“Disability is not a hindrance to reach for the skies,” says Tiffany Brar. And she would know. She has skydived, para-glided, started a school and more. In fact, this plucky, visually challenged 29-year-old has won a National Award for Empowerment of Person with Disabilities - Role model category. The award is instituted by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. “In my childhood, all I had heard was ‘No’. “No running. No crossing the street. No climbing up the tree.” My life was that of a typical, totally dependent blind person. The words “impossible” and “you can’t do it” followed me. I, however, proved the naysayers wrong.” And that is what the two-and-a-half-year old Jyothirgamaya is all about too. A centre for the visually challenged, Jyothirgamaya hopes to empower its students in all spheres of life. The centre provides training in computers, communicative English, mobility training… all in small batches. Jyothirgamaya has just completed training its ninth residential batch comprising six students. Each batch attends a four-month-long training course. There is no course fee. Food and accommodation are provided free of cost. The students are between the ages of 10 and 35 and belong to all strata of the community. “I want my students to be able to lead independent lives. I want them to be able to cross the street confidently, do bank transactions on their own, go shopping…I have taken my students to Thenmala and encouraged them to rock climb and do the flying fox. I want them to experience life and not be afraid to face it head on,” says Tiffany who had led an extremely cloistered childhood. “I used to have people assist me when I walked or travelled; I didn’t know the ‘white cane’ existed.” It was a domestic help who first taught her how to be independent. “She taught me how to dress on my own, how to make my bed, fold clothes... None of the schools for the visually challenged I attended taught me such basic life skills.” She found “freedom” when she started working at Kanthari, an institute that helps empower social visionaries, as a receptionist. After a short stint at Kanthari, she soon began a mobile school for the visually challenged. “I discovered the ‘white cane and started travelling by the local bus on my own while working at Kanthari. I still do. At Kanthari, I came across people who were visually impaired and were confined behind the four walls of their home. As I started living like any other person, I wanted others like me to experience it. I know visually impaired people aren’t comfortable stepping out of their comfort zone and so I decided on a mobile blind school that is based on the idea that if the blind cannot go to school, let the school go to the blind. Also, I know that due to poverty many parents, especially in rural areas, are unable to send their wards to schools or training centres. Some parents don’t send their wards to such schools due to lack of awareness.” And so Tiffany and a small team of trainers visited the homes of several visually challenged people. “We taught them everything from Braille to computers and also life skills and how to use the white cane.” It was when she felt the need for a proper school that she rented a floor of a building at Ambalamukku. “I realised that unless my students stepped out of their comfort zones, they would never learn to move around and be a part of society.” The school has a few success stories like Vinodh who works for Kerala Federation for the Blind as a Daisy editor (software) and Aneesh, a youngster in his twenties who is currently sitting for the SSLC examination. “I don’t want my students to be a burden to their family. I want them to be able to stand on their own two feet and walk with their heads held high. I am hoping to train my students in medical transcription so that they have more job opportunities.” This confident woman with a vision will be travelling to Delhi on December 3, International Day of Disabled Persons, to receive the national award from the President.

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