Kenya: Blind tailor breaking boundaries

Charles Kibe has not let his disability hold him back.

He walks through Nairobi’s Umoja estate with the help of a cane.

Tucked away here among rows of businesses is his own shop.

This is where he works every day, repairing and making clothes.

Kibe began losing his sight in 2013 and was completely bind by 2017.

“I grew up as a normal child, and when I reached adulthood, I was diagnosed with glaucoma. In other words, the physicians say, it's pressure of the eyes. So, from there, I walk, and up to now I live blind,” he says.

But rather than letting the diagnosis ruin his livelihood, he has found ingenious ways to make sure he can sew as accurately as if he could still see.

His measuring tape, for example, has some adaptions that help him do his job.

“The tape measure has 60 inches, so I marked it with scissors. Cracks from 1 inch, 2 inch, up to 60. So, when I count, I do this with a finger. So, I cut it right.”

“When I'm cutting cloth, I do mark cloth with pins. When I measure, if it is 10, I do pinning. So, when I cut with the scissors, I do pass the scissors around pins,” he adds.

Kibe began dressmaking and tailoring in 1990 and had many clients.

However, when he became blind, many customers abandoned him.

Kibe then resolved to prove them wrong and is gaining new customers one day at a time.

“In the first few years, they were very curious, because they were asking, how can I make a cloth or do work in that situation? So, many could not believe, until when I show them I'm capable."

"Those who went away, get back one by one,

and I make new customers,” he says.

Kibe’s determination despite his challenges has seen him gain new clients who have confidence in the quality of his work.

Betty Wanja has been bringing her clothes to him for four years and is collecting the latest ones today.

“At first, I was worried. Like any other human being, I was a bit worried but later, when I saw people bringing clothes to him and I saw his work, then I gained the confidence. So, I managed to bring my clothes and later he made some clothes for me,” she says.

The blind tailor who's innovative solutions have saved his career.