Educating young blind children for a better future

Hammad was only 2 years old when he enrolled into the Early Intervention Programme (EIP). He was diagnosed with two different diagnoses for both his eyes. Hammad’s right eye is diagnosed with micro cornea whereas his left eye was diagnosed as Anapthalmous which is the absence of the eye itself, as a result of a congenital malformation.

Hammad’s condition was never an issue for his family who love and took care of him.  They live in a closed knitted community in the village where his aunts and uncles take turns to care for Hammad when his parents go out to work at the rubber estate.

In spite of being born with no vision, Hammad was able to move independently at the age of 2 and is also able to interact well with his family members. Be that as it may, he was still very dependent on his family especially his mother for his daily routine and was very afraid of strangers. His speech was also not coherent.

These were all in the past. Hammad is now an active child who loves to play and he can even boss his younger cousins around sometimes.  He enjoys moving about the house on his own. His aunt mentioned that sometimes she just needs to keep an eye on him as he is able to take bath and play by himself.

One of the significant improvements seen recently was when Hammad cheerfully greeted and helped the teachers to carry toy boxes into his house. His attitude is the polar opposite of when we first met when he hid behind his mother the entire time. The parents are very happy and thrilled that Hammad is able to do these things independently as he is going to attend regular school soon.

Working with Hammad these past years has been an inspiration as he has shown us that being born without vision is never a limitation. Just like the quote by John Milton which goes something like “To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.”