Uzzaiv started losing his eyesight due to Retinitis Pigmintosa (a type of degenerative eye disorder) in 2005 while taking his 1st year B.Com exams. Due to a lack of awareness about provisions for people with blindness, he left his studies as he was beginning to find it difficult to read his books and write his exams on his own.
In order to be self-reliant he started taking home tuitions for classes 1-12. He taught all the subjects till class 10th and English and Commerce subjects for classes 11th and 12th. His father is a retired government servant whose pension is the only source of income for the family other than his tuition fee. By the end of January 2013, his vision has deteriorated to such an extent that he started finding it extremely difficult to read anything even from a very close distance.
On the advice of a Delhi-based disability professional of a well-known NGO, he, at the age of 25, enlisted our help on 29th January 2013 to overcome challenges imposed on him by his deteriorating eyesight.
We, on Helpdesk informed about a variety of topics. From the usage of Braille script to computers enabled with screen reading software which would enable him to read and write despite his deteriorating eyesight. We also suggested that he goes in for rehabilitation, meaning learning to manage his life with blindness by doing the same things with different alternative solutions. For instance, if earlier he used a paper and a pen to write down everything, now he could use either Braille Slate, Stylus and paper or screen reading enabled computer to write and read anything.
In order to move independently, he would need to use a white cane instead of his eyesight. For all this we put him in touch with a Lucknow-based NGO working for people with blindness, called Rehabilitation Society for Visually Impaired (RSVI). However what was most important was for him to get a disability certificate which is required to be able to avail the facility of the rehabilitation course, formal education and acquiring employment. We therefore suggested that he get a disability certificate issued from a district eye hospital in his region.
On the basis of information provided by him, the rehabilitation course could either help him restart his home tuitions or to resume his halted education which would create better earning prospects in the future.
As a result of our suggestions, he did his rehabilitation training from RSVI, and has taken admission in Diploma in Education (DEd) and also resumed his formal education in 2013 itself. He informed us on 18th of February 2014 that he has now become hopeful about a life with better job and other prospects. He has gained confidence due to networking with other people with blindness which has led to little successes in his own life. He is currently also appearing for competitive exams for a job in the government sector.
When we last spoke to him, he was thankful to Eyeway for correct guidance in his time of need when he had almost lost all hope of a self-reliant and fulfilling life due to his deteriorating eyesight. Now he admits that before he came in contact with us, he was very depressed and now after a year, he sees many possibilities for a life with blindness.