By Shruti Pushkarna | Project Leader
7 year old Tanya was born with vision and speech impairment. Her mother Meenu Yadav suffered from kidney failure during gestation which affected the fetus. Looking at a child born with no vision or speech, Meenu’s husband abandoned them both. Left with ill-functioning kidneys, absolutely unaware of how to raise a disabled child, Meenu battled with life each passing day. She worried for her daughter’s future, for she didn’t know who would take care of Tanya’s day to day needs if her own health worsened. Tanya was entirely dependent on her mother for every little thing.
But one day, the mother-daughter duo was on a train to Gwalior where they had a chance encounter with a visually impaired person. Friendly conversation ensued between Meenu and Gautam and she shared her worries with this stranger. Gautam realized Tanya needed proper guidance, as he had got from Eyeway some years ago. He shared his personal struggles with Meenu, and how he went on from knowing nothing about living life with blindness to becoming self-reliant. With help and counseling from Eyeway, Gautam was today employed as a teacher in a government school. He urged Meenu to call the Eyeway toll-free number and seek help for Tanya, which she did!
Our counselors assured Meenu that Tanya had a fair chance to survive and thrive like any other child her age. All she needed was special guidance in an institution equipped to handle her multiple disability. We recommended that Tanya be enrolled in Helen Keller Institute for Deaf and Blind in Mumbai where she would get training for mobility, personal hygiene, life skills as well as go through a regular academic curriculum. Happy to hear about an opportunity, Meenu agreed to enrol Tanya in the institute in Mumbai. Tanya is now living and studying at the Helen Keller Institute and her mother is relieved to see her daughter in the hands of experts who will help her become independent.
It is indeed heartwarming that an old client showed so much faith in us, and redirected another in need to Eyeway. Little did Meenu know before getting on that train, that her daughter’s life was going to take such a positive turn!
We thank Gautam as well as all our supporters for helping us reach more and more visually impaired people.
We take this opportunity to request you to start a monthly recurring donation for a small amount, if you haven’t already done so: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/eyeway-support-the-blind/?show=recurring
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