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News images/l2 'Samaritans need vision, not sight' Posted On Friday, August 08, 2008 Though I was acquainted with the computer, my usage was limited as I always needed someone to read to me the things on the screen. It was through an ad in the newspaper that we learnt about an institute for the blind, where my mother got me enrolled. I was taught the basics at the institute, and was introduced to softwares like JAWS, a computer screen reader and TALKS, a mobile screen reader, which empowered me Saadia S Dhailey Irla 'That's impossible!' would be your reaction to moulding clay with eyes closed, or recreating a piece of art you haven't ever seen, and inculcating its finest intricacies. But Mamta Baldev Chandiramani defies all natural laws. For this 24-year-old, the word spells 'I m possible'. >From topping the Mumbai University to designing websites, weaving melodies and >taking to water as swiftly as a fish, she has done it all even as her world is void of colour; she is devoid of sight. Born in Manila, Philippines, a premature birth led her to lose her eyesight. Yet, she has some great achievements worthy of salutations. Her tryst with information technology is one such recent landmark, which led her to design a website for the visually impaired and partially sighted. She also teaches computer basics to the blind at a government institute as a philanthropic gesture. "Though I was acquainted with the computer, my usage was limited as I always needed someone to read to me the things on the screen. It was through an ad in the newspaper that we learnt about an institute for the blind, where my mother got me enrolled." This, however, was the only initiation into a world, which Mamta is now building block by block on her own, without any further assistance or coaching. "I was taught the basics at the institute, and was introduced to softwares like JAWS, a computer screen reader and TALKS, a mobile screen reader, which empowered me. I needed no assistance after that." What followed is a story symbolizing grit and determination. "After learning the basics, I felt I needed to learn more as I thought in today's world, basics won't be enough and I zeroed it on website designing. I began to read online, learnt and gathered material." And soon she was ready with a website for her community - http://www.ashishrohtagi.org. She learnt scripting languages like Java for which people take special courses to learn it. Mamta admits that decoding Java and HTML was an uphill task. "I read and reread, sometimes even 50 times, to understand it completely." She spent sleepless nights to make the website ready in time. "I wanted to gift it to my friend Ashish on his birthday," she informs. Ashish Rohtagi is a professor at a college in Paniput, Punjab, and is also visually impaired. The topics covered on the website include a wide range. "There are tips and tricks for PCs, softwares, screen reader related information, fun stuff, information about mobiles, latest news and happenings on the net, search engines etc." She has meticulously gathered all the matter on the site over the years and has programmed the site to automatically update the latest news. Motivating her through sleepless nights was her dream to have a one-stop for all the needs of her community. "I wanted everything under one roof for the visually impaired." In the last two years around 31, 000 visitors have benefited from her creation. She also dedicates six to seven hours a week to the Industrial Home for Blind Women, teaching the visually impaired and partially sighted computers. Next on her agenda is the animated world of FLASH programming, she declares with a broad grin. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Source: http://www.mumbaipluses.com/westsideplus/index.aspx?page=article§id=1&contentid=200808082008081417512778321aacc6e§xslt=&comments=true# Regards, Shaila. Join Access India convention: For updates on it visit: http://accessindia.org.in/harish/convention.htm Registration is now open! To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
