There are no limits once you have the determination to bring the change by being the change. Meet the very inspiring teacher – Ritu Mansi who did not let her visual impairment be an obstacle in life but took it as an opportunity to help those in similar situations like her get through competitive exams and then jobs by creating disabled-friendly content. The 35-year old who has been impaired since birth believes that although there is no shortage of resources online for preparation ranging from exams like UPSC, State service, and Teacher’s eligibility and entrance test, the biggest challenge is that these materials are often not accessible for the ones with no eyesight. Also, for the students in rural areas who mostly receive vernacular education, the English content poses additional problems.
NGOs and Humari Vaani
Currently residing in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Mansi has completed her graduation from Delhi University’s Lady Sri Ram College and holds a Masters’s degree in Education. She started working with NGOs in 2019 and with their help, she records study materials in Hindi under the Hamari Vaani Initiative to help the students prepare for various entrance exams. The initiative is run by NGO Enable India, based out of Bengaluru and the programme is called Namma Vaani in Kannada and Hamari Vaani in Hindi. It provides opportunities for sharing stories and ideas for differently-abled people of rural areas and their online platform is planning to reach many differently-abled students throughout the country with contributors like Mansi. To make the whole process easier for the applicants, she translates the relevant English material to Hindi, writes it in Braille, and records audio in Hindi.
She says that over 1000 students have been benefited from the programme as they can now access the audio content from their phones. Along with this, she is also involved with the NGO Divine Light that helps the weak and marginalized portions of the society. Speaking on her inspirations for the contributions, she says that it’s the delight of the moment when an unknown student calls her to extend thanks that they have cracked an exam or gotten a job they were aspiring for, with the help of her audio materials. Working as a teacher at the Navodaya Vidyalaya of Saharanpur, she is also a counselor – recording life skills in her audio materials and talking to people when they are feeling down.
The Inspiration in Helping the Visually Impaired
Mansi believes helping the impaired persons is something that came naturally to her, as he also grew up in the very surroundings, as her mother had started a school for visually impaired children, whom she saw bearing the costs of living and helping others in their studies. It was their efforts that inspired Mansi to keep the work going. She says that her life was relatively easier with lesser challenges than what some people have to face, mainly due to the lack of awareness in the country.
Though sensitization will be a time-taking gradual change, she believes that for now, she can do the least of helping aspirants clear entrance exams and get independent by earning their livelihood. Once they have entered the mainstream, these aspirants will be creating a favorable environment for the ones coming later and more jobs will be generated catering to them in the coming time.
