To Be a Man in a World of Sighted Men, You Have to Be Man Enough: Thomas Mtonga’s Narrative of Living Blind in Zambia

Turning blind, learning to live with a disability and negotiating one’s space in the world of the sighted men were not the only problems that confronted Thomas Mtonga, but living blind, sharing the spaces with the sighed and standing to be counted among them. As the saying goes, ‘there is a story behind every person and that there is a reason why they are the way they are’. A glimpse through Thomas’ stories drew attention and interest in asking the questions: What is the story about Thomas? How did he navigate through various social units that were not ready for men living with disabilities? How has his life of living with blindness challenged the world of sighted men? Employing a life history approach into data mining of stories, narratives and experiences shared through the media, an analysis of writings on the walls of Thomas’ Facebook account was undertaken. A conceptual framework that was developed acted as a lens to make meaning of Thomas’ journey in the world of sighted men and how he worked himself through to stand up and be counted among men. The narrative established that hard work, determination and the spirit of positivity helped Thomas achieve his dreams with the family and the school, as social units, having a greater impact in shaping his destiny. Thomas’ experience of both worlds of sight and blindness was both a resource and catalyst in moulding his persona. Furthermore, the family’s investment in his early days of schooling came to act as a complementing ‘resource’ to his disability. Thus, it would be argued that his strong character more than anything helped him navigate through the world of the sighted and negotiated a place in the already existing hegemonic (masculinity) strata.