28-year-old Suraj Dubey was born blind in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. When he came to pursue his graduation in Delhi, Suraj faced several difficulties. An ardent follower of Eyeway’s radio programmes, he called the Helpdesk for support.
The Eyeway counselor offered him insights into opportunities and ways of pursuing them. He was initiated into using computer and smartphone enabled with screen reading software.
When he started preparing for competitive exams, online learning tools were recommended to improve his mathematical and logical reasoning skills.
But as he explored digital media, he experienced limitations in use vis-à-vis accessibility, efficiency and affordability.
This prompted Suraj to build an app on his own, alongside pursuing regular career options. He enrolled in an online course to learn Python programming language. He dreams of developing a free of cost mobile app for the entire blind community.
Technology has helped countries reach outer space and yet millions of blind people on the planet face insurmountable challenges owing to the inaccessible physical and technological infrastructure. While Suraj is driven by his passion to end the gap between the blind and the sighted world, what will it take for governments, designers, developers and manufacturers to treat accessibility as a priority?