Radio for the visually impaired!

Helping the visually impaired to reach out to the world was the motto of the day for The National Association for the Blind (NAB) who, along with Rotary Club of Bangalore, distributed around 1,000 FM radios to visually challenged persons at the NAB Rehabilitation Complex here on Saturday.

It is part of Rotary Club’s ‘Support the Challenged’ initiative, which in turn was supported by Mitra Jyothi and Matru.

Madhu Singhal, managing trustee of Mitra Jyothi, who is visually impaired, said: "When I was a small girl, I used to listen to the radio all day because that was my source of entertainment. I especially liked listening to cricket commentary. Listening to it on television is not as exciting because they don’t explain in detail."

Jayanthi Mahesh, an administrative officer at NAB, agreed that the gesture would definitely make a difference to a visually impaired person. I. Krupakaran and Karthick M., second year students of the organisation’s Technical Training Institute (TTI), said they were grateful for the support given by NAB. Krupakaran said: "They have provided me with food, clothing, a place to stay and education. I can’t possibly ask for more."

Krupakaran, who lost his eyesight at a very young age, hails from Thiruvarur near Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. He said: "There are so many people from small villages suffering from blindness who don’t know about organisations like NAB. My greatest desire is to spread awareness in these villages as I can empathise with such people."

Karthick added: "We want people to see us for what we are or what we have done with our lives, and not for our disability."

Mahesh Joshi, director of Doordarshan Kendra in Bangalore, was the chief guest. He distributed the radios along with S. Nagendra, Rotary District Governor nominee.