Souleyman Bah is a para-athlete, businessman, Berkshire Vision Patron, and more recently a father. Diagnosed with the rare degenerative eye condition retinitis pigmentosa, we sat down to chat with him about life as a blind dad!
LB – Lara Beasley SB – Souleyman Bah
LB: Could you tell me a little bit about your journey with sight loss?
SB: Hi, I’m Souleyman, I’m 24 and I have retinitis pigmentosa. This means I can only see through a small hole in the middle of the eye with no peripheral vision. I also have night blindness, so I can’t see in dark settings.
I came to the UK from Guinea when I was 5 as there was no disability awareness over there, especially at school. Since then, I’ve had a really positive experience with the education system, and that’s where I found my passion for sports.
I would always win races against my friends! I knew I had a natural ability, so I joined an athletics club. Through training and honing my skills, I was chosen to represent Britain at the Junior Paralympics – where I won gold!
LB: Wow! So you’re clearly an incredibly talented athlete, but I know you also get up to a lot more than that – could you divulge?
SB: I knew I wanted to inspire other kids to take up sports, so I started a speaking company where I went to schools and shared my story. That led me into the business world, and I ended up applying for The Apprentice. I got accepted and became the first disabled person to do the show. I’ve also done a couple of other TV shows – so I’ve had a plethora of experiences with sports, business and media, and my latest journey is being a blind dad!
LB: Yes! I’ve seen your TikTok where you document your journey with parenting – how have you been finding fatherhood?
SB: Parenting has definitely been the most interesting, difficult, but rewarding experience I’ve had.
Parenting is of course difficult as it is, and then adding onto that my visual impairment has been quite challenging. Simple things like not being able to see measurements on the baby bottle, not knowing whether you’ve cleaned the baby properly, or not seeing visual cues that suggest the baby might be ill- it makes things a lot harder.
But it’s also been super rewarding. I’ve learnt a lot about myself, facing things I’d never considered about my disability.
LB: What sort of adaptations have you had to make to make parenting accessible for you?
SB: One of the big ones is making bottles correctly, which is essential for the baby’s health. I searched online to see if there was anything to help me with this, and I found the Baby Brezza, which makes the bottles for you! It’s important to know and communicate your personal strengths and weaknesses, so I’ve done a lot of collaborating with my partner. I tend to take on the night shift, which allows my partner to take on a bit more of the work that I might not be able to do during the daytime. I’ve also learnt a lot from other visually impaired parents, discovering new ways of doing things and what solutions they might have. It’s been really rewarding to reach out and expand my circle in that way- and social media has been a useful tool in helping me find that community.
Seeing other disabled parents on social media has also inspired me to put my own journey out there on the Internet. I realised that if I’m going through these challenges and finding solutions, someone out there would benefit from hearing my story.
LB: Do you have any advice for other blind parents, or visually impaired people who might be considering parenthood?
SB: It’s not easy, so you have to prepare yourself for that. It was a bit of a shock for me at first, but with time you’ll be able to feel more confident in your role. It’s an ever-changing ever-evolving journey, but it’s 100% worth it. There are resources out there to help you, it’s good to be proactive in looking for those tools. Through a bit of research, you’ll find ways of doing things that make the job a lot easier for you.
Communication is really important – with your partner, friends, family, and even wider social media circles. Be confident in voicing things you’re struggling with – they might have a suggestion that could work for you!
LB: As your child grows a bit, what are your plans going forward?
SB: I took a couple of years off of everything to really focus on parenting – I’ve never really had a week off since I was 14 so it’s given me a lot of time to reflect and work on myself.
I’ve come to terms with my disability – over the years and as my vision has gotten progressively worse, I’ve never really sat down to consider my future with it. That’s been an important journey for me in and of itself.
In the next couple of months, I’m looking to get back into sport and TV – so that’s my next ambition!
LB: Well, I’m looking forward to seeing what you get up to next! Thanks for chatting Soul!
SB: Not at all, thanks for your questions!
You can learn more about Soul’s journey as a blind dad on TikTok- @blinddaduk
Lara Beasley is a student at the University of Reading doing an internship in marketing at Berkshire Vision.
