Our-Students – VEF Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Rudra

Rudra was born blind. Coming from a family that was struggling to make ends meet, his future didn’t seem too bright. One day, they stumbled upon another family who told them about VEF.

“I come to VEF to learn. The teachers here know how to work with me so I can go to regular school and still be like the kids who can see,” says Rudra, who is now 8 years old. At VEF, he is able to catch up on his reading and writing skills through braille as well as participate in sports.

The one-on-one teaching combined with group activities have enabled Rudra to interact confidently with normal-sighted children in his age group. Traveling to VEF is quite a distance for him, but equipped with hope and a dream to accomplish life skills, Rudra never misses a day.

Highly skilled in singing and recitation of spiritual poetry, Rudra also believes that though he cannot see, he is able to experience life from his heart.

Babita

Three years ago, when Babita was 14 years old, she woke up one morning to find out that the clouded room she was sleeping in wasn’t a dream. She felt claustrophobic and unable to understand her inability to see clearly, she cried out to her mother. Babita was diagnosed with glaucoma, a condition that causes damage to the eye’s optic nerve usually as a result of increased pressure inside the eye.

“I felt that my life was over. Everything I ever wanted to do in my life seemed impossible. I was hopeless and shattered,” thought Babita. A family friend referred her to VEF, and with much skepticism and a great deal of encouragement from her family, she visited the school. “At VEF, the teachers made me understand that my new condition was by no means an end to my dreams and goals, and that with their help, I would be able to develop the skills needed to live my life as normally as possible. The best thing about being at VEF is learning how to be confident, because before anything is possible, it is important to believe that everything will be alright.” Babita is now back in high school, pursuing her passion for dancing and drama, helping other children with similar conditions renew their spirits.

Enish

In addition to being born blind, Enish does not have control of his body parts due to a debilitating medical condition. Unable to attend mainstream school, Enish was referred to VEF. Here, one-on-one instruction with the qualified staff has allowed Enish to overcome his impairment and focus on learning. He is now able to play the keyboard and this achievement has brought back his zest for life, encouraged him to pursue other life skills and helped him progress in the academic arena as well.

At VEF, the staff works with a child’s talents and interests to help rebuild their lost confidence or instill a sense of possibility thinking in heir students while promoting their spiritual and cultural development. Enish will now complete his 10th grade coursework and appear for state boards, a feat he thought he could never accomplish.

Santosh

Santosh is partially blind and currently 22 years of age. He was unable to attend school until he found VEF where he enrolled at the 10th grade level. Santosh says he received great support, guidance and personalized instruction from the teachers there. He is now in 11 grade and a computer instructor on the side. In 2017, he was contacted by the popular Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan. Santosh says: “Hrithik Roshan called me for help in the movie Kabil where he played the lead role as a blind person. He wanted to know how blind people use technology like mobile phones and computers, so I had the privilege of spending time with him in preparation for the movie. I gave him all the information he needed and taught him how to use mobile phones and computers as a blind person.”

Prasad

Prasad is a partially blind 16 year old student. When he was in 2nd grade, he started suffering from low vision so he was unable to continue his education in a regular school. He was falling behind in all academic and extra-curricular activities when finally one of his family members informed him about VEF. He joined VEF when he was in 5th grade and received personal coaching and instruction from the trained teachers. He was able to resume regular school while teachers at VEF provided extra tutoring and guidance to help him keep up. He is now the 3rd ranked national championship winner in kick-boxing winner, and first ranking in the state. He also swims and treks. “VEF has drastically changed my life. I am now able to participate in all kinds of activities. My confidence and self-esteem has been build by the support of VEF and I would like to thank all the staff there for making that positive impact tin my life.”

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Raj

Raj is a 22 year old, 90% visually impaired. He studied in a municipal school until 5th grade but because of his blindness, he could not continue there. His father had many medical conditions and his mother works as a cook in someone’s home so they could not afford private tuition. Then he started at VEF, and even though he had to travel 12 kilometers daily from his home to the VEF school, sometimes by foot, he was attracted to the school culture of love and nurturing. Raj says, ” I never feel tired. I look forward to being there so much because though I can’t see it, I feel the freshness and pleasantness there. I have many friends here. We are like a family. All teachers are very supportive, especially Vivek Sir. He taught me to be positive. I can’t forget his contributions in my life. I was very depressed but now I am a changed person with lots of dreams and I know that with my hard work, I will make all my dreams come true. I never played any games. Nobody ever encouraged me. But because of VEF, I am a gold medalist in running and shot put at the national level in Special Olympics. I wish many students like me can go to VEF. It tis a magical school where you can be transformed into a positive, ambitious, good citizen of the country. I would like to thank all my teachers and friends at the VEF.”

Pallavi

Pallavi’s association with VEF started in 12th grade. She tells her story of how she felt independent when she had vision in just one eye until the day lost that as well. “I never thought that the day would come when I had to deal with losing sight completely. Was I able to deal with it? Eventually I was. Part of it was due to my inner strength and my family, and the other part was VEF. It twas October 2013, and it had been two years since I passed 12th standard. I thought I had very few opportunities. I was quite depressed. I learned Braille and was ready to go for a job. It was then that Prabha ma’am and Vivek Sir gave me advice to pursue further further education and encouraged me to think about this. They said they would give me financial support. I did agree and that was the best decision of my life.”

Pallavi is now a graduate and is now preparing for CAT and TIS-NET and hopes to pursue an MBA degree. She now believes that having all senses are not necessary to be and feel independent!

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