Kajal Markade was born in 1996 to a middle-class family in Pune, Maharashtra. Her father worked as a clerk in the state board's educational department, while her mother was a homemaker.

Kajal was born with low vision, though her family didn't notice significant issues initially. Around the age of 4-5, she began experiencing difficulty seeing in sunlight.

Despite these challenges, she attended a mainstream school, as her parents lacked awareness about disability resources. Throughout her education, Kajal faced numerous obstacles: she struggled to read the blackboard and small print, and had difficulty maintaining notes, often borrowing them from classmates.

During this period, Kajal didn't have a disability certificate and was unaware of accommodations like having a scribe to help write exam papers. Consequently, she completed all her exams independently. Despite these hurdles, she successfully completed her commerce degree.

A turning point came after her graduation when her father coincidentally discovered a newspaper article featuring the success story of a visually challenged person preparing for Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exams. This story not only inspired Kajal but prompted her to address her vision problems seriously. Her family took her to a hospital where she learned about her disability and obtained a disability certificate indicating 75% visual impairment.

Motivated by the article, Kajal decided to prepare for MPSC exams. She began researching organizations supporting visually impaired individuals and discovered Eyeway. Accompanied by her parents, she traveled from Pune to Mumbai to visit the Eyeway help desk located at The Victoria Memorial School for the Blind.

At Eyeway, the staff understood her situation, challenges, and needs, providing comprehensive information, encouragement, and motivation. During their discussion, they identified computer training as her priority and informed her about various organizations offering such training in Mumbai and Nashik.

After careful consideration, Kajal chose Nashik for her computer training as it was more affordable, and she had relatives there. Currently, she is successfully completing her computer course at the National Federation for the Blind in Nashik, having completed five months of training.

Alongside her computer training, Eyeway continues to support her MPSC exam preparation and mobility training. 

Team Eyeway