‘There is nothing that I cannot do’ | Old Harbour’s visually impaired Kimani Nunis defying all odds with hard work

But what happens when that little bundle is not perfect by society’s standards and has a disability? How does a family navigate life when the child handed to you has a medical defect that cannot be prayed away or repaired with surgery? Well, Clifton Nunis of Burke Road, Old Harbour, quickly had to come to terms with the fact that his last child would be special as he was visually impaired and that with the lemons that life just threw him, he had better be prepared to mix a jug of very sweet lemonade.

The father of six shared that he immediately got into action to get the child assessed and when the original diagnosis was confirmed he mentally prepared himself to simply be the best father he can be. He was determined for his child to have all the opportunities and rights he was entitled to, as he was not about to be short-changed simply because he was blind.

“We realised that him nah focus pon the light; that he can barely glimpse it. Initially, I took him to the eye doctor who told me that glasses could not help him but either me or his mother should take some of the moisture out of our eyes and give him. To this day I don’t know if what he said made any sense,” Nunis said. “I then made an appointment with a Cuban doctor who assessed him and told us that there was nothing medically they could do for him so we left it at that. It has been one of the roughest challenges I ever faced. I know most people get them and put them aside, but not me. He is my child and I had to ensure that he got the same opportunities as everyone and that he was loved and cherished just like his siblings.”

Nunis, who operates a cook shop on Vaz Drive near the entrance of Sampars Old Harbour, shared that in raising Kimani, he tried to not treat him any differently from his other siblings as he wanted to ensure that he enabled his son and not further ‘disable’ him.

He tells Old Harbour News: “In the early years, I got one set of children with one woman. I did farm work back then so I used to travel a lot. However, by the time he was born, I was home more so he grew in my hands. Basically from him born, a me nurse and tek care of him.”

Nunis enrolled Kimani in the Salvation Army School for the Blind on Mannings Hill Road, Kingston City. Since Nunis and his family have lived at the top of Burke Road for more than 30 years, getting Kimani to his new school in the capital city without a personal vehicle would be a daily struggle.

“I would wake up at 4:00 am to catch the express to reach there and then leave out at 1:30 pm to go back for him. At the time I did janitor work at night so I would reach home late, go to work until midnight at a bakery and then jump back up at 4:00 am.  I did this until he decided he wanted to do boarding,” He explained in an interview with Old Harbour News. He then added: “Every Sunday I made sure that when his mother cooked Sunday dinner, I would carry it up there to him as well as his pocket money.”

Being in that environment Kimani learnt Braille and other skills that equipped him to fend for himself. He was successful in his GSAT examination and passed for Calabar High school. Again the back and forth with transportation took place. This time his schoolmate would carry him to the bus stop and his father would pick him up when the bus got to Old Harbour.  This they did for years and though it was not always easy, it was worth it as by the end of his high school journey, Kimani passed all his subjects in one sitting. A testament to the power of hard work and defying the odds of the hand dealt to him.

A prouder father there never was as Mr. Nunis can easily list off all of his son’s achievements. For him, he no longer sees Kimani as his visually impaired son but as an individual who is making his way in the world, one step and stage at a time, tackling all the same milestones as other young people and surpassing them without being given any special advantage or privilege.

He proudly tells me: “At Calabar, he copped the principal’s trophy for excellence and graduated in the top six out of 100. He was so well-rounded that he was a peer counselor at high school, working with other children and inspiring them to rise above their current circumstances in order to see the bigger picture. He is just an awesome young man. My dreams for him are his dreams. He originally wanted to be a lawyer but changed his mind to business. I would love to see him successful in his endeavours as he already has a good heart and a good brain and those will take him a far way.”

At age 24, Kimani Nunis is a young man in the prime of his life, soaking up the full college experience and all that it has to offer. His being blind has not put a damper on his ability to have fun and just be one of the boys. A political science student at the University of the West Indies, Mona, this active Taylor Hall man says he has fully immersed himself in this experience because he wanted to live a life of no regrets.

Interestingly, Nunis aspires to be an active parliamentarian, which would make him just the second visually impaired politician after Dr. Floyd Morris. Being a servant of the people appeals to young Nunis because he said that is where he believes he can have the most impact in helping others. “Because of my disability,” he says “I want the disabled to have a voice. It is only fair that they too are not only heard but represented.”

Being heard has not always been easy and just getting a good education itself was a challenge. “It was really hard to leave out at 4:30 in the morning and get home at 10:30 but I think that it instilled in me the discipline to realise that not everything you want out of life will come easy,” Kimani said.

Though Burke Road has been known as a hot spot for all types of conflict and violence over the years, for young Kimani it was home and the place where he forged many a lasting friendship.

“It was nice, most of my friends were from there and they treated me like I didn’t have a disability so I was basically one of them,” he said.
Calabar High School, he explained, was the perfect environment for him to excel.

“It was the push that I needed because where I was before I was too comfortable. I had no challenge. No one pushed me to live up to my full potential. At Calabar, I had to work as the environment was very competitive and people did not take it easy on me academically because I am visually impaired,” said Kimani.

Young Nunis shared that he is not wired the way most people are in terms of settling into a proven study routine, admitting “I rarely study to be honest,” but incredibly attained eight CXCs and six CAPE subjects and the conclusion of his secondary studies.

Overcoming every day issues is just something he has to navigate based on the fact “that I can’t see to get to certain places by myself can be a challenge,” being and will always be a major obstacle for him.

\Another is dealing with the ignorance of some people who speak long before they stop to think about what they should say. Many ask silly questions that simply defy all common sense and logic. Said Kimani: “Some of the questions used to annoy me but now I understand human nature a little better so it doesn’t annoy me anymore. People used to ask me how do I eat and how do I bathe. I now realise that people are just people and they can talk without thinking and that they are just curious.”

Nunis, who in his spare time loves to listen to music and watch sports with his friends, stated that staying motivated is not difficult as over the years the people that surround him always ensure that he never loses sight of his dreams.

“Lots of things and lots of people motivated me. My parents for one plus my guidance counselor from high school,” he said. “My guidance counselor Miss Jennifer Jarrett is definitely my role model because she is the first person who instilled in me that nothing in life should be an obstacle and that there is nothing that I cannot do.”