Coping with late blindness

27-year-old Minakshi Rawat, a visually impaired person is a resident of Faridabad, Haryana. She wasn’t blind by birth and completed her education from a mainstream school. She completed her graduation from Maharaja Dayanand Open University, Rohtak and went on to work as a Placement Coordinator and then a Sales Supervisor. After four years of working, Minakshi contracted a brain tumour and ended up losing her vision completely. The sudden loss of eyesight coupled with her loss of independence was extremely saddening for her. She did not know how to move forward, therefore, she sat idle at home for the next four years.

In 2018, Minakshi attended an interview held by Manipal Group through a CSR Recruitment Project. There, she was given Eyeway’s contact number in the hope that it would help her find a more suitable job. She then called up the Eyeway Helpdesk seeking information on various employment opportunities available to her. The counselor recognised that Minakshi lacked the basic skills required by a visually impaired person to carry out different tasks in any workplace. So, the counselor advised her to enrol in a computer training course simultaneously with mobility and orientation training. She was also apprised of various organisations that offer such training courses. The counselor also suggested that she watch episodes of ‘Nazar Ya Nazariya’ which is an Eyeway TV series that covers almost all important aspects that play a vital role in the life of a visually challenged person like education, employment, business, art, marriage, laws and rights alternatively.

On following up with her, Minakshi said that she is currently undertaking her training from National Association for the Blind, R K Puram, Delhi and has also started using a smartphone. She feels more confident and will soon begin looking for employment opportunities.