One of the most progressive institutions rooted in Aluva (Kerala), one that sets an example for contemporaries around India is the School for the Blind at Keezhmadu. The school identified more than a decade back that a student’s overall development is only made possible when you integrate sports and co-curricular initiatives - the decision led to the development of their “cricket for the blind” program which gave rise to national stars like Sandra Davis.
Recently I got an opportunity to be at the school for a CSR program and a follow-on meeting where we shared with Amazon’s CSR team about the organisation’s vision to become the “sports hub for the blind”.
The same day, when the Amazon team was demoing Alexa to the students, I got an opportunity to visit one of the classrooms. It looked and felt like the classroom most of us experienced in our childhood - an open book on the table with a pen around, tall stacks of books kept in the shelf (like our cursive writing books), and the wall decorated with posters. It was all the same - except it was braille everywhere. I tried to feel my fingers through the writings with my eyes closed for some time - it felt cryptic and impossible for me to recognise patterns. I wondered about the practice and effort it takes for each blind student to communicate using braille.
Felt grateful for the eyesight that I take granted all the time, and a lot of admiration for Louis Braille who invented braille and for every blind person who uses it to express themselves. ❤️ 🙏