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Celebrating Light

By Amit Syal '03

In exploring the world of the blind, I celebrated Diwali in a remote city of Maharashtra called Chandrapur (located in the center of India) with a person named Sachin Hedau and his family. Diwali is a festival which people celebrate with flamboyance, festivity, and fanfare. The festival proclaim the victory of good over evil as a result diyas (small earth based shell shaped containing a wick and oil) are lighted and placed all over houses. A lighted diya stands for the divine fire that purifies and liberates man by dispelling darkness.

Sachin and some of his friends and I set out from the gates of TTI (Technical Training Institute) where I am currently working with blind trainees to celebrate this great Indian festival. Sachin is a partially blind student but he did not let that stop him from doing anything a sighted person would. As a result Sachin has a double M.A. in Sociology and History. He is the most empowered blind person of my age that I had seen. When I mentioned to him that I would like to accompany him to meet with his family he gave me a yes without any hesitation.

Sachin represents the positive attitude one needs in a struggle against blindness. His zeal and confidence was demonstrated as he walked me through the process of purchasing the train ticket to taking me to his city and introducing me to his family. I remember going to the booth and purchasing the train ticket with Sachin. He knew exactly where to go and what to do. He did the talking and got me a discounted ticket as a guide accompanying the blind. He boarded me and five other blind trainees who were also going to their respective cities and villages on the train. His planning was so flawless in that he had even prepared dinner for us on board the train by asking the chef at TTI to prepare some chutney and some chapatti for all of us.

Once we got to his city Chandrapur he also took me to various houses and showed me the challenges that Blind people face. We must have visited about five families and saw how the blind members in those families were neglected and not given the financial or emotional support that other sighted members of the family received. In one case I remember how Bharat one of Sachins friends from Chandrapur had asked if he could come back with Sachin being that none of his family members offered to bring him back from TTI. Sachin refused and told Bharat that he should attempt on his own and not be afraid. He empowered Bharat to attempt on his own told him not be afraid. He went to visit him to make sure he reached home okay. Bharat was very happy to see Sachin and thanked him for believing in him and giving him the confidence he needed to make the attempt. Bharat was also very withdrawn from his family. It looked as if the family left him in a corner feeling neglected. Sachin filled the gap that Bharat must have been feeling. Sachin knew the challenges that his peers faced as a result he had made it a point to visit them at home and offer any assistance he could. Every one of the families we went to regarded Sachin himself as their own.

He is also an officer for the National Federation of the blind. Being an active officer he had a meeting arranged with the collector officer, a collector is government official who has districts under him and his 20 cabinet members. Sachin had arranged a meeting between the collector who came in person with his 20 cabinet members and himself. I got to see first hand the status of the backlog of employment for the disabled under the 1% quota for the blind. To my amazement the quota was not being met and it was good to see Sachin take a stand and point this out to the collector officer. He handled the situation tactfully without getting his temper high.

Lastly I got a chance to celebration Diwali in a traditional Indian household with fireworks and an auspicious puja (prayer) to ring in the New Year. I will never forget this particular Diwali as it represented a lot of learning for me on how to help the blind. I got to see the problems first hand as opposed to having it heard. I also got to see how Institutes such as TTI play a valuable start to these blind trainees as they learn mobility and gain the confidence to do the ordinary things we take for granted. And lastly Sachin showed me by example that blindness is a challenge that can be overcome.

Did You know?

Indicorps offers a variety of programs and opportunities that encourage leadership and civic engagement. While the fellowship focuses on empowering people willing to do whatever it takes to affect change, we also have local volunteer programs in India, an established internship program, an emerging domestic program, an effort to engage late-careers seniors in development, an online volunteer opportunity site, and more....

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Inspiration

If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.

- Lila Watson