Lauren Henley has developed superhero-like powers as she navigates the world of work. 

Blinded when she was 20, Ms Henley uses a form of "echo-location" - clicking her fingers or tongue to produce echos much like a bat's navigation -  to find her way around a new office and a new city.

There are 4.5 million visually impaired people in the world and in 80% cases blindness was caused by a condition that was completely preventable. Around one third of the world's visually impaired population is in India which makes it important for the country to check its national burden of blindness. A huge contributor to the problem is lack of proper facilities and expertise in rural India.

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India have helped transform the lives of more than 80 million poor people through small loans, according to Microfinance India’s state of the sector report in 2012. But why have they remained out of reach for more than 70 million people with disabilities?

KASARGOD: Nalin Sathyan has successfully hidden his other identity --Nalin.x.Linux -- for long. He is as obscure as his home, a two-bedroom blind teacher's quarters hidden by outgrown grass on Seethangoli Road at Vidyanagar in Kasargod.

 Only five persons, including his family of four, know Nalin has been participating in the Google Summer of Code (GSOC) for the past two years, winning $5,500 each season (`6.76 lakh) as stipend from the
technology giant at Mountain View, California. However, the anonymity of Nalin.x.Linux is restricted to the physical world.

HYDERABAD: Securing a gold medal in university is every student’s dream. Twentytwo-year-old Pavithra Molugu neither saw this dream nor claims to have worked tirelessly to attain this.

Having achieved this, however, despite being visually challenged, Pavithra generously gives credit to her family and friends who supported her all the way for her success.