The students of C Achutha Menon College, Thrissur, are upbeat that some of their innovative ideas can probably be a path-breaker in the world of the visually impaired. Through its National Award winning NSS wing, the college will now help build communities that help the visually challenged read books, travel with ease and write exams, better! Here's how! . http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Students-show-the-way-to-light-up-lives-of-the-visually-challenged/articleshow/54677589.cms . "We have set up a voice bank, companion bank and scribe bank, which has service-minded students as members. While some of them are from our college, there are students from outside colleges too," says Sijo Varghese, a faculty. And how do they help?
The voice bank consists of students who read and record books and newspapers, so that the visually challenged can listen to them. Sisira Sivan, a student, says, "Such voice books are available in English but there are not many in Malayalam. So, we read them and through phones, record the books, save them in CDs and send them to the Kerala Federation of the Blind. They upload it on their website, which are accessed by many from the State." Interestingly, they have already recorded five books. "The stories of M Mukundan, Perumbadavam Sreedharan, Zachariya, ONV and a few poems of Kadammanitta are the ones we have recorded so far," she says. . . The students have also formed a whatsapp group named Dyuthi to help the visually challenged. "It's a group in which only voice messages are allowed, as the visually challenged are also part of it, alongside us. We often send them recorded news and other important reads on this forum. There are also those who introduce new English words, tidbits of general knowledge, et al," says Dilna K R, a student. Interestingly, many students from other colleges have also become part of the group, as of now. . . Times are such that the visually challenged can write most of the exams, with scribes. "However, it's not easy to find scribes that suit all the qualifications as per the rules and also have time to spend. Scribe bank is an initiative to help the visually challenged, write exams easily," says Shabana Yasmin, a student. The college has already intimated other colleges in the area on the initiative, and collected info on those students who want to help. "If things go well, we will start it in other districts too," says Sijo. While most scribes charge to write exam, members of the scribe bank won't collect any money. . . Companion bank, which is an initiative to find companions for the visually challenged for trips, is in its initial stages. "As of now, we have gathered details of people who are willing to serve. It will start functioning as soon as the requests start coming in," says Sijo. The students see this as the pre-runner to a bigger cause. "Our dream is to expand these banks to create an impact, beyond the walls of our college. Considering the reception we've been experiencing, it's no distant dream," they say in unison. . -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
