32-year-old Santosh hails from Bangalore, Karnataka. Despite his low vision, he finished Class XII from a mainstream school. As he prepared for higher education, he was advised to undergo a surgery that could improve his eyesight. The reverse happened, and Santosh went completely blind. This forced him to drop his studies and confine himself to his home. He sat depressed and idle for eight years. 

Finally, his brother pushed him to take up a job with a local NGO. This was the first step in boosting Santosh’s confidence, and he aspired for more. However, he lacked proper education and skills to be employed gainfully. He called the Karnataka Eyeway Helpdesk for guidance on job opportunities. 

Our counselor apprised him of the various possibilities of living life with blindness, citing examples of blind people who did well in their respective careers. We insisted that Santosh finish his education to access better employment options as well as acquire some technical skills to help him work in today’s competitive world. 

Following Eyeway’s advice, Santosh has finished a three-month training on using computers with screen reading software. He wants to move forward and make up for all the lost time due to his lack of awareness. 

India is home to 20% of the global blind population. And yet the country invests little in the rehabilitation of such a large citizenry. Most eye hospitals and ophthalmologists are focused on treatments and surgeries. But when it comes to irreversible sight loss, they offer no help and no guidance to the person or their family. As a result, many blind people live in ignorance, cut off from the mainstream activities. Eyeway hopes to bridge this information gap and redirect visually impaired people to opportunities of independent living. 

Team Eyeway