Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Striving for a bright future

— Photo: R. Ragu

J. Vijayalakshmi, lecturer, NIEPMD, presenting awards to winners of cultural competitions, in Chennai on Friday.

CHENNAI: Hope is life, despair is death. This famous quote of Helen Keller, the deaf-and-blind American woman who became a role model for the differently abled, formed the central theme of the event commemorating her 128th birth anniversary at the National Institute for Visually Handicapped- Regional Centre in the city on Friday.

I. Arivanandham, Regional Director of the Institute, said a High Speed Braille Printing Press would be set up in their campus before the end of this year to cater to the needs of young visually impaired children.

Two research projects are being undertaken at the Institute to prepare reading material in Tamil on visual impairment for village level functionaries. It is also formulating an updated directory of services for the visually impaired in the southern region.

J. Vijayalakshmi, lecturer at the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD), recalled several positive experiences of working with visually impaired children.

She said she once had to deal with a five-year-old hearing and visually impaired boy who was very adamant. One day, when she went draped in a bright orange sari, the otherwise quiet child, came closer to her and started inspecting her. “That was when I realised he had residual vision. When I got his entire room painted in bright colours, his vision improved and he can view objects within 3 feet distance.”

For Helen Keller, it was her teacher Anne Sullivan who brought hope into her life. For visually impaired children today, there are several such teachers and community workers who can change their lives for the better, she said.

Visually impaired trainees of the Institute and students who won cultural competitions were presented awards.

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