An opportunity to do self-employment was Kashiram Rawool’s immediate query when he contacted Eyeway counselor from Konkan, Maharashtra in 2018. Kashiram has lived a roller-coaster life and even at the age of 52, he hasn’t given up on his pursuits to overcome the challenges life throws at him, be it financial, familial or personal. He was born sighted but hurt his right eye in an accident when he was 3 years. Leaving the hurt eye without any medical treatment and relying on home remedies ultimately left him blinded in his right eye. But nothing could make any difference in the thinking of the family because for them the bigger problems were poverty, food, and daily survival.

Those growing up years of Kashiram were far different to what it is today. One reason was his family’s meagre income and the remaining could be encapsulated as unawareness for Kashiram having to grow up in difficult circumstances. But Kashiram attended the nearby school and studied till 10^th standard with a lot of independent efforts. But education was not the major problem but was income. His family struggled to make ends meet each day and his father expected him to find a job and provide for them. Thus, he discontinued his studies after 10^th to start working. The need to be a breadwinner for the family dawned on him as a heavy responsibility at a very young age. He started as a menial worker in a hotel in Kolhapur, doing the dishes, cleaning the tables etc. and shifted jobs as and when he got something better. During this period he also got married, had two kids and his responsibility extended beyond his parents. He worked at various hotels in Kolhapur, a town near his village and for some time in the nearby coastal state of Goa. He worked many jobs in hotels for next 20 years. His children grew up during this time, he gave them education and took care of his family in ways he could. But all these efforts to survive left him unaware of the ages and years passing by. And all he could achieve was only subsistence and now at the age of 52 he was still looking for financial independence.

He got his disability certificate in 2012, certified 40% disability though his vision keeps deteriorating. Since then he became curious and started exploring government schemes and provisions for disabled people. He got to know about National Association for the Blind (NAB) Sawantwadi during this time where from he sought help for his children’s education and for himself. He underwent rehabilitation, mobility and later vocational training where he learned to make soaps, phenyl etc., from NAB, Sawantwadi. He also explored for more opportunities for his children because he didn’t want them to suffer like he did. He wanted to give them education so that they can live their lives with dignity.

 And in 2017 he got to know about Eyeway for the first time from NAB Mumbai and he immediately contacted. He wanted to know about any opportunities to work, get employed or benefit monetarily. Eyeway counselor suggested self-employment for Kashiram and informed him about low interest rates loans available for disabled from National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) which are disbursed through their local agencies. He wanted time to think and decide. It took him 10 months since then before he contacted Eyeway back again in 2018. And he wanted to know more about the self-employment loans. Eyeway counselor explained to him meticulously on them like the documents, schemata, etc. which need to be kept ready to avail this. Also, the contact details for the Maharashtra Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (MHFDC) was shared with him. During the conversation information on various government loans like those from Social Welfare Departments, Zilla Parishad etc. were discussed and a viable solution was shared.
Kashiram lost out on many opportunities even after being so industrious. It was not because he was not prepared but because our systems were so rigid to enable him. Integration is not possible unless our receiving environments like institutions, communities, and the society in general become more supportive. Eyeway hopes Kashiram Rawool to make use of this information and make the right choices for his future.