Beno Zephine is the first totally blind person to make it to the Indian Foreign Service. George Abraham, CEO Score Foundation chats with her on the phone regarding her aspirations and journey so far.
Congratulations Beno! This is wonderful. We are proud of you.
(Pic source: Livemint.com)
We are living in exciting times. There is a lot happening on the International front. India has been making her presence felt on the World stage, be it trade, development or International cooperation. I have always been a keen student of Geo Political goings on and International relations. I look forward to taking on any assignment given to me and putting in my best.
I received a mail from the Ministry of External Affairs informing me of my selection. I am a totally blind person and am the first ever totally blind person to make the cut. I was 342 on the merit list. DOPT (Department of Personnel and Training) had told me that now totally blind people were being considered for the Foreign Service. So after qualifying, I had interactions with personnel from the Ministry of External Affairs who wanted to know how I would handle myself and my job as a blind person. Obviously they had their doubts and questions. They needed to be ready for me and needed to understand the extent and types of accommodation they were required to provide for me. I did speak about screen readers JAWS and other technologies that could assist me as I moved ahead.
Till class X, I had several thoughts as far as my professional aspirations were concerned. But in class XI I had made up my mind to become a Civil Servant. I have been an avid orator since my early school days. This had pushed me to read books and publications on subjects related to social, cultural and economic issues. I had begun reading the news paper from a very early time. So when I was in class XI, I just felt that I could as a Civil Servant most effectively engage and play a part in the socio economic and cultural development of the country.
While preparing for the Civil Service exams, there is a whole lot of reading to be done. All of the reading material cannot be scanned and converted into E-text or into audio recordings. The volume is too large for that. My mother did a lot of reading for me. I am blessed with a quick comprehension capability and a very good memory. One reading and things would stick in my mind.
Yes, I did go for some coaching classes. I was very selective. I only went for a few subjects.
I had no problems. I did not face any kind of resistance. I sat in the class and listened and that was good enough for me.
I have been posted in the loan recovery department. I have been given responsibilities, which I carry out. The Bank has invested in JAWS (a screen reading software) which enables me to work independently.
As far as my colleagues are concerned, they have been great. I believe that when you are out going and friendly, people around you respond very well. We need to communicate and reach out. Perhaps, in the initial days they were a little curious about me but with the passage of time as they got to know me , I guess all their apprehensions and doubts were dispelled. They look at me as any other colleague. Now it is time for me to put in my resignation and start looking forward to my career as a Foreign Service officer.
I am from Chennai. Both my parents are from the city. I was born blind with retinitis pigmentosa. I did my entire schooling from Little Flower Convent. This is a school for the blind based in Chennai. I graduated from Stella Maris in English Literature and then did my MA in English from Loyola College.
Like all other children, when I was growing up I too had several dreams for my future. These dreams kept changing as I grew up. The most prominent among my dreams were me wanting to become a lawyer and to become a lecturer.
My mother, my teachers and my friends have been very supportive of me. I have never had an idol and never believed in them. But I do look at good qualities in people and try to make them my own. More than emulating people, I believe we need to be citizens and professionals with character.
I made use of a scribe, both for my prelims as well as my finals. This was my second attempt at the Civil Services. The first time round I had a poor scribe and I did feel let down while writing the mains. But this time I had a decent scribe who responded to me well. You see, it is the UPSC who provides us with the scribe. We only get to meet the person who would be writing for you on the morning of the exam. This could be some kind of a lottery. If the scribe has a bad hand writing or if his spellings are poor or if he is a slow writer, the blind persontaking the exam would suffer.
Surprisingly No! They grilled me on my subjects. They asked me a number of questions on current affairs, foreign policy and my views and thinking about various things happening around. It was a serious interview and they were it seems focused on assessing me as a potential civil servant. It was absorbing and I enjoyed the interaction.
Yes! It is very important for the citizens of the country to be well informed. They need to be aware of the happenings, the laws and the various facilities and opportunities. I believe it is very important to have strong ethical and moral values. Finally we need to have a love for the wonderful country we live in. We need to be patriotic. We need to conserve and protect the resources of our great Nation and put them to optimum use.
Certainly! I have ideas and plans. Within the legal framework of the country, I will definitely try to play my part. Let me first however begin my new assignment.
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