registered for a degree in linguistics, majoring in French and isiZulu, and graduated in 2004, cum laude.
She went on to complete her honours degree in 2005 and began lecturing first-year students the following year.
“I was then unemployed for many years. A year ago I joined African Lotus Productions working for Sunday Sadhana (a popular Hindu magazine programme aired on the SABC).
“I did productions, co-ordination and script writing. Learning how to use the (Apple) MacBook to edit interviews was challenging but fun,” she said.
“I resigned in September this year to pursue my business interests.”
As a motivational speaker, Naidu said that she had learnt to accept her disability from a young age. “I think it’s made me into the person I am. I am happy. This is my path and journey. Much of my success is |attributed to Sai Baba and my parents. I also believe that you have to be assertive. If you want to make it in life you have to be a self-starter.”
Naidu said she often heard people saying what she could not do. “There are a lot of misconceptions about persons with disabilities, you have to constantly prove yourself to people.”
She loves spending time with her parents, Jay and Shamilla, both of whom are involved in business, and siblings Devishini, 36, an attorney and Lovendra, 31, a logistics company owner, as well as sister-in-law Shinaaz.
“I love cooking. As for a sari, I can tie that in two minutes,” laughs Naidu.