Forty-year-old Muralidhar was born sighted into a low income family in a village near Solapur district of Maharashtra. Both his parents worked in a farm. While he was studying in a regular school, he met with a road accident in Class IV.
 
Due to lack of proper medical treatment in the village, Muralidhar lost his eyesight completely. For the next two years, he was confined to the interiors of his home, as there was no awareness about education or life with blindness.
 
Luckily, one day a social worker visited their home and apprised the family about a special school for blind children in Solapur. Muralidhar immediately enrolled in Class V, where he learned to read and write using the Braille script, and also picked up some mobility skills.
 
After completing Class X, he joined National Association for the Blind Solapur’s vocational training center alongside pursuing Class XII through distance learning. But afterwards, due to a lack of proper guidance as well as financial crunch, Muralidhar could not continue his education.
 
Some relatives and friends helped him set up a small horticulture business which became the sole source of earning for the family. But this business incurred losses during the Covid-19 pandemic. When the national crisis simmered down, Muralidhar wanted to start a new business, so he reached out to the Eyeway Helpdesk to learn about government provisions.
 
The Eyeway Helpdesk counselor in Maharashtra helped him with all the necessary information, including bank loans, state and central finance schemes, subsidized loans etc.
 
Muralidhar was directed to approach the Gram Panchayat for financial support from local body, which has 5% funds reserved for persons with disabilities. With help from the counselor, he submitted an application to acquire a Xerox machine to start a small business. This was ignored by the officials on grounds of his blindness. The Eyeway counselor interjected and spoke to the Panchayat officials, after which the application was processed.
 
When the officials were delaying the release of the funds, Muralidhar again reached out to the counselor for help. The Eyeway representative coaxed the authorities to act soon, else an official complaint would be filed with the District Collector. Following this, the funds were released to Muralidhar.
 
We hope he can turn this business into a success and live a financially independent life with dignity.
Team Eyeway