Meet Council's new National Executive Director

From switchboard to CEO - A life's dedication to the blind and deaf communities:

From humble beginnings as a Switchboard operator 30 years ago, this inspirational man has made his way up the corporate ladder through hard work and perseverance in order to bring about positive change within the visually impaired and deaf communities... at last he's sitting at the helm of one of the largest NGO's in South Africa. Meet Jace Nair – newly appointed National Executive Director of the South African National Council for the Blind.

Lying in a hospital bed at the age of 14, Jace had convinced himself that his life was meaningless after he lost his sight overnight while being treated for measles. However, two patients he would meet at the King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban would change his perception of blindness. A blind boy, no more than 8 years of age, took it upon himself to help the nurses by bringing Jace his medication and water. Another young patient was a scholar at the Arthur Blaxall School for the Blind. These two boys brought Jace to the realisation that blind people were not only still capable of carrying out daily tasks, but that blind people could also still receive an education - something that Jace wanted dearly.

An employee at the then Natal Indian Blind and Deaf Society was visiting the hospital where Jace was an outpatient, to do some mobility training. The man spoke to Jace's father and eventually, after 26 long months, convinced him to school Jace at Arthur Blaxall. Equipped with a new perception of what it meant to be living with blindness, and with the opportunity to make the most of himself by attending a school for the blind, things were looking hopeful for the young boy.

Mr. Kamlapersad Ramsarup Sitaram, the Director of the Aryan Benevolent Home (ABH) - a NGO in Chatsworth, saw potential in Jace and, in 1982, told him of an opening at his organisation for a switchboard operator. The position wasn't on offer to visually impaired applicants however, but Mr. Sitaram welcomed Jace as a volunteer on the board nonetheless. Jace proved himself to be a highly competent operator, and barely one month later, the originally sceptical ABH committee board hired Jace.

Seizing an opportunity to help the organisation, Jace decided to sell fundraising tickets for the organisation over the phone - his own initiative. The success of this initiative led to Jace's promotion to the position of National Public Fundraising Manager. When he left the organisation in 2000, his original fundraising project was bringing in almost R700 000 in cash donations on its own.

After joining one of Council's member organisations, the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Blind and Deaf Society in 2000 as the organisation's Chief Executive Officer, Jace supervised the setting up of the KZN Optima College in 2004, helped set up the KZN Community Based initiative in 2005, and implemented the opening of the Victor Daitz Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) Centre in 2007.

After almost 9 productive years as their CEO, Jace has taken the next step in his journey, and will occupy his new post as Council's National Executive Director from September 1. Jace and his wife, Kay, who also works in the NGO sector, will be moving up from KwaZulu-Natal, while his 21-year-old daughter, Shankri and 20-year-old son, Omesan, who are both completing BSc degrees at the University of Cape Town, will call Pretoria home during their vacation breaks from studying.

Jace's parting words for the visually impaired community he is set to serve have given this community something to look forward to: "The important thing is that we want to give people hope, we want them to know that there are opportunities, and we need to find ways of creating access for them, so that they can live an integrated, or inclusive life in their communities."

Council staff wish to give a warm welcome to Mr. Nair - we look forward to a prosperous working relationship and towards helping create a better environment for the visually impaired community we serve, with you at our organisation's helm.

Stacey Love
Communications Officer
South African National Council for the Blind
Tel: 012 452 3811
Fax: 012 346 4699
Visit www.sancb.org.za for further information or to donate online.