Anil Kumar is a 52-year-old visually impaired person from Kerala. He began to face sight loss when he was two years old. His parents, however, were supportive and sent him to a private Christian school for his primary education. His siblings and friends accompanied him to school daily as he found it challenging to travel independently. Like many other visually impaired students, Anil had to forego the choice of Commerce, which was the subject he desired to pursue in Bachelors.
While in college, Anil couldn’t find willing peers to help him with his studies. The students were assigned different classrooms for each subject, and getting to every class was an accessibility challenge for him. With a certified 20% disability, he managed to clear his exams without a scribe only in the second attempt. After completing his Masters in English, he started his career as an English teacher at a private tuition center for Class 10 students. In search for better income, Anil moved from one job to another.
He found the opportunity to work on translating books and articles from English to Malayalam. Translation seemed financially more lucrative to him as compared to a tutor’s job. But he wasn’t able to get more assignments on his own. Anil met with the Eyeway Helpdesk counselor at the Little Flower Eye Hospital in Angamaly to know if there were any employment opportunities available to him with his level of experience. On researching, the counselor was able to connect him to Isha Publications in Coimbatore. He currently works there and simultaneously translates books for Mathrubhumi Publications. He expresses his gratitude towards Eyeway for their constant support and guidance.