Bhupendra Singh Mehta hails from Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand. Up until 2014, Bhupendra led a normal life, married with two children, working in an automobile company in Gurgaon as a technical supervisor. However, his life took an adverse turn when in 2014 he suddenly began to lose vision. Bhupendra and his family rushed to see eye doctors and he was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a disorder where the patient’s vision degnerates progressively. Facing difficulty with sight loss, Bhupendra had to leave his job. Since he was the sole bread winner, his personal life took a hit when his wife moved out with his kids given the financial crisis.
This made Bhupendra desperate for a job. He wanted to earn once again so he could feel independent enough to take care of his family. But he did not know what options he had as a person with visual impairment. Since he was in the technical line of work and had only studied till Class 12, someone suggested him to join the Industrial Training Center at National Institute of Visually Handicapped in Dehradun. But due to lack of information and complete understanding of employment options, he couldn’t find himself a job even after completing a course for Computer Operator and Programming Assistant.
Four years after his sight loss, now 35 years of age, he was still desperate for help. He called the Eyeway Helpdesk seeking employment opportunities. Our counselor immediately asked Bhupendra to upload his resume on various job portals alongside sharing it with the Eyeway team. In addition, to improve his job prospects, the counselor suggested him to pursue graduation and start preparing for competitive exams. This would enable him to apply to government jobs reserved for persons with visual impairment. The counselor also referred Bhupendra to organizations like Sarthak Educational Trust and National Association for Blind in Delhi which could help him with placement options and further training where necessary. Eyeway counselor realized that apart from immediate employment, Bhupendra also needed close guidance in accepting and learning to live a life with blindness.
Bhupendra is diligently following all of Eyeway’s suggestions and has already interviewed for a few jobs post our intervention. We hope he soon gets a job so he can regain his lost confidence and possibly reunite with his family.