By CHRISTINE MWAABA –

“I did not know that losing my sight would make me gain a vision to become one of the most potent entrepreneurs in my village.”
This is a powerful statement from a tremendous woman with a knack for survival that has lifted her from the debris of despair to exuberant business success.
She has fought her way from a life that would have gone haywire but, was determined enough to make a difference to several more lives is an inspiring tale of unremitting mind and a saga of courage.

• VISUALLY impaired Priscilla trading from her house.

There is one element that shines strongly in Priscilla Chilembe’s life.
She has kept the entrepreneurial streak alive, endured a debilitating disability and promoted her businesses in Shingwe village, Mwense in Luapula Province.
Shaking out of fear and shading a flood of tears was inevitable when Priscilla was told she may not be able to see ever again.
After experience some pain in her eyes for some time, Priscilla got the first shock of her life at the age of 20 in 1992 when she was told she would go blind.
The worry and agony that comes with going blind is simply a nightmare for any individual.
Priscilla was apprehensive at first because she knew that she would have to learn to do things without her sight.
The pain she was feeling and the seemingly  splashing of water was like a stone hitting her eye.
She did not know that it was a sign that she was losing her sight.
But the worst was far from over; the doctor had told Priscilla that it would be just a matter of time that she would become fully blind.
She then completely lost her vision.
After she was told  about her condition, Priscilla would mostly be confined to a bed the whole day and perhaps not even associate with her peers.
Eventually, Priscilla began to contemplate on what she could do.
She knew fully that she was not able to see.
“I could not go to school and pursue things like teaching, nursing, not to mention even just been a simple tailor,” she said in an interview recently.
At such a time, when she was young and looking forward to life, her future plans began to look bleak.
The inability to perform any task was a depressing moment which made her lose all hope of living.
But suddenly, to add to her woes, her husband with whom she had two children left her  due to the fact that the he was no longer interested in their marriage.
He decided to divorce her so he could find a sighted woman.
It was from this instant that Priscilla began to view her life differently and says probably, problems come to heroes so that they can overcome.
That thought is what motivated her to get back on her feet in life.
She established a small business with the aim of earning some income so she could be able to provide for her family rather than ask for help from the public all the time.
In 2005, things were starting to look up after she was introduced to the national trust fund for the disabled, an organisation that gives out loans to eligible persons with disability so that they can engage in self sustenance activities.
The first loan she collected from the trust fund amounted to K2,500.
It was invested in her business which increased her profits.
After some time, Priscilla doubled her business after collecting another loan amounting to K3,500.
That money greatly boosted her business.
It is after this that she was able to pay back the loan and the extra profits raised enabled her to  build her own house which she is currently leaving in with her children.
“Disabled people can perform if given a chance,” she says.
Pricilla is a streak of human endeavour that refuses to give up and keeps the light burning when there is darkness all around.
Fatalistic attitudes debilitate the mind already enduring physical pain.
But a turn to positive thinking and achievement completely negates the pain.
“There is an old saying, ‘When God closes one door, he opens another’,” says Priscilla, implying that what started as a string of misfortune in her life has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
With a business well-known in Shingwe village, Priscilla has had to enlist the help of her children in counting money and getting inventory details or supply demand information concerning the business.
As years have dawned, life seems bright for Priscilla’s business.
After many ups and downs, Priscilla is today a changed woman and has many people to thank including God for helping her overcome the trials and tribulations of her life.
“I am a person with limited sight but unlimited vision.
That is who I am by divine grace,” she said.
Having turned into a triumphant business woman, Priscilla walks tall as her own boss, owning a house and able to pay school fees for her
children of which her first child is now in Grade 12.
Priscilla feels she has been able to see much of her inner self rather than the exterior world that helped her soar to heights she would not have imagined.
Sometimes little people know that their own physical self may not limit them in one way or the other, but the kind of attitude Priscilla
has displayed which can make one lead a life full of energy, positivity, and success.
Like a seed that will grow into a tree to benefit a lot of people,
Priscilla embodies perseverance and grit, and looking at life positively despite an acquired disability that was testing her ability to work again.