Switching to a smartphone

Mahesh Pandule is a 30-year-old visually impaired person from Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. Due to lack of proper eye treatment at the right time, he lost his vision at the age of eight. Following this, he was shifted to the Poona School & Home for the Blind Trust where he completed his studies up till Class 12. Throughout his schooling, he was always curious about things around him and tried to gather as much information from his teachers. He went on to complete his Masters in Arts through distance learning mode.

In 2016, he heard about Eyeway on radio and has since been in connect with the Helpdesk. Through their conversations, the counselor understood that he was well versed with how to use the computer using a screen reader. However, Mahesh did not have his own personal laptop. Therefore, the counselor suggested that he start using a mobile phone with which he can readily gain access to a vast pool of information. He was initially skeptical due to his lack of awareness on how to use a smartphone. Nonetheless, the counselor explained to him the ease with which he can use it and apprised him of the different applications that are available to assist visually impaired users with various needs. The counselor took him through a step-by-step process of the different gestures of using a screen reader enabled smartphone. After several days of training given through telephone, Mahesh was happily informed that he could independently obtain accessible study material and pay online using the Google Pay app.