General

This blind man fought for 3 yrs to become an IAS officer

My prolonged illness took away my eyesight forever. But it was not my biggest challenge," shares Ajit Kumar Yadav, who recently received appointment letter for the Indian Administrative Services (IAS).
Even after securing a rank of 208 among 791 successful candidates in the Civil Services examination, Ajit was denied an IAS appointment due to his blindness.
But he was not deterred by this.
He fought a three-year legal struggle to get his rightful place.
Ajit lost his vision completely at the tender age of five after suffering from acute diarrhoea.

Nepal "blind" eatery lights way for visually impaired

A line of diners, holding on to the shoulders of the person in front of them, enters the pitch dark hall at Nepal's first blind restaurant, which treats guests to food they can smell, touch and taste but not see.
The 16-seat dining room has been heavily curtained from ceiling to floor in black, and the guests grope their way to the table, guided deftly by the waiters -- all of whom are visually impaired.

Run for a cause on May 27

Cheshire Disability Trust (CDT) which is working for the upliftment of the differently-abled through moral support has announced its key runners for the ‘TCS World 10K Majja Run’� scheduled to be held at Kanteerava Stadium on May 27.
The team titled ‘Runability’ consists of 50 members, many of whom are young people with disabilities, spreading awareness about ‘Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disability’ and also raising funds for CDT.

Books at the fingertip

The ayes have it, the ayes have it, the ayes have it. This simple phrase, which ended the proceedings of the Lok Sabha on May 22 marked a momentous day for the estimated 40 million persons with print disabilities in India. At 2.34 pm, the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012 was passed by the Lok Sabha — it had earlier been passed by the Rajya Sabha — thereby ensuring that people with print disabilities can exercise their right to knowledge on an equal footing with others.

Crowd ‘steps up’ for impaired kids

About 2,000 people did step aerobics in front of Taipei City Hall yesterday to express support for visually impaired children in developing countries.
The participants wore blue and green T-shirts with a picture of an eye printed on them and made an 80m-long formation in the shape of Taiwan’s tallest building — Taipei 101 — in the plaza in front of Taipei City Hall.
After a countdown, the crowd busted out aerobic moves and started stepping on their step platforms to the music until they symbolically reached “1,001” steps.

Visually impaired scores with letter marks in Maths

In an impressive performance as well as a huge morale booster to the differently-abled persons to pursue academic excellence, a visually impaired student of Government Ideal Blind School, Takyel scored letter marks in Mathematics in the recently declared HSLC (Cl-X) examination.
The outstanding achievement of thokchom Anjalina Devi, who scored 80 marks in Mathematics at the HSLC examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Manipur, has undoubtedly proved that with proper guidance and hard work even the differently abled persons can compete with the able-bodied.

Book released by Odisha Blind Foundation

Odisha Blind Foundation (OBF) released a book named ‘Alok Pathara Jatridala' on Friday to commemorate 44{+t}{+h}death anniversary of Louis Braille.
This book was released at a function organised on the premises of the only Braille press in Odisha, functioning in the city. It is the third book published by the OBF to make general public know about social activists of the world and our country who have played a major role to attach the visually impaired to the mainstream. The other two books published by the OBF in the past were related to lives of Louis Braille and Helen Keller.

Blind musicians lose their fear of the dark

Growing up in northern Iran, Fereshteh Khosroujerdy loved to sing. Everyone who heard her voice in the streets would hug and kiss her and tell her how beautiful it was. Everyone, that is, except her strict Muslim parents, who warned her that if they caught her singing in public – forbidden for women – they would douse her in petrol and set her alight. "It is very difficult to be born a girl," she said, "and it is disastrous to be born a girl and blind."

Metro rail readies facilities to benefit differently-abled

Perhaps, other state undertakings like TSTC, MTC and Railways can take a cue from Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) in considering the needs of the differently-abled while designing projects for public utility. The amenities proposed in ongoing metro project would definitely be a benchmark, if CMRL were to translate them into reality.
Among the long list of amenities proposed for metro stations are dedicated parking space (subject to space availability) and tactile tiles to access functional areas and platforms and non-slippery floors.

Yet another feather to Samarthanam founder GK Mahantesh

Samarthanam is proud to announce a coffee table book, India Awakened: Agents of Changes on the nation’s unsung heroes that dedicates a section to the dynamic, inspiring founder of this organization for the disabled, Mr. G K Mahantesh.