28-year-old Suraj Dubey was born blind in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. When he came to pursue his graduation in Delhi, Suraj faced several difficulties. An ardent follower of Eyeway’s radio programmes, he called the Helpdesk for support.

Born blind in Pune, Maharashtra, Shruti Gujjar suffered at the hands of her family’s ignorance. Abandoned by her biological mother when she was only one, her stepmother considered the little girl a worthless burden. Family’s neglect led to delayed developmental milestones in Shruti, furthering her dependence on them.

Blind by birth, 33-year-old Deepak Daware is the sole breadwinner of his family in Nanded district of Maharashtra.

Deepak dropped out of college, ignorant of how to continue his education with his vision impairment. He then took up menial jobs for the sake of sustenance.

34-year-old Praveen Shankhdhar had a steady career in advertising before he experienced sudden sight loss. He lost his job as an Art Director, given the inability to work using visual media. Too shocked to respond, he reached out to his family.

21-year-old Sandeep Kumar was born blind in Samastipur, Bihar. He struggled against all odds to study till Class 8. Schools in his district denied him admission and teachers didn’t want to waste their time on a blind boy. He was fourteen when he enrolled in a Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan camp, where he learnt to read and write in Braille. Despite his interest and hard work, his progress was stunted by lack of awareness and scant resources.

39-year-old Kiran from Kerala was forced to leave his high paying job in the Gulf when he gradually began to lose his sight due to Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic eye disorder. A computer hardware engineer by profession, Kiran came back to India as he could not cope with the demands of the job with 75% vision loss.

The discrimination against blind and visually impaired children starts right from their homes. Considered of no value by their parents, they are hardly invested into. And attention and preference is often given to their sighted siblings.

21-year-old Loknath hails from Durg, Chhattisgarh. Born blind by birth into a poor family, he managed to study only till class 8 through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, Government of India’s flagship programme making education free and compulsory to children between 6 and14 years.. With SSA’s special focus on education of children with special needs, he was able to learn braille during his time in the school.

Diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at the age of 6, Shobha Patil from Gadag district of Karnataka is left with only 25% vision. Rising above her disability, she continued to study and completed her Master’s degree in Commerce.