24-year-old Farman Khan is a visually impaired resident of Thane, Maharashtra. He completed his schooling from a mainstream institution and enrolled for graduation in 2016. Next, he worked in a BPO for 9 months but he had to quit due to some health issues. A few months later, Farman started facing vision problems resulting in difficulty to read and write. When he visited an eye specialist, he was diagnosed with Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). It is an eye disorder that’s transmitted from the mother to the offspring, causing the loss of central vision. He consulted with many doctors but soon realized that his eye condition was incurable.
A lack of eye sight as well as employment left Farman dejected and hopeless. In 2019, he got married to a sighted woman who worked as a college professor. He wanted to be financially independent and contribute towards his family’s financial needs. He contacted the Eyeway Helpdesk to seek employment opportunities. Our counselor on understanding his needs, advised Farman to start by making use of assistive technology. By learning how to use a computer and a smartphone, he could access a lot more information, resulting in decreased dependence on others. To help with basic skills training, he was asked to enroll at the Victoria Memorial School for the Blind where he could pursue courses under the Maharashtra State Certificate of Information Technology (MSCIT). To join the two-month computer course, he was asked to submit his disability certificate.
However, he had faced difficulty in obtaining his disability certificate, as the doctors in the civil hospital could not identify his eye condition. Therefore, he was suggested to register on the Swavlamban website and apply for a UDID card instead. Following which he was asked to submit the application form at the civil hospital to obtain his disability certificate. Farman hopes to start with his course soon.