She faced a world that she often seemed invisible to. Himasha Madhuwanthi was born visually impaired and soon lost her father at the tender age of seven. To make matters worse, her mother walked out of her life, leaving Himasha all alone.
As a small child, Himasha didn’t feel sad about her impairment because she studied and interacted with a lot of other visually impaired children. But it stung when she found herself alone on the days of report card distribution. She missed her father terribly, too. During her time at school, she studied with the Braille system, and her teachers ensured she learned and performed well. They accepted her and made her feel welcome. Himasha strengthened her relationship with God while she was in school. “I got the opportunity to study the Bible through the Braille system. I learned so much about God!” she said. Soon, Himasha went on to study Advanced Level in a village school, where she experienced exclusion that left her feeling lonely and downtrodden.
Her peers in this school didn’t seem to understand how to be around a visually impaired person and usually avoided her. Being the only visually impaired student in the school, Himasha was left to fend for herself most of the time. “I was very sad, and I prayed, asking for a different school,” she recalled. Soon, God answered her prayer, and she was sent to another school to complete her education.
God blessed her in abundance at this school. Himasha found friends in her hostel. “The teachers and my friends never let me feel lonely, even during the school holidays,” she said, remembering her teacher who invited her to stay in her house. The teacher not only made Himasha feel included, but she also looked after her and made sure she grew in her academic work. Himasha gives credit to the teacher for her great exam results. Himasha moved on to study Christianity at a university where she made even more friends who included her in the camps and gatherings. “They looked after me as their own sister,” she said happily.
“I believe God provided all my needs through the generosity of others, whether it was a laptop I needed with special software designed to help visually impaired people work, or assistance in my academic work,” Himasha recalled with a smile. She firmly believes that God planned her life perfectly, and this is reinforced for her by Jeremiah 1:5, which says:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
She may not be able to see the world as others see it, but she can clearly see that God is working in her life. Himasha desires to serve in God’s community as a teacher or lecturer one day. She is grateful to all the people who included her in their lives and communities and helped her grow as an individual.
