The One Show’s Amar Latif may be blind, but that hasn’t stopped him seeing the world. He’s even set up his own travel company to do it, helping others living with disability too
The One Show presenter Amar Latif has ‘seen’ many wonders of the world – despite being blind. A documentary presenter, his shows include Travelling Blind with Sara Pascoe, Beyond Boundaries, Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul with Edwina Currie, Adrian Chiles and Fatima Whitbread and Myths and Legends with Jonathan Ross.
For Amar, 51, refuses to let his disability restrict him. And, in 2004, when he couldn’t find a suitable travel firm, he started his own – Traveleyes. Amar, from Leeds, explains: “I couldn’t find a travel company that would allow me to see the world, so I set up my own one.
“I offer fully sighted people half price travel and in return they become the eyes for the traveller who is blind. It means blind people get independence and freedom. Each day, our visually impaired person has a different sighted traveller acting as their eyes. One person might describe the buildings, another might describe the flora and fauna, so they get a different experience too. We’re supporting people to see the world in a different way.”
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One of five siblings, Amar was diagnosed with the rare, incurable genetic condition retinitis pigmentosa, causing visual impairment, aged 4. His younger sister and brother have it, too – but, like him, both have good jobs. Meanwhile, Amar’s achievements earned him an OBE in 2023 for services to the visually impaired and entrepreneurship.
Now from June 21 to 27 he will be presenting the BBC Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the Rafiki Thabo Foundation. A 20-year-old charity where he’s a patron, it helps disadvantaged children and young people in East Africa to access education through scholarships. It’s helped nearly 1,000 people to study and has run a free school meals programme, improved school facilities, and worked to reduce barriers to education faced by children with disabilities.
In August 2023, Amar trekked up Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Rafiki Thabo, accompanied by sighted guides. Jon Uglow, founder of Rafiki Thabo Foundation says: “Amar is a hugely inspiring individual. It is a privilege to have him as a patron.”
Amar continues: “The Kilimanjaro trek was a big challenge. We did the final part at about 11pm, so a lot of the others had torches. I didn’t need one, so that was one advantage of being blind!”
Amar’s condition is caused by a recessive gene possessed by both his parents and he started losing his sight at school. He says: “My desk was moved to the front of the class. I was so self-conscious. I wore thick glasses and kids would tease me and say, ‘how many fingers am I holding up?’”
One night, aged 18, he says: “I went to bed as normal and the last thing I saw before I went to sleep was the poster of Madonna at the end of my bed. But when I woke up, I couldn’t see it.
“At first I thought it was morning fuzz, but it was complete whiteness.I felt claustrophobic and couldn’t breathe. I kept closing my eyes and opening them, hoping I would see my Madonna poster. I kept bumping into things. I couldn’t see the faces of my friends and family. I didn’t want to believe I was blind and thought my dreams of going to university and being an accountant were over.”
Determined Amar got a pal to record their notes, so he could listen to them. Not only did he go to university, he spent a year studying in Canada – experiencing the beauty of the country through the descriptions given by friends.
He says: “I made amazing friends and we travelled together.” He went surfing in Hawaii with his brother, visited New York and Vancouver and skated on frozen canals. He says: “I wanted to travel more, but travel companies wouldn’t let me travel alone, or let alone do anything adventurous like sailing or rambling. The restrictions left me feeling powerless, so after university I set up Traveleyes.”
But Amar, who’s met people through Rafiki who’ve escaped desperate poverty through education, says he’s been blessed with opportunities. He says: “If I’d been born outside the UK, my blindness could’ve meant I ended up begging on the streets.
“Education has given me opportunities. I want to pay that forward to help others, which is why I’m so proud to support Rafiki Thabo. I might be blind but I’ve seen the world. I’ve been to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Morocco and Ghana. I went skydiving in Cuba. When the parachute opened, I felt like a bird. I remember being led to a helicopter. I could feel the wind and elements bombarding me from every side. I went ski-ing too. Someone in front wore a rucksack with music on and I followed the sound.”
But Amar’s had the odd disaster. He says: “I once crashed into a skip and somersaulted into the rubbish!” Amar also experiences preconceptions about blindness. He says: “Once a lady grabbed me by the arm and helped me cross a road I wasn’t planning to cross! And I’ve been approached by people who’ve asked if they can pray for me.” But he reacts with humour, saying: “After all, I’ve been able to do things I could never have dreamed of.
*To donate to Rafiki Thabo visit rafiki-foundation.org.uk
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