Online volunteer Katherine Harrington introduces us to an amazing young man who isn’t going to let a disability get in the way of his dreams.

A hush falls over the crowd. Middleweight Ugandan boxer Bashir Ramathan turns to face his opponent.
Ramathan knows that a good boxer is a smart boxer, and uses everything he has at his disposal. Adrenalin pumping, Ramathan smells the sweat, hears the intake of every breath and the squeak of the shoes, senses his opponents presence and detects the rustle of clothing.

But he cannot see him.

Hailing from Naguru, a poor neighbourhood just outside of Kampala, 36-year old Ramathan began going blind 13 years ago, first in one eye, then the other.
His optic nerves have been paralysed and now his world is completely dark.

The former bricklayer lost his mother and his grandmother within the space of a year – around the time he lost his eyesight.
Unable to support his family, his wife and daughter left him shortly afterwards. His brothers and sisters were not in a position to help him.

A long, period of darkness and frustration followed. He was forced to rely on donations from his local mosque, and local orphans who came to cook for him.
"It forced me to become strong," he says. "I had to learn how to be alone".

A boxer since childhood, Ramathan took the sport up again three years ago, principally as a means to get fit.
With the help of a guide, Ramathan goes on a hour-long daily run, dodging pot-holes, cars, trucks and bikes. Then heads off to the gym for weights and training.

Now, he takes on able-bodied boxers who compete against him blindfolded. He has had over 15 matches since his return and is currently undefeated. Many are afraid to compete against him because of his awesome speed, agility and reflexes.
His coach, Hassan Khalia hails his talent in the ring.

"… I knew being blind would not hurt him," he says. "He’s still one of the best."

Ramathan is an inspiration to approximately 500,000 people in Uganda and millions more world-wide who are blind.
“Here is a man who is showing that blindness is not the end of the world,” said Francis Kinubi, chairman of the Uganda Blind Sports Association.

His home town of Naguru is known for turning out world-class boxers, like John Mugabi who fought in the United States and Michael Obin, a national welterweight champion. Four of Uganda’s six olympic medals have come from boxing.
Blind boxing is still in its infancy and is not yet a paralympic sport, but Ramathan intends to start his own worldwide blind boxing league.

“If blind people can wrestle or throw a javelin,” he said, “why can’t they box?”

Image: Australian Broadcasting Corp.