Mokgadi grew up in rural Limpopo, and moved to Ga-Rankuwa after matric. She spent several years as a teaching assistant, helping learners navigate the classroom during and after the Covid years.
Her path to O&M began with a moment of curiosity. She spotted Florence XX, an O&M Practitioner from SA Guide Dogs, training a blind person in Ga-Rankuwa and could not look away. She introduced herself, and Florence gave Mokgadi her number. When the 2024 student intake opened at the College of O&M at SA Guide Dogs, Mokgadi applied and was accepted.
The training was demanding in ways she had not expected. She recalls one exercise, in which the students were asked to imagine losing their sight in an instant. Many of the class members wept. The debrief that followed helped Mokgadi understand something she carries with her: blindness is not the same for any two people, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Mokgadi joined SAMBT in early 2026 as a newly qualified O&M Practitioner. One highlight of her induction, was learning to teach gardening skills under blindfold. “We laughed so very very much,” she says. “It was not theoretical. I was really doing it myself.”
