The story of a blind carpenter

Holding a hammer in his right hand and a chisel in his left, a tall, energetic man in a blue T-shirt embroidered with the Veta logo, worn underneath a soiled white apron worked on a pair of stool legs.

He was among the exhibitors at the Vocational Education and Training Authority (Veta) pavilion during this year’s Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair at the saba saba grounds.
A crowd of curious onlookers watched in awe as 55-year-old Boniphace Kinyezo went about his work. They were amazed at how he accurately and skillfully carved the piece of wood he was working on. The fact that Boniphace cannot see is what mesmerised everybody at the Veta pavilion.
Boniphace wore a wide smile as he answered questions from the Education minister, Joyce Ndalichako who visited the pavilion and was equally eager to know how he managed to make furniture while he could not see.
“I don’t find it hard working as a carpenter because apart from experience, I usually have someone around to assist in handing me tools like a hammer, nails or wood saw for example,” says Boniphace.
Boniphace says being visually impaired does not mean he is helpless. In spite of being blind, he can make various types of furniture. Being a carpenter was his childhood dream.
People wondered how he managed to avoid hitting his fingers as he worked with the hammer, something Boniphace attributes to experience. He has worked as a carpenter since he finished vocational training college in 1982. He did a carpentry course at Manoleo college in Tabora for two years where he was awarded a Grade III certificate in carpentry.
Since he could not find employment after he completed training, Boniphace, who was living in Shinyanga at that time decided to employ himself. Although he did not have a proper place to call a workshop, he managed to get little jobs to do.
Boniphace says he cannot work alone and so his son usually works with him to assist in situations like handing him tools for work. It is his son that helps Boniphace buy materials for his work.
The father of three makes things such as window frames, doors, tables, stools, beds and other small things including repairing broken house furniture. And he does so very precisely, something he attributes to the help of a special tape measure specifically made for people with visual impairment.
 “I use my hands, brain and knowledge just like any other person. I want to emphasise that being blind doesn’t mean you are unable, it is a challenge to prove this in the society we live in,” says Boniphace.

Measles changed his life
Boniphace who hails from Buhangija village in Tabora region became blind at the age of two, after suffering from measles. His father, unlike most parents of children with disability wanted him to study for a better future and therefore enrolled him at special school for his primary education.
“My father was very supportive and wanted me to get an education. He enrolled me at Buhangija Primary School in 1967 where I was a boarder,” Boniphace recalls.
He says he was very happy to go to school and the fact that the school buildings were beautiful made him feel at home. The school had two dormitories which were special for pupils with disability. The school admitted both day schollars and boarders, both disabled and able bodied students.
Students with disability had a special curriculum for standards one to two after which they were mixed with able bodied students in Standard three.
 “Although I was blind, I had a passion to learn and to acquire skills because I wanted to be a famous carpenter,” says Boniphace.
The craftsmanship in Boniphace started showing as he was growing up. He used to be good at making toys and fixing things at home. A particular moment he remembers is when he made his own guitar after his favourite school guitar was broken by one of the pupils.
“I used to like playing the guitar and since there was only one guitar at school, other pupils used to take it away from me, something I found very embarrassing. This, together with the fact that someone ended up breaking the school guitar anyway, prompted me to make my own,” recalls Boniphace.
He later with friends formed a band which used to play during school festivals and ceremonies outside the school. Because of his skills in playing the guitar, a Roman Catholic priest bought him a real guitar when he completed primary school.
During his lifetime, he tried a career in music in Morogoro and later Dar es Salaam but was not successful in this. All the bands he worked with never made it far.
After completing Standard Seven, Boniphace joined Manoleo vocational college in Tabora where he studied from 1980 to 1982.
He came to Dar es Salaam in 1984, and started working on his own as a carpenter. He joined Veta, where he worked part time as he continued to learn.
For Boniphace, capital is a big challenge, which is why he makes small furniture like stools, small tables and doors.
 “The capital I have is very small which is why I make small things like stools, tables and other small items. I need to have a more substantial capital to open a workshop. I think this will convince clients to give me work,” he says.
Another challenge is machine. The machine that Boniphace uses is analog and given the science and technological advancement today, he needs an electric machine which will make his work easier.
“If I get an electric machine like other carpenters who use new technology, my work and my life will change and the society will witness and trust my work,” says Boniphace.
“I’m still learning how to use electric machine at Veta, which has special programmes for people with special needs.”
He advises the government to open up more opportunities to people with disability, especially on special education programmes through vocational training centres.
“The government should set aside a budget for the special programmes in order for people with special needs to get the opportunity to study without any hindrances.”
Boniphace pleads with society to live in harmony with people with disability without neglecting them.
“The society should not hide people with disability, instead take these children to school and as for adults, they should be developed and taken to vocational training centres which have special programmes for the disabled.”
People with disability have the right to be employed because some of them have got skills, knowledge and talent.
When he comes across such people, Boniphace takes the trouble to talk to them in order to give them hope. He does so to give them the confidence especially when they are searching for different opportunities for their own development. He also encourages them to make an effort to acquire skills so they may get good jobs.

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