60- year-old Boldwin Maluleke of Mamelodi East Extension 17 wash a car photo by Dimakatso Modipa
Living with a disability can be very difficult, especially if one lets it define oneself.
But blind 60- year-old Boldwin Maluleke of Mamelodi East Extension 17 has no time for self pity but is rather focusing on achieving great things in his life.
His blindness doesn’t determine how his day will pan out because he uses his talent to discover his purpose in life.
Maluleke lost his sight at the age of 21 after being involved in a fight with a rival gangster leader.
The self-confessed trouble-maker has turned this disaster into an opportunity because he runs a car wash business at his RDP house in Extension 17.
He hasn’t allowed loss of sight to put him down and he has changed his wayward behaviour and shows courage and willingness to take on the challenges of surviving without handouts.
Instead of being ridiculed for his blindness, Maluleke is actually loved and adored by many folks in his community.
“It took me many years to discover that blindness must not determine my destiny,” said Maluleke.
“I then decided to do something that will make a difference in my life instead of standing at a street corner begging for alms,” he explained.
One of his regular customers Thomas Manganye said Maluleke can wash a car extremely clean and spotless though he is blind.
Maluleke lives alone and performs his household chores himself without a helper.
The talkative blind man can identify his customers by the sound of their voices and can count monetary notes and coins by using his hands to feel the value of the money.
Maluleke, who is a father of one child, is certainly an emerging businessman and he can do almost everything that a fully-sighted person can do.
He explained that after losing his sight, he only used his walking stick for a short while but ultimately learned to walk without using it.
Although doing this was difficult, he persevered and today he can travel from Pretoria to Johannesburg all by himself.
Since the last three letters of the alphabet in his name are “win,” Boldwin Maluleke is determined to win in whatever he does.
“Since losing my eyesight I decided never to rely on disability grant but have financial independence and become self-reliant and I am not going to tire until I reach my goal, which is absolute success,” he said.
“There is no financial gain without pain and my live for the people of Mamelodi together with my Christian faith have helped him to take the risk of starting a business,” he said.
As a parting shot Maluleke used the following adage:
“Faint heart never won fair lady.”