Geometric diagrams and graphs were written in Braille so Jo Futselaar could participate in the South African Mathematics Olympiad (Samo).
On Thursday, she made history as the only visually impaired pupil out of 11,000 who participated in the second round of the event.
Jo, 15, was born with Leber congenital amaurosis, an eye disorder that precluded her retina from developing fully, leaving her blind.
“I decided to sign up for it because I hadn’t done one. It was a lot harder than the first round and I struggled with diagrams,” said Jo.
“Generally speaking maths is a hard subject for blind people due to the nature of translating maths into Braille. It’s quite a complicated business and the fact that Jo can still perform at the same level as her peers in maths makes it an even better achievement than for her sighted peers, because for her, it is that much more challenging and hard to visualise,” said her proud mother, Janine Futselaar.
She said Jo, though not in the top maths class at her Johannesburg school, had always been good at the subject. She was pleasantly surprised when she got the call to say that Jo, who had not told her mom she was entering the competition, had made it into the next round.
The two are still waiting to hear if she will be going through to the third round. In the meantime, Jo has been keeping herself busy with her hobbies, which include playing the piano and listening to audio books. She hopes her can-do attitude will inspire other visually impaired children to put themselves out there.
“Just try to give it your best. Don’t always believe what other people say — for example, that you’re helpless just because other people say that. I would say try. If you fail, then you fail, just give it your best,” she said.
The best gift a parent could give a child is independence, empowering them to do things for themselves, as opposed to them having an impression that they are helpless.
— Janine Futselaar
For Janine, the best gift you can give your children is the freedom to try new things.
“The biggest thing is to understand that it is a sighted world and a blind person is going to be in the minority, and ultimately they do need to learn how to cope in a sighted world. The best gift a parent could give a child is independence, empowering them to do things for themselves, as opposed to them having an impression that they are helpless,” she said.
“Jo has been awarded a trophy for Triumph Over Adversity three times at primary school, outstanding overall academics throughout her school career to date (third in grade 7), a rosette for horse riding and has been fully integrated into mainstream schooling since she was 18 months old and thriving.
“We found out she was blind when she was three months old. There is no previous family history of blindness. She has been brought up to cope in a sighted world. She is always keen to try new things, such as paragliding, rock-climbing, skateboarding and riding a bike. Jo also loves rollercoasters, jumping off the 5m diving board at school, white-water rafting, zip-lining and ice-skating. She has an amazing zest and enthusiasm for life.”
