Vhuhulu Mavhunda
By Arnold Baburi
Vhuhulu Mavhunda is a determined 24-year-old pursuing his third-year LLB degree at the University of Limpopo with support from the Road Accident Fund. In 2021, he was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.
Vhuhulu faced unique challenges when his existing visual condition became more complex due to his colitis, resulting in greater visual impairment. Rather than letting these experiences define his limitations, Vhuhulu channelled them into a purpose, founding the Vhuhuluhawe Foundation to support others who have various health conditions and disabilities.
Born on January 30th, 2001, in Sundani village near Vuwani, Vhuhulu began his schooling journey in 2007 at Sundani Primary School and later attended Muthurwana Secondary School. However, in 2019, while in Grade 11, his eyesight began to deteriorate, forcing him to transition to Rivoni School for the Blind in Elim. This special school could better accommodate his needs.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Vhuhulu recalled. “‘In 2019, when I changed school, I was beginning to lose my sight; my eyes were deteriorating,’ he added. ‘I had to move to a school where I could get the support I needed. It was not easy at first—adjusting to new things later in life can be tough. But over time, I got used to it even though it was painful.'”
Vhuhulu completed his matric in 2021. However, in 2020, he attempted matric for the first time but had to drop out due to his deteriorating eyesight, which was later linked to ulcerative colitis. As he explains,
“Dropping out of school in 2020 was due to the deterioration of my eyes, meaning I was starting to lose my eyesight; my eyes were now blurry. The main other issue with dropping out was this condition that was troubling me, which at the time we thought was a kidney infection… It wasn’t an ulcer until 2021, when I went to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital; that’s where they diagnosed me with ulcerative colitis.”
Due to his condition, Vhuhulu’s eyesight deteriorated to the point where he could no longer see or write using a pen and paper; he subsequently had to learn Braille, a system used by blind people typically for reading and writing. His former economics teacher at Rivoni School for the Blind, Tsakani Vuma, says what she has observed after he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis is quite distressing.
“Sometimes it was not good,” she says, recalling instances where he would experience severe bleeding when passing stool, which was stressful to witness. “Watching him lose weight daily and constantly complaining about pain was heartbreaking. He would often lose his appetite and struggle to eat, and he would sleep excessively. Sometimes, he would be forced to be alone most of the time, which meant he was cut off from friends and some relatives.”
Occasionally, she would see him changing clothes due to involuntary bowel movements, and sometimes he would have to discard those clothes because, as she puts it, “sometimes the poop would come involuntarily.”
Vhuhulu successfully passed his matric in 2021, obtaining position two in the Limpopo provincial awards under the disability category, and he was admitted to study for a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Limpopo. Due to his performance, he was recognised by the Road Accident Fund, which, to date, finances his studies.
“The Road Accident Fund played a huge role in my life, because they selected me as one of the top performers in Limpopo, and then in 2022, they awarded me an amount of approximately R50,000 to buy assistive devices that I would need in tertiary education—devices that I can use while attending university and everything. Then, in 2023, the Road Accident Fund began sponsoring me academically, covering my tuition fees, accommodation fees, and even providing a meal allowance. The meal allowance was sufficient for me to buy essentials and save for medication. I managed to save the money that the Road Accident Fund provided for my food allowance so that I could take myself to a private hospital,” said Vhuhulu.
After Vhuhulu was admitted to the University of Limpopo, he continued to face challenges regarding his well-being. Despite his academic pursuits, his health issues persisted, significantly impacting his daily life. As Vhuhulu recounts,
“Ulcerative colitis was diagnosed in 2021, but it’s something that was troubling me since 2019.”
He further explains that his condition led to severe symptoms, including bleeding, pain, and weight loss, which affected his academic performance and overall quality of life. In his own words, Vhuhulu describes the struggles he faced:
“Since 2021, things were very tough until 2024 when I was finally admitted while I was writing my final paper, or my final module, in 2024.”
He noted that his condition and subsequent surgery significantly changed his life, requiring him to adapt to a new way of living with a stoma bag. He said,
“The stoma bag changed me, and it saved me at the same time because it saved me from sleepless nights, diarrhoea, pain, bleeding, and everything.”
He explains that, despite the challenges, he is grateful for the support he received from organisations like the Road Accident Fund and the Reakgona Disability Centre, which helped him navigate his academic and personal struggles. As he notes,
“Reakgona Disability Centre members or staff members were there to advocate for me as I was having a condition that many people do not know about, as we can tell that people often believe that a disability is a physical disability only. However, the staff members were there to advocate for me to lecturers and other members of staff at the University of Limpopo, who ultimately managed to accommodate me with the situation or condition that I was having.”
Director of Reakgona Disability Centre in the University of Limpopo, Justice Phukubje, notes,
“I have worked closely with Vhuhulu Mavhunda, who is one of the students receiving our support services.” He adds, “The Centre provides academic, psychosocial, advocacy, and well-being support to students with disabilities.” He further states, “We try to ensure that students like Vhuhulu don’t feel forgotten or left out during challenging times.”
Due to his experiences, Vhuhulu decided to form the Vhuhuluhawe Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to assisting persons with disabilities and chronic illnesses by providing awareness, support, and advocacy. “The only disability in life is a bad attitude,” as Scott Hamilton aptly puts it, a reminder that with the right mindset, anything is possible.
