30-year-old Abdul Samad Shah from Pulwama, Kashmir got to know about us through our radio show- Eyeway Yeh Hai Roshni Ka Karwan in February 2012. He had lost his eyesight in 1977 due to Glaucoma. That year he had passed class 10th and taken admission in class 11th, however, due to poor financial conditions at home, and the search for a cure for his incurable eye disorder he idled away time till late 2012. After spending 15 years at home, his patience and frustration bubbled over, which resulted in a call to the Helpdesk, seeking information about a cure for his eye condition.
When he called Helpdesk on 8th of February 2012, he sounded very distressed and was having suicidal thoughts. Our counselors informed him that as of now his eye disorder is incurable. We then proceeded to counsel him to seek rehabilitation. The several telephonic counseling sessions supported by live examples of our counselor’s own life with blindness and many other examples helped him gain some self confidence. Helpdesk with the support of advocacy team assisted him in scribe’s verification for railway group D post exam closer to home, for which he would otherwise have had to travel to Delhi. Over time we forged a bond of trust and respect with Abdul. Taking the railway exam boosted his self-confidence and he started venturing out independently. He also started applying for more jobs independently. He started approaching government offices and started talking to government officials seeking employment opportunities.
On 24th of December 2013 he informed us, that as a result of all his endeavours, he has been successful in getting a job as a telephone operator’s in the Revenue department of his district.
The case study clearly demonstrates the immense value, the right kind of guidance can create in someones life. Not only were we successful in motivating someone to have a positive outlook and regain his confidence, our counselling has enabled him to be gainfully employed and for the first time in 15 years – happy.