Believing without seeing
Schoolteacher finds confidence despite being blind and independent in capital city.
Story by STACIE HECKER | Photos by FAIZ SIDDIQUI
Fate Tilam strolled confidently down the streets of her hometown, Addis Ababa, with the assistance of a walking stick. The thin-framed woman is 27 years old, living blind and independently.
Ethiopia has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world. There are 1.2 million blind people in Ethiopia and 2.8 million with impaired vision. Ninety percent of blindness in Ethiopia is either curable or preventable.
“People discriminated against me because I’m visually impaired,” Fate said. “They don’t want to treat you like a full person. Generally they kill your future hopes.” Having received discrimination, Fate has no desire of returning to her birthplace.
“We can only teach people to change their attitude toward us. I accept everything as it is and move forward.” -Fate Tilam, Blind Ethiopian
Fate lives with her best friend, Fiker, who is also blind and Fiker’s two children. Because they live in the capital city, their home is expensive and costs 717 Ethiopian Birr; the equivalent of 34 US dollars per month.
Fate became blind at the age of seven when she and several of her classmates contracted smallpox. Out of the 12, she was the only survivor.
Fate does not let any sort of discrimination hold her back from having a normal life. She has a career working at the local school, Addis Ray primary school, where she teaches Amharic and civics to students.
“Okay now let me tell you about different kinds of addictions.” Fate says to her classroom full of students. The children listen intently to the words of their teacher. “First, alcohol addiction; taking excessive alcoholic drinks which leads to a breakdown in health and an addiction to alcohol.”
She also serves as the school’s guidance counselor. Students feel a close connection to Fate, they see her as someone that they can trust. Fate notes that this is not like the experiences she had while attending school in her youth.
Outside of her career, Fate enjoys spending her free time at the Blind Association, a compound in Addis Ababa where blind people gather to make friends. They see the blind association as a safe place- a place where they will not be judged.
With about 886 Ethiopian Birr or 42 US dollars coming in per month from her job as a teacher and guidance counselor, Fate doesn’t usually have any money to spare. There are, however, special occasions where she goes to a local beauty shop to get her hair done.
“Blind people know everything we do for beauty,” Fate said as her hair is washed, brushed and curled by her stylist. “I know myself best of all and how to look beautiful.”
Fate relies on her own instinct in knowing what to wear and how to look. She and Fiker rely on one another to decide what looks best on each other.
Along with getting her hair done, one of Fate’s greatest loves in life is singing. In 2013, she auditioned for the popular television show, Ethiopian Idol.
Fate stepped out on stage and began belting out a song in Amharic. She made it to the second round, but was then voted off. The judges said their reasoning was because she had not practiced enough.
Confidence is Fate’s overall composure and persona. She does not hold herself back to things just because she is blind.
“You have to believe that you can learn, work and do activities just like others who can see,” Fate said. “We feel bad when people say, ‘look at those blind people.’ We can only teach them to change their attitude toward us. I accept everything as it is and move forward.”
Edited and designed by Kelly Hinseth
