Nineteen-year-old Davuluri Chakradhar Chowdary hails from West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh. Being a person with vision impairment, he studied in a special school for the blind. His family is supportive and understanding towards his condition. This attitude helped Davuluri pursue his academic goals and aspirations. Currently, he is in the third year of graduation, following which he wants to become a teacher.
Studying in a mainstream college, Davulury often found it hard to access the study material in printed format. When he shared this problem with his friends, he was redirected to the Eyeway Helpdesk for assistance. He asked the Eyeway counselor if he can get audiobooks for his syllabus which will make it easier to study independently. The counselor contacted a few organizations and individuals regarding this query, and shared two resources that would be useful.
Davuluri was advised to contact LV Prasad Eye Institute for converting study material into audios and also visit the online digital library, Sugamya Pustakalaya for additional texts in accessible format. Thanks to this intervention, Davuluri is able to study seamlessly. He is also preparing for special B.Ed training which will further his employment ambitions.
The counselor also added him to the Eyeway WhatsApp messaging list which will keep him up to date with information on jobs, government schemes, training programs, NGO contacts, and other education, employment, assistive technology, and independent living-related news.
Timely guidance and adequate knowledge of alternate ways of carrying out daily activities despite blindness, encourage people like Davuluri not to compromise on their dreams. He is now confident of gaining mainstream employment.