21-year-old Santosh Kumar is a resident of Begusarai, Bihar. In 2011, he was injured in a bomb blast that occurred within his locality thereby losing his eyesight and fingers of his right hand. He was taken to the AIIMS hospital in Delhi where he underwent treatment for two years. Unfortunately, the doctors said that nothing could be done to restore his vision and provided him with a Disability Certificate. Depressed and hopeless, he returned home and sat idle for the next five years unaware on how to live a life with blindness. His education came to a halt after Class 8 as he didn’t have the required training to study independently. His parents feared sending him for rehabilitation and had kept him confined to the four walls of his house.
Santosh recalled a radio program called Nazar Ya Nazariya that had aired in 2014. He obtained the Eyeway National tollfree number from the website and immediately called up our Helpdesk. On listening to his story, the counselor understood that Santosh lacked the basic skills required to help him move forward in life. He was informed about ‘Shubham Viklang Vikas Sansthan’ in Muzzafarpur, Bihar which is an unconventional welfare society that provides education to deaf, blind, mentally challenged, people with locomotor and multiple disabilities. The society runs a special residential school for visually & hearing impaired children with free hostel and other facilities. Although Santosh was ready to enrol for the training, his parents were sceptical about this idea. To convince his parents, the counselor had a conversation with Santosh’s father on the importance of providing training for better employment opportunities.
Recently, Santosh informed the Helpdesk about his enrolment at Shubham Viklang Vikas Sansthan. He is now hopeful for a brighter future and ready to continue his education through National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).