Visually impaired but dreams big
CHANDREYEE CHATTERJEE
Ashish Jha had to take the help of a reader and writer to take his
engineering exams. Vikram Dalmia had to struggle to convince his parents that
he was capable of running the family business.
Jha and Dalmia are visually impaired but that hasn't stopped them from
achieving their dreams.
"When I was studying in BP Poddar College, I had to ask my friends or my
mother to draw engineering diagrams on my hand so that I could understand them.
It was hard but I managed," said Jha, who lost his sight to retinitis
pigmentosa. He is now an IT security specialist with IBM.
Jha was one of the speakers at a seminar recently organised by the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on employability and job opportunities
for the visually impaired. The platform enabled corporates to interact with the
visually impaired and create employment for them.
Dilip Loyalka, the first visually impaired chartered accountant in India,
shared his story at the meet. Having lost his sight right after birth, the
proprietor of J. Loyalka and Company believes that it is the brain that matters
more than the eye.
Another braveheart, Mohammad Asif Iqbal, is working on "performance
improvement" at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has taken it upon himself to
motivate others like him to rise beyond their disability. Asif uses JAWS
software that enables him to read a document or prepare a presentation without
help.
"We are not looking for people's sympathy. We just want an opportunity to
prove ourselves," said Asif.
Vikas Das, an employee of the State Bank of India, suffered retinal
detachment and had to give up his position as branch manager in the State Bank
of Travancore, Baroda. He was out of job for two years before he was offered a
position in the training centre of SBI Guwahati.
"I can do everything that people who can see can and I refuse to feel
depressed about my condition," said Das, who has been recently promoted to
chief manager.
The CII has commissioned a survey on employability and job opportunities
for the visually impaired.
"The idea was to build a bridge between the corporates, who are job
givers, and visually impaired people so that there is awareness about what they
can achieve," said Mala Banerjee, the president of the Welfare Society for the
Blind.
, DILIP Loyalka, Vikram Dalmia, Vikas Das and Mohammad Asif Iqbal have
had to struggle against all odds to get due recognition - their crime being
visually impaired.
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