Living The Dream
Mr Marvin Mukuyu is a young handsome, successful Model and Graphics Designer. At first glance one will not be able to notice that he has a disability. Mr Mukuyu is deaf. Like many who are deaf he is largely misunderstood by society in general. Through socialization many of us have learnt to identify people with disabilities through certain observable characteristics, in other words we believe that disability should be visible. In Mr Mukuyu’s case you would probably not notice that he has a disability until you try to communicate with him using ordinary speech. Marvin like other deaf people in Zimbabwe is actually well able to communicate with others using one of the official languages in Zimbabwe; Sign Language.
Marvin acquired disability as a young child as a result of a certain illness which was successfully treated though he was rendered deaf by this illness. Nonetheless, Marvin has never let his disability hinder him from reaching his potential as a man. Like many of us Marvin was able to attend primary and secondary school. After completing his high school education, Marvin studied Graphics Designing. As a Graphics Designer he has gone on to work with a number of notable clients, some of his designs are visible on our ordinary household products available in many of our local retail supermarkets. In 2019 Marvin was in charge of the Lafarge Cement stand design and setup during the annual Agriculture show. Through Marvin’s leadership the Lafarge stand earned the Best Exhibition in the Construction Industry Trophy.
Marvin broke into the modelling scene in 2013. It was also in the same year that he was crowned Mr Deaf Zimbabwe. This to him this was a realization that he had found his forte and he has never looked back from that moment. In 2016 Mr Mukuyu went on to clinch the title of Best Male model for 2016 beating several non-disabled models and becoming the first deaf male model to win this award in Zimbabwe. He has continued his winning streak as summarized by the image below which captures some of his accolades.
When asked about his inspiration to become a model the confident young model responded that he drew inspiration from his childhood desire to one day represent his country at a larger scale. He also mentioned that he always had the determination within himself to demonstrate that given the right opportunities and resources deaf people can also achieve greatness. Marvin has had opportunities to work with some of Zimbabwe’s biggest brands including; leading cellular network; Econet Wireless where he featured on several of their advertising campaigns and billboards.
Although he is a successful model Marvin is a deeply devoted family man who attributes most of his success to his lovely wife whom he described as his biggest supporter. Mr Mukuyu is also a father of two lovely children. In his spare time Marvin has begun venturing into music. He recently released a sign language music video titled; “Let there be light”, a song that encourages young deaf people to soldier on despite the adversity they face in life. The video is available in sign language with English subtitles. Follow the link below to watch the video:
Mr Mukuyu noted that deaf individuals are well able to excel in any arena given the right opportunities and societal attitudes. In the near future Marvin intends on grooming more upcoming deaf models. Marvin summed up advice to society as follows: “I believe that disability is a social construct and if people are intentional about building an inclusive society, it will be possible for deaf people to fulfill their dreams. It only requires people to change their attitudes and the way they perceive disability in order to break down barrier for an inclusive society.ˮ