What we intend to do:

CAN YOU SEE ME?

#coloursofdarkness #blindnewway #mentorswithoutboundaries

“CAN YOU SEE ME?” is an attempt to connect the visually impaired community to volunteers from different walks of life. The idea is to provide online COUNSELING, MOTIVATION AND SUPPORT to the visually impaired in India, a Country which still offers mobility challenges to them. An online application platform will help the visually impaired in interacting with the group of MENTORS without BOUNDARIES.

Having worked with visually impaired for last 12 years at National Association for Blind and many other schools and communities across Delhi and India, we realized that the support visually impaired needs is immense yet basic. We figured out that with little impetus they could be independent and get onto the growth path in life. Right from being their writer during exams, to helping them with their banking needs and college admissions, what they actually required was someone who could read for them, listen to them and write for them.

Like how Rajneesh who appeared for the IIT entrance this year puts it, “despite the fact that I cleared the written round for IIT, my wrong choice of engineering options led to a situation where I could not get admission. I was not aware of so many things because I could not read on the internet and did not have anyone to guide me. If I had ticked the right options, I would have secured admission in one of the streams which I sadly did not opt for.”

Similarly Murad who scored a 56% in 12th standard wanted someone to support him, by telling him, what the Delhi University cut off looked like after every few days with the university releasing its 1st, 2nd, 3rd and subsequent cut offs. He says, “due to lack of guidance, I only selected BA (pass) course while getting the form filled. There was no one to guide me. With low marks, I only got an admission in the 5th cut off. Only if I had selected few more courses, I would have secured admission much earlier and maybe in a better course.”

Rajiv, Amit and Rajneesh who were selected in April 2016 to travel to University of Waterloo for a student exchange program could not make it because they did not have passports and putting all the documentation together was not possible for them without requisite support. As Rajiv puts it, “by the time we could understand the time required and could garner support for form filling, reading rules and regulations, documentation required, we realized that we should have started the process much earlier. Finally we have not been able to make it this year. who knows whether the university will still be interested in us next year?”

SAY YES TO ME

#sayyes2me #blindnewway #coloursofdarkness
Visually impaired have defied all the myths, sighted people have had about them. These myths and taboos exist in the society because we have been mentally blind for centuries and now it’s time we unfreeze our vision to #sayyes2me

• a. Yes, they can have sex!
• b. Yes, they can talk and message on mobiles. Faster than visually abled!
• c. Yes, they can click photos with latest technology. If you have not seen them clicking selfies with all the beautiful girls in town, please open your eyes!
• d. Yes, they can work in the kitchen as well as in offices
• e. Yes, they don’t need electricity for lighting their rooms
• f. Yes, they also buy condoms and other groceries
• g. Yes, they also read, write and go to school
• h. Yes, they also study at top universities like Stanford
• i. Yes, they also cycle on a predefined path
• j. Yes, they also jump walls post-midnight and order food requesting restaurants to deliver at 3am in the morning!
• k. Yes, they also enjoy a drink and play cricket/football, running, swimming and so many other sports