Friday, November 21, 2008

Being Blind in Nepal

Jason, one of our latest volunteers, asked the students
about some of the challenges of being blind in a country
like Nepal. Here are some of the things they said:



"Its hard for blind people to study because we can't get
braille books and the teachers ignore us and don't convey
what is on the blackboard. We are not given any extra time
in exams and we have to pay a writer to dictate
our answers."




"No-one wants to know us and we are made fun of, teased,
harrassed and heckled - especially when we are alone"




"The streets and footpaths are very unsafe for blind
people and strangers don't bother to help. It is very
difficult to get around alone as nothing is blind
friendly. Some strangers get angry when we accidentally
touch them with our canes"




"Buses often don't stop for us and ignore blind people
because we don't have to pay"




"People assume we can't do anything. It is hard for us to get an education and there are no jobs for blind people"

These are just a few of the reasons why what we are doing is so important. Please keep the support coming and we'll post more news and pictures very soon...
About the New Students

Chiran K
Chiran is 21 yrs old and married to Apechhya who is also
blind. They live in a small rented apartment in Bagar and
Chiran is also trying to study for a bachelor in english
at the local college. He has completed a radio presenting
course as well and says it is his ambition to be both a
massage therapist and radio presenter (of course he can
easily do both!) He says he believes blind people can do
anything and really gets inspiration from other blind
people's feats. In the morning, he also practices his
other hobby, cricket, before coming to massage lessons. He
says this opportunity is very important to him as it will
give him the chance to earn money, which he will use to
support himself and his wife, and also to further his
education.

Govinda
Govinda is 21 and has around 5% vision. Like Chiran K and
Samrat, he is also a big fan of blind cricket. Sadly his
father died seven years ago and he has 5 other siblings,
who are all struggling to survive. One sister is also
partially blind. His eldest brother recently left his wife
and child at the family home in Baglung to go to India to
try and earn some money. None of the family can help to
support Govinda but he is determined to educate himself
and earn money so he can raise himself and his family out
of poverty. He is studying history at college and says it
is difficult because he has to pay a writer to dictate his
answers to in exams. This is the second time he has
applied to join our course.

Laxmi
Laxmi is 20 yrs old and totally blind. Her parents, who
live in Lahchook near Pokhara are farmers and very poor.
She went to the local Amar Singh school where she met us
for the first time in 2005 when we went to do a talk to a
class of blind children about the profession of massage
and the project we were planning to start. Since then she
has been determined to get involved and this is the 3rd
time she has applied to join our course. Although
previously her english and confidence skills were lacking,
she has worked really hard over the last few years to
improve them and we are now really pleased to be able to
help her fulfil her dream. She is studying sociology and
is very excited about her massage course. She likes
singing in her spare time and has a beautiful voice.

Lalumaya
Lalu is the youngest student at just 19 yrs. She is
classed as totally blind because she can only see 1%. She
has a total of 11 siblings who are from Tanahu District
(between Kathmandu and Pokhara). Her parents are also
farmers and are very poor. She also likes playing cricket,
and singing and is studying history at college. She says
she wants to support herself, give her future a bright
outlook and help other blind people get into massage.