A Journey towards hope and empowerment

Twenty-five-year-old Amreen from Bikaner, Rajasthan, resides with her mother and two siblings. Born with complete blindness due to Retinitis Pigmentosa, her educational journey began at age 5. She studied in Jodhpur and completed Class 12 while staying at the Netraheen Vikas Sansthan Blind Hostel. During her schooling years, she learned to use a mobile phone with screen reading technology, with the help of her peers. This helped her with studying, browsing information, and so on.

She experienced a significant loss when her father passed away during her 9th standard. To support the family, her mother began teaching tuition classes. Her brother only recently started working at a medical store to contribute to family expenses. Amreen’s family uses pension benefits to manage their daily needs.

She got her B.Ed. degree from Maharaja Ganasingh University. During her B.Ed. program, she faced challenges in finding a scribe to help write her exams. This left her with a feeling of hopelessness and dependence. Post-education, she actively sought employment to support her mother.

During one of her conversations with a friend about job opportunities, she learned about the Eyeway Helpdesk and reached out regarding employment possibilities. The Eyeway team added her to their WhatsApp broadcast list for regular job alerts.

The counsellor connected her with and NGO that could help with competitive exam preparation. The counsellor also facilitated her enrolment in another training institute for a spoken English course to enhance her communication skills. When she expressed interest in reading the Quran in Braille, the counsellor provided contact information for Noorul-Quran Madarsa in Gujarat, and she joined their virtual classroom.

After these timely interventions, Amreen shows confidence and enthusiasm for learning new skills. She confessed to the counsellor that before getting in touch with Eyeway she thought she couldn’t achieve much. But now, she looks forward to a bright future for herself.

Team Eyeway