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`Vision' via hi-tech
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Thanks to the technological advances, the visually challenged can now compete with their sighted counterparts.
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Visually challenged boys hearing the voice from a Braille Reading Machine. - Photos: C.V. Subrahmanyam
Imagine a situation where one wakes up on a fine morning and finds he or she is not able to see anything. The very thought would scare one to the hilt, turning the world topsy-turvy.
However, when Ram Agarwal faced such a situation at 38, he did not despair. Though disheartened, he did not give up hope and in due course he found a way out not only to support himself and his family but also bring a smile on the faces of thousands of others like him, who had resigned to their fate.
Hailing from a business community in Mumbai, Ram Agarwal had normal vision till then. He and his brothers were managing the family's engineering industry. On the fateful day, he woke up to find a hazy world. Owing to macular degeneration, his vision started dimming gradually towards the inevitable, and he found it hard to perform his role in the business. His brothers thought he was no longer useful and started ignoring him.
Visitors curiously looking at the functioning of a Braille watch.
Ram Agarwal started thinking of ways and means to adopt the technological advances to overcome his handicap and stick on to the business. He spoke to friends and acquaintances and gathered information on the latest gadgets being developed across the globe.
He came across talking wrist-watches, talking computers, interactive mobile phones and many more such devices. Being financially sound, he imported them and started using them as tools to pursue his business.
Realising that these tools could help visually challenged persons to compete with their fortunate counterparts, be it in education, business or other areas, he found that the instruments were adding life to the years of people like him.
"It is extremely difficult for a middle class person to import these expensive gadgets. So I entered into contracts with manufacturers abroad for supply of these gadgets and floated my own company - Karishma Enterprises - with the objective of distributing them in India. Though the products are much cheaper in India, they are still above the common man's reach, due to the high import cost. It is here that service organisations like Rotary and Lions clubs and the Government can come to the rescue of the less fortunate," says Ram Agarwal.
`Talking computers'
At the instance of the Hellen Keller Memorial Association, he organised a two-day exhibition at YMCA Hall early this week displaying the gadgets. A number of visually challenged students, teachers and individuals visited the expo and familiarised themselves with the talking computers.
The `Job access with speech' (JAWS) software converts a standard PC into a talking computer. A blind person can prepare documents, surf the Net and even do software programming. Ram Agarwal's company is the sole distributor for the software in India.
Now the visually challenged persons need not contend themselves with becoming telephone operators. They can work in call centres, banks, hotels and innumerable other areas, provided they adopt the technological revolution and adapt to the changed scenario.
The lack of availability of reading material and text books in Braille is a major setback for students. Mini Braille presses are available for prices ranging from Rs.2 lakhs to Rs.4 lakhs. The special schools can procure them and produce the reading material in house and distribute it to their students.
The `Talking electronic Braille system' facilitates two-way communication between the teacher and the taught. It converts text into Braille for the student and Braille into text for normal teachers to value the scripts.
Workshops
"Karishma Enterprises has tied up with the Rehabilitation Council of India to organise workshops to equip master trainers with the necessary computer skills. The trainers in turn would teach blind students and they in turn would teach some more beneficiaries. The workshops which would be of 15 days duration,and the first one is planned to be held in Mumbai from January 3 to 17."
Initially over 20 workshops would be held in Mumbai and later they would be extended to other cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai. "The response from special schools is very encouraging and they are prepared to teach computers to their students. However, the paucity of funds is holding them back from going for the technological advances," he says.
The cost of setting up a centre with three systems equipped with JAWS software is just Rs.1.75 lakhs which can be afforded by institutions with the support of NGOs, he feels. The software can be used with all Windows-based applications. It is a one-time investment which would benefit the beneficiaries for several years.
There is a lot of awareness about IT and willingness on the part of institutions to extend the same to the visually challenged. The Government needs to be sensitised on this.
Alternative to books
Surender and K. Suryakrishna, who are both blind teachers working at the Netra Vidayalayam, a special school run by the Jeeyar Educational Trust at Prema Samajam in Vizianagaram, find the software very useful.
"Tridandi Srimannarayana China Ramanuja Jeeyar Swami procured JAWS four years ago and we have been using it to train our children ever since," they say. There are no textbooks in Braille for Intermediate and above. The books can now be placed on the website and the same could be accessed through JAWS.
"I am doing my B.Ed. in Special Education and am facing the problem of non-availability of text books in Braille. In the past, we had to record our lessons on audio tapes and listen to them. It was a costly affair and deterred many from going for higher studies," says Surender.
B. MADHU GOPAL
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