Society for the Visually Handicapped--Education Empowerment Project for Blind students--
Inspiring stories (Scholarship
Recipients)
SAYERA KHATUN
Here we present Sayera Khatun. Sayera, a Urdu speaking
Muslim, lost her vision since childhood. She comes from an extremely poor
minority community of Kolkata. Her father worked as a watch mechanic but due to
failing vision he had to stop the only occupation.
In 2005 Sayera passed from Calcutta Blind School, Behala,
the third oldest Blind School in India. She has one elder brother who
postgraduated in Urdu but was not able to find an employment. At the moment he
delivers daily newspapers to homes in the morning. Her younger brother is
preparing for competitive examinations but could not yet qualify for any
recruitment.
Sayera would always come escorted by her mother Taheda Banu,
both of whom looked extremely pale and undernourished. When Sayera was
continuing her Higher Secondary studies she would give some private tuition to
Blind children here and there drawing a paltry sum.
In 2009-10 Sayera reported to us seeking educational support
for her undergraduate studies in Calcutta Girls’ College with Bengali Hons.
Along with resource support in terms of recorded audio books with a tape recorder, we
could arrange for her a scholarship support sponsored by the Bhoruka Charitable
Trust, Jaipur. This scholarship support continued till Sayera completed her
postgraduate in Bengali from the Jadavpur University, Kolkata. She then
enrolled herself for her MPhil Course in Bengali from the Jadavpur University
and continued to appear for various competitive examinations including the School
Service Examination conducted by the Government of West Bengal. As there were
intervals in her studies we decided to shift her with Adhoc scholarship
support. One of SVH’s volunteers, Miss Nita Dey, who teaches in Calcutta Blind
School, volunteered to dedicate her Saturdays and Sundays to help Sayera cope
up with her increasing load of studies.
Just two months back she was declared qualified for a
teacher’s post in a secondary school in Nodakhali, South 24 Parganas with a
good salary and security of a Govt job. Sayera is very keen to complete her
MPhil degree as she feels, once she becomes a teacher, her scope of taking up a
research project will get restricted. With the support of the Hans Foundation,
introduction of digital mode of recording of Talking Books and nano audio
equipment making recorded material compact in one memory card, our volunteer
recordists, took up a marathon recording to see she never has to wait for her
study material. Her appointment letter will be reaching soon and we at SVH along
with our Donors pray may Sayera lead a life of self-reliance and deliver
knowledge to sighted students in her school!
Dipankar Sarkar
Dipankar was born on 15 August 1986 in a low income group
family in a remote village in the north 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Early in his
childhood he lost vision in both eyes the cause of which doctors could never
diagnose. His is a family, originally belonging to present Bangladesh and they
came in West Bengal as penniless refugees. Most of their possessions were usurped
by their own family members and finally his parents, struggling hard against
financial hardship and moving one place to another, came to live in a Govt
accommodation here. Both Dipankar and his immediately elder brother Biswajit
(sighted) are their parents’ advanced age sons. After a lot of search and
inquiries, Dipankar was admitted in the Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys’
Academy, Narendrapur, a special school in the southern suburb of Kolkata.
He studied in the special school from 1994 to 2006 when he qualified
in the 10th Class West Bengal Board Examination with flying colors.
The Mission authorities however refused to admit him in their well-reputed,
elite residential College in the same premises to facilitate his higher
secondary examination. So Dipankar came back to his rural home and got himself
admitted in the local Dakshin Chatra High School, where there was absolutely no
awareness, no infrastructure to enable a student with loss of vision to go for
higher studies. Here Biswajit took the cudgels and made an all out effort to
make sure his younger brother did not have to lag behind in acquiring higher
education. Finally Dipankar was able to qualify with high marks in his higher
secondary examination and got admission in the Jadavpur University, Kolkata for
his undergraduate course of studies.
It was at this point of time that Dipankar, around 2008,
landed up at our Society asking for recorded study material for his Hons in
Bengali. Now there was no looking back and Dipankar completed his
undergraduation in the first class while one of our volunteers, Mrs Nandini
Sarkar, came forward to sponsor a scholarship for him. He then completed his
postgraduation in Bengali obtaining a first class against tough competition
from sighted students. This year he has enrolled himself for BEd, a Course for
training teachers from the same University.
In the meanwhile with our resource support, which was made
possible largely through the support extended by the Hans Foundation
facilitating digital recording, Dipankar began appearing for various
competitive examinations leading to employment. He just cracked through the
School Service Commission examination conducted by the Government of West
Bengal and stood qualified while thousand of sighted students could not
qualify. He is awaiting his appointment in a general school where he will
deliver knowledge and education to sighted kids, earn a decent salary and
support his parents and brothers who shared their own meager meals to see him
stand self-reliant.
He still aims high. He now prepares himself for College
Service Commission examination so that he can hone up his brain with more
knowledge! And the most overwhelming point to note here is that his brother
Biswajit who worked day and night in a call centre to support his brother, gave
up his job and oneday just landed at our Library to say that he would feel
happy to work with us for the Blind and vision impaired persons with his
computer skill and doesn’t care whatever we pay. We tried to convince him that
this is an emotional decision and that we really can’t afford to hire him on a
regular basis as our resources are limited.
But here The Hans Foundation stepped in like a God-send and
now we are able to include him in our team of volunteers with grants that THF
gives to SVH and its impact is touching lives of hundreds of Blind and Vision
Impaired students who appear at our Library showing a keen interest to have
education and bring an improved quality of life for themselves. Thank You, THF!
