To go to school, to appear in exams, to sing on stage, to share a lunch box like a friend – young Priya has always kept these aspirations in her heart. But he didn’t want to go to school because he couldn’t see the blackboard in class and couldn’t participate in extracurricular activities. Living with blindness, she would struggle to keep up with class assignments.
However, circumstances have changed, and for the better.
She was able to study in class 4 in a government school in her village Gaurela in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district of Chhattisgarh. “I love studying at school. My teacher teaches me ‘A’ Pomegranate (pomegranate). I want to be madam. I study a lot and work hard,’ said Priya Uttam India.
This was made possible by the efforts of IAS Richa Prakash Chaudhary.
After discovering the plight of blind students in his tribal-dominated district, the collector decided to change their lives. Last year 2022, she launched a unique campaign to identify school-age visually impaired children and enroll them in schools to excel in life.
“There is a stigma attached to blindness, due to which such children feel left out in school. Most of the time, they drop out, especially the primary age group. If we manage to keep them in school, they will be self-aware for further studies, and they won’t need much help,’ says Richa, a 2014-batch IAS officer who hails from Rajasthan. Uttam India.
“But it’s not just the child who needs hand-holding. The program’s focus is on families, communities, peer groups and schools as well. We need to sensitize them so that they don’t burden these children,” adds the 34-year-old IAS officer.
The district has engaged Ek Kadam Foundation, a non-profit organization working for the rehabilitation of visually impaired children. With their help, Richa has identified 120 primary school age children who are partially and totally blind in her district.
Helping raise children
Children who are congenitally blind face difficulties in learning as well as in daily activities that make them dependent on someone. Unfortunately, matters are worse for those from low-income backgrounds, where the parents are also barely educated.
Under the programme, these children are provided with a special teaching volunteer, who administers individual support through the supported learning process. Volunteers visit children’s homes and help them groom like other children. And there has been a visible change.
“I teach her (Priya) Braille books at home. He touches them and learns. Now she can read. Interest in studies has increased. Now she talks to others too. There has been a change in her overall behavior and personality,’ says Gunja Gend, Priya’s mother and volunteer of the program. Uttam India.
“We suffered a lot. People scolded me for my daughter’s disability. But it doesn’t matter now. My daughter is no less. When she returns home, she tells me all about her day at school. She considers me a friend,’ says Gunja.
“She asks me to buy a car. I told her to study and earn and buy herself a car. She wants to be a madam (collector) like Richa. G“, she adds. Gunja has been teaching Priya for the past 6 months with the help of Braille books. Volunteers are also paid an honorarium for their work.
IAS officer has been providing study material in appropriate format in government schools. “The content is the same. All these children are taught from NCERT books. But for visually impaired children, these books are converted into Braille for all subjects. In a couple of months, every child will also be given audio lessons,” says the district collector.
“In the beginning children were taught to recognize things by touch. Then they were made to go out alone. After a few weeks they were trained in Braille to recognize letters like A, B, C. We are also sensitizing the teachers not to let these children sit on the back bench,” says Richa.
making a difference
In July 2022, the district administration organized a basic orientation workshop for 2600 teachers of the district, national level resource persons, 21 persons with disabilities including blindness and cognitive disabilities. It was pointed out that most parents hesitate to send their blind children to school.
“The workshop was an eye-opener for us. The percentage of the population suffering from some form of disability is hidden,” says Richa.
Recalling the incident that inspired her to start the campaign, Richa says, ‘I remember meeting a girl Chaupal (meeting). His name is Kranti Baiga (blind child). She is very smart. We found out that he dropped out of school because there was no support in the school and even the parents were reluctant to take him to school every day. Children like him are smart and capable but still they drop out because of some gaps in our educational services.”
Kranti joined the program last July. Talking about the changes she saw in the revolution, Richa recalls, ‘I watched one of his videos a few days ago. She was speaking English. She sang Chhattisgarh state song Arpa Peri Ke Dhar And she sang so beautifully. She is very confident. It is very rare for people from PVTG (Specially Vulnerable Tribal Group) community to be assertive and extroverted. Like all of us, I hope to go to college, get a higher education and get a job.”
Meanwhile, other children have started going to school like regular children. “Classmates are also sensitized. They now feel part of the school and the community. They don’t feel left out. Through these small examples, you see awareness click in your faculty, in your teachers, in the community. You are able to make a difference. That’s one of the benefits of being a civil servant. Yes,” smiles the IAS officer.
“When you work in remote areas, it takes a long time to see the impact. But in such cases, you see a change in a few weeks. After the initiative, I have seen changes in the behavior and personality of the children, their families, teachers. It inspires me to see the difference. “Education has always been my priority. If you’re losing these kids, you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do,” she adds.
In the next phase, Richa aims to provide vocational training to blind youth who have not been able to complete their education. Richa says, ‘We have planned to give them professional training so that they don’t feel like a burden on the society.
Edited by Divya Sethu. All images: By arrangement.