Psalm ‘revolutionised’ blind man’s life
KAMPALA, Uganda — When Benon Ndaziboneye thought about his future he felt despondent. Being blind, he felt that the opportunities to make a success of his life were out of his reach.
“It looked as if I had been banished to the point of no return, like I had been sent to the dust,” he recalls. But when he heard Psalm 113:7-8, he says, his life was “revolutionised.” “The Psalm says, ‘He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people.’ Every time I read it I get an excitement inside,” Mr Ndaziboneye smiles. “I thought that if God could lift somebody from those lowest levels to sit with princes, then he could do the same thing in my life. So I went and began telling everybody about my discovery!” Mr Ndaziboneye committed himself to God, and started attending a fellowship group, where he had the opportunity to learn more about the Scriptures.
“One of the things they would do is read Scriptures systematically, book by book,” he explains. “I managed to get a lot of Scripture into my head, which played a great role in my development. For instance, it helped me overcome my fears about the future and about who I was. It helped me to get a positive picture of myself and what my life was to be.” Mr Ndaziboneye’s future was, in fact, to be a story of great success. Overcoming many challenges, he completed a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, and then a master’s degree in Sector Planning and Management. He worked for several government departments and, later, an NGO. Today, he is Senior Program Officer for a British-based advocacy organisation called Action on Disability and Development (ADD), working to improve opportunities for people with disabilities, including blindness. “One of the things we are promoting is that the blind and deaf get access to the information they need,” he explains. “We encourage other organisations to produce information in forms that can be accessed by people with disabilities who often miss out on a lot of publications.” And, having personal experience of the immense impact that Scripture can have on somebody who is struggling with life, Mr Ndaziboneye has been impressed with the Bible Society of Uganda, which produces Scriptures especially for blind people. “One of the positive examples I have been giving to other organisations is the Bible Society. The Bible Society knows that everyone is entitled to read the Bible so they put the Scriptures into media that can be accessed by blind people. So when we meet the media houses here, I tell them what the Bible Society is doing, and tell them that they should follow suit and also produce their publications on tapes, and other formats!” Mr Ndaziboneye remembers his own struggles to learn Braille and master a Braille typewriter, as well as a normal one, during his studies, and is sympathetic to blind people who have not had the advantages he has had. “To a great extent I have been an exception,” he concedes. “I attribute that to my faith in Christ. Other blind people have been successful to certain levels but there have also been very many others who have given up when things didn’t work out so easily.” With his faith to spur him on when things got difficult, Mr Ndaziboneye never gave up and now takes great joy in working to help other people with disabilities. “I learned that there is no limit to what God can do in my life,” he says with a smile. (WR 379/16 - 9.03)
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