Blind girl: ‘I thank God I became blind’

By Lucianne Limo

Her parents and siblings abandoned her when she went blind after a measles attack. Leah Achiyo, 24, was not born blind but when tragedy struck, the only family she knew dumped her at grandmother’s house in Kapenguria.

“I come from Pokot and my community do not value education and being a girl my father knew I would make him rich by marrying me off,” she said. “But when I turned blind, my father lost hope because he knew he won’t get cows since no one would want to marry a blind girl,” she said.

On hindsight, Achiyo admits the best thing that has ever happened to her was becoming blind, saying she has acquired a special skill she says she would not have otherwise stumbled upon if she was sighted.

She is a professional Shiatsu masseuse (physiotherapist) at Lelesta Salon along Ngong’ Road.

And she is not alone. They are about 15 masseuses who earn a living from Shiatsu massage and are working in various hotels, salons, and gyms.

They were the first batch to be trained for one year by a Japanese trainer Tomoe Shimizu at Machakos Technical Institute for the Blind. Whereas some people become automatically dependent on others when they become visually impaired, or physically challenged, Achiyo’s case is different as she strangely confesses that her blindness was a ticket to being independent.

 “I am grateful to God for making me blind because I am now independent. I have two kids and my husband takes care of them and the proceeds from Shiatsu feeds and clothes us,” she says. “I come from a family of seven and yet none of my siblings has gone to school and because of my blindness, I was able to study and now enjoying my sweat,” she says proudly.

Shiatsu is a Japanese massage technique that focuses on the acupuncture pressure points in the body.

Even though this technique involves applying finger pressure, this massage technique is relaxing and relieves stress.

Fully clothed clients

Achiyo says first time clients are always apprehensive especially when she tells them she performs the massage on a client when fully dressed.

“When you tell a client you don’t have to remove clothes they find it unbelievable and even get perplexed when told it is a blind person doing the massage,” she chuckles. Shiatsu is usually performed with clients fully dressed. People usually receive Shiatsu therapy while lying on a floor mat or massage table or sitting up.

The massage is performed through the clothing – preferably a thin garment made from natural fibres therefore there is no direct palm contact of the masseuse with the client. Pressure is often applied using the thumbs, though various other parts of the body may be employed, including fingertips, palms, knuckles, elbows, and knees – some therapists even use their feet.

Shiatsu typically consists of sustained pressure (lasting up to 10 seconds at a time), squeezing, and stretching exercises. It may also involve gentle holding as well as rocking motions.

A treatment session lasts anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes. Achiyo says she loves her job and wouldn’t trade it for anything else. “When I was taught Shiatsu, I was told it is based on medicinal treatment and so I feel like a doctor,” she says.

“So many of my clients are patients suffering from stroke, arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, and backaches,” she notes. But Achiyo is proud that after several visits, most of her clients are satisfied and tell her they feel better.

Winnie Maina and Eva Kirima are two other Shiatsu masseuses who work at Parklands Sports Club. Ms Maina’s sight failed when she was 21 years old after suffering a severe headache for two weeks. “I was naturally devastated and I knew my life was over. I had to start the basics of life all over again,” she says.

But when she was introduced to Shiatsu massaging, Maina, said her zeal to live and earn a living was reignited. “I now work at Parklands Sports Club and at first, clients were not aware of this massage. After convincing, most clients prefer this kind rather than the oil one,” she added.

Partially blind

As for Ms Karimi, who lost her eyesight when she was 30 years-old following a bout of meningitis, Shiatsu message has become her source of livelihood. “I went into a coma for three days and when I woke up, I could not see and I also lost my other senses,” she recalled.

She says after few days, she regained all her senses and expected her sight would be back. She says she is partially blind. She says the beauty of this form of massage is that it is fast and can be done anywhere.

“You don’t need to shower like when you do the oil massage. She says best thing about the massage is that men who are shy to undress before women prefer this technique once they try it. “This is a new phenomenon and most people wonder what kind of massage is done while dressed up,” Karimi added.

The proprietor of Lelesta Salon Esther Njiru said before she hired the blind masseuses, she used to perform other different kind of massages like aromatherapy and Swedish massage. Njiru says her vision is to start an organisation for the blind Shiatsu Masseuses so that they can set up their own massage parlours,” Njiru said.

She says she has talked to the Association of People with Disabilities to register the organisation. The requirement is to have at least 10 masseuses so that they can be registered and funded.

The Japanese Government started supporting the Machakos Technical Institute for the Blind by sending volunteers to start the Shiatsu course in 2006.