Blind man manages thriving livestock trade

By Vincent Mabatuk?

Nairobi, Kenya: They say disability is not inability and Kandie Cheburet is a living testimony. As a visually impaired 68-year-old man, he has for decades run a successful livestock trade where he has not only mastered how to buy the animals, but is also able to determine their value through touching. ?

Despite having lost the use of his eyes due to health problems 20 years ago, Cheburet still performs his duties daily, walking to livestock market places popularly known as ‘auction’ with his trademark walking stick. ?

The father of six began the business in 1979 and it was not until 1994 when he lost his sight and had to depend on his walking stick to reach the many places he had gone to before. ?

“It looks like just yesterday when a sharp painful feeling struck my right eye. I tried to seek medical attention but while in the middle of the preparation darkness was the only thing I witnessed. And I ultimately lost my sight,” recalls Cheburet. ?

Run into losses

When The Standard team visited him at his home in Kures village, we found him seated inside his two-room house, and he told us how he determines the worth of an animal.

The old man gently places his hand around the animal, especially the neck, back or tail. To be sure of how big or small the animal is, he lifts the animal and drops it two times. ?

“For a goat or sheep, I lift it up and I’m able to know the weight hence tell the price. Sometimes I run into losses like anybody else,” he laughs. ?

While away from the animals, he does farming with his wife Jennifer to cushion them when livestock business is low. ?In order not to confuse his animals at the market place, Cheburet skillfully cuts the tails’ ends. ?

“Always I go with a knife to ensure I mark my animals for easy identification because I cannot apply paint marks like other traders,” he explains. ?

Cheburet says he always buys up to 20 animals at a go, which he sells to butcheries in the surrounding area and far places like Kabarnet and Nakuru.

“I have my networks where I sell the animals to,” he says.

Felt frustrated

To connect with his customers, his wife’s phone comes in handy, as it allows him to communicate with them before he embarks on any trip. And through his efforts in the face of difficulties, he has been able to take all his children through school. His wife talked of how she felt frustrated after learning that Cheburet had lost his sight. ?

“It was sad and my ears were not ready for such news, but as a Christian I decided to put everything to God in prayer because I trust in God,” said Jennifer. ?

At first, she thought her husband could not reach far off markets and had to establish contacts with other traders to monitor his movement from one point to another. ?

Before leaving the house, the couple has to count all the money — at times amounting up to Sh100,000 or more — with Jennifer helping him to separate the notes depending on denominations to be easy for him during payment.?

“It is amazing what my husband of many years can do. It has served as an encouragement to the people of this village. When they see him go about his duties most of them do not have a reason to complain of lack of work to do,” says Jennifer.