TO say former mechanic Kemal Khan has had his challenges, is something of an understatement.

Kemal Khan, 59, of Harwich, has undergone two eye transplants and has suffered a stroke but he is now using his knowledge and experience to help young people reach their potential.

Kemal was born in the east end of London and was nine when he first started losing his eyesight.

His parents were unaware that it was affecting his education but Kemal eventually got his first and second eye transplants in 1980 and 1981 at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.

Kemal said: “The loss of eyesight is a hereditary thing, a family member on my dad’s side was blind.

“In the 1970s corneal transplants was a relatively new concept and it was the only way of preventing me going blind.

“It’s amazing how the body works because all my other senses improved, my hearing was fantastic as was my sense of smell.”

After he regained his eyesight Kemal started his own business as a car mechanic and ran it for 27 years successfully before suffering a stroke.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

He lost his house and business and had to start from scratch but was grateful to the NHS for providing him with the most important thing - good health.

Kemal was out of work for five years and lost the use of his left arm and leg for six months but he recovered.

He walked into the Harwich Jobcentre to start all over again but was worried about what others would think.

Kemal said: “I was scared and broken when I walked in, I felt that all that time I worked so hard was for nothing.

“You lose your self-esteem when you go through unemployment, I had a wife and five children at home so I needed to pick myself back up.

“I needed to be reskilled so I took on a cleaning job for eight years and worked my way up to maintenance before moving to a multinational job in Ipswich.”

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Kemal then applied for a teaching job to help special educational needs children learn about car mechanics.

He got the job and taught for three years until discovering the ACL Essex Your Future Matters programme.

The programme helps young people aged 19 and above get qualifications to make sure they can find work.

Kemal is now an employment engagement officer at ACL Essex and said the range of courses and the amount of people that receive help is what attracted him to the role.

He added: “It’s amazing what’s available at ACL Essex, I’m currently doing a computing course and the average age of my classmates is 75.

“These people have lived a fruitful life and are still working on bettering themselves. A lot of people I’ve taught suffer from mental health issued and were terrified of going back to school.

“A whole generation of young people have lost two years of education because of the pandemic, it’s my job to help them catch up and reach their potential.”

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Kemal knows the value of not taking opportunities for granted, when he had his first stroke at 47 the doctors told him there was an 88 per cent mortality rate and a two per cent chance of a full recovery.

But he did recover and is still working on himself with another eye transplant in January 2021 from an 89-year-old donor at Colchester Hospital.

For more information on how Kemal is helping people visit aclessex.com/yourfuturematters/.