Twenty-nine-year-old Sonu Kumar Gupta, a resident of Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, was born with vision impairment. His father, an auto-rickshaw driver is the sole breadwinner of a large family of ten. Sonu is the eldest of his eight siblings, out of which a younger brother and sister are also visually impaired.

The lack of financial resources and awareness led to keeping Sonu confined to his home with no access to education. It was as recent as five years ago when he heard about the Eyeway Helpdesk on an audio platform for persons with disabilities, called Hamari Vaani, that he saw a ray of hope. He wasted no time in calling the helpline to find out more on living life with blindness.
Over a series of phone calls, Eyeway counselor apprised Sonu of the various welfare schemes and provisions as well as other opportunities that exist for persons with blindness. He was guided on the process to apply for a Unique Disability ID which would make him eligible to avail government schemes and concessions. Thanks to the new identity and the newfound confidence, Sonu could avail his rightful disability pension and acquire a smartphone under the ADIP scheme (Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances).

After connecting with Eyeway, Sonu realised that his siblings shouldn’t lose out on education as he did. He took help in enrolling his brother into a special school for the blind. As for his sister, she continued her studies in a mainstream school with partial sight. Sonu was also advised to complete Class X through distance learning and enroll for a computer training programme which would open up his chances of employment.

Extremely happy with the turn of events in his life and the progress towards independent living, Sonu continues to stay in touch with the Eyeway team. Recently when he stopped receiving his monthly pension, he shared the challenge with our counselor. The Helpdesk counsellor told him about the new KYC provision mandated by the UP government for all disability pensioners. After making the necessary updates, Sonu started receiving the pension after a gap of five months.