“When my wife and I go out, we hold each other’s hand, it is natural for a couple and practical for me,” says George Abraham. For a first timer who meets George, it is hard to detect his visual impairment. After all, he walked out of the lift and walked confidently towards the lobby, without asking or seeking help from anyone. How did he manage that? “The biggest challenge always is to walk in the right direction after coming out of a lift. In this hotel’s case I understood that there is a water fountain in the lobby, so I concentrated on the sound and walked towards the lobby,” he explains.
It no wonder George , a pioneer of blind cricket in India , was whisked away by the airlines assistant staff to talk at a management meeting . “It was a little too impromptu for me. The gentleman who was assisting me asked if I would go and speak at their management meeting. I wasn’t doing anything much productive, so I agreed to go and it was a good talk,” he says.
George wasn’t born blind; he suffered from meningitis when still a baby, which resulted in a gradual loss of his eyesight at a young age. “My parents were aware of my condition and instead of thinking that I was a liability they began equipping me with knowledge and tools. They trained me to be independent. My friends would share their notes, my teachers and parents would read out lessons and in the evenings we did combined studies in our home. So, everything put together, acceptance and investment made me independent.”
He elaborates: “Instead of treating visually impaired as a burden, look at them as another helping hand. Donations should become investment, only then there will be expectations from people they have invested in. My parents invested in me and hence I am able to help others.”
An active debater and athlete in school, George’s other passion was cricket. He launched national cricket programmes for the blind in 1990 and went on to establish the World Cricket Council for the Blind. He also ran with the Olympic Torch at Atlanta. Later he launched a mobile training program in personality development and co-authored a book on Inclusive Education. George also founded Score Foundation and launched its flagship Project Eyeway in 2003, which is a single stop Knowledge Resource for blind and visually impaired people with the object of changing lives through the power of knowledge.
“After I saw that the World Cricket Council for the Blind was working well without me, I moved on to do things that can help more people. Evolve with ideas, so that you are helping more people to evolve with you,” explains George. He is presently Director of Magiktuch Talent Management Private Limited which promotes professional blind musicians.
How would he feel if his eyesight is restored? “I met a lot of women in my younger days, I would probably want to see how they look. I am good like this and I am good if my eyesight is restored,” he laughs. Back at home, as his younger daughter plays ‘hide and seek’ with him, while his elder one wonders how Dad knows, “Whether full, sleeves or three quarters sleeves are better than sleeveless dresses.”

SOURCE: The Hindu