Darkness doesn't stop these kids from venturing ahead in the world BY HERALD REPORTER (http://www.oheraldteam.com)
PANJIM, NOV 15 -- For seventeen year old Kevin Pereira, who is completely blind, matriculation would be but a dream if it were not for the Santa Cruz-based National Association of the Blind. Kevin, from Agacaim, lost his eyesight four years ago when an accident while playing resulted in a tragedy. He now plans to appear for his Std X exam in April 2004, through the open exam. Paresh Shirodkar (23) from Vasco, who is partially blind, will also be appearing for his Std X exam alongside Kevin. Both these boys come to the head office of the NAB in Santa Cruz every day for coaching for the exam. Like these boys, there are around 80-90 visually impaired who are registered with the NAB. A big problem faced by the children is that a large number of regular schools are reluctant to admit them as students. Education rules say no blind child can be refused admission in a school on account of this particular disability. But sadly enough, the ground reality is that these students are more often than not turned away from the bigger schools, including those run by the religious, on the grounds that there is no place. NAB treasurer Fr Paul Alvares says it is important for these students to go to a normal school. �We encourage normal schools � they must be able to manage life on their own later on�, he says. About 56 of those registered are students who are admitted in schools all over Goa � after pressure exerted by the NAB � of which roughly 30 are totally blind. Some of these students manage to study right up to their matriculation level, and take the Board examination, or if they are too old for the school, they answer the open school examination. When the child reaches standard VIII, where the Goa Board syllabus comes into question, then the NAB informs the Board about the child who will be answering the exam. The books are either put into Braille for the child, or magnified by the NAB. These students are given certain exemptions like drawing diagrams during the exam, and are provided with a writer � who is of a standard lower than that of the examinee, usually a Std IX student. The papers are corrected by a separate teacher. When the student is admitted in a school, trained staff of the NAB visit the child at school and at home and help him with his work. Even after the child has finished studying, all is not plain sailing when it comes to getting a job. According to Fr Paul, the blind very often get turned away from jobs despite there being a reservation for the handicapped, within which, there is a quota for the visually impaired. Quite a few of the cases of visual impairment registered with the National Association of the Blind, Goa are from the lower economic strata. According to Fr Paul, the majority of the cases are from the remote areas of Goa. Canacona, Bicholim and some parts of Ponda have got the highest number of people. He explains that if the child gets fever when very small, if not properly treated, it could affect the eyesight. This is quite a common cause for blindness. The Association also sees cases where the pregnant mother has been malnourished, which has resulted in eye defects in the child. Some of the affected have only central vision, while others have only diverse vision. Almost 50 per cent of the total of 80-90 cases registered are totally blind. These cases registered appear to be just a drop in the total visually impaired population of Goa, as the latest survey estimates that this population is of the order of 2000. These registered cases have been found through word of mouth, and through the eye camps held by various clubs. This difficulty in finding these visually impaired is generally attributed to the behaviour of the parents who don�t let them out of the house � they are either very concerned about the child, and want to protect them from everything, or ashamed and want to keep them hidden, says a member of the NAB. NAB also trains the visually impaired to make paper bags, chalk, candles, doormats, pottery, puppets, hangars and other items. The head quarters of this Association is located in St Cruz, behind Talaulikar�s hospital and can be contacted on 2237236. A certificate attesting that the person has a minimum of 40 per cent disability, his date of birth and a photograph are required for registration. The entire process is free. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
