Twenty-eight-year-old Shobha Pawar hails from a village in Raigad, Maharashtra. She belongs to a low income family. Shobha was born sighted but when she was in Class 6, she got high fever, after which she lost her eyesight.
As a result, she had to drop out of school, unaware of any special schools for children with blindness. She hopelessly remained confined to her home for the next four years, because her family did not know how anyone could lead a life with blindness.
One day in a happy accident, she met with a Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan teacher who told the family about the possibility of educating their blind girl in National Association for the Blind, Mumbai where she could study using audio books and learn to read and write in Braille.
Shobha went to NAB Mumbai and was successfully rehabilitated. She then pursued her education through a mainstream school. But given her family’s financial condition, she wanted to take up a job and help with the earnings. However, she needed a minimum of Class 12^th certificate to apply anywhere. So, she decided to pursue Class X and XII through distance learning and simultaneously take massage therapy training at NAB. 
After successfully completing the massage course, Shobha got a therapist’s job with NAB itself. She also learned about a D.Ed. course offered by the Rehabilitation Council of India. She applied for the same and prepared for her exams. But unfortunately, despite giving her exams, she could not get her final result. From December 2022 onwards, Shobha repeatedly chased officials at NAB seeking her marksheet and result but to no avail.
She then found out about Eyeway Helpdesk from a friend and sought support. The Eyeway counselor in Mumbai heard her case out and forwarded the same to the advocacy team in Delhi.
Upon further interrogating the details, the advocacy officer reached out to the center that conducted the exam, National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD). The Director of NIEPVD asked for an email application to resolve the case. On chasing the authorities verbally as well as in writing, the Eyeway counsellor was able to get the marksheet issued to Shobha.
This not only relieved and elated the girl, but also gave her hope of pursuing her career ambitions. Based on the result she could apply for government teaching jobs as well as further enrol for a BA degree followed by a B.Ed.
Her marksheet was misplaced by NAB Mumbai and the lack of awareness about where to reach out for help left Shobha anxious for around 8 months. But the appropriate intervention from Eyeway helped her move forward in life. 
Team Eyeway