– Says visually impaired UG graduate 

By Telesha Ramnarine 

HAVING to go through school with an extremely low vision by no means placed a damper on the confidence and determination that Asif Khan approached his life with. Having recently graduated from the University of Guyana (UG), he couldn’t be happier that he continued to press on despite his many challenges.

The 23-year-old who hails from Bartica was born with an eye condition that rendered him unable to control the focus of his eyes, and as he grew older, he acquired a second condition that resulted in lots of cloudiness.

Asif can regain a substantial amount of his vision if he would do a cornea transplant. “I’m not sure when I would be able to do the operation due to cost; that’s the main factor. From my research, it costs about $1.2M to do one eye, leaving out other costs like travelling and accommodation,” Asif explained during an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine recently.

While Asif has never been able to see normally, he could have made out large prints when he was in primary and secondary school. But as he approached age 18, things got worse for him.

He attended Bartica Nursery School, but when it was time for primary school, his relatives moved him to the city in hopes that he might receive a better education. He started at St. Agnes Primary, then moved his way up to St. Roses High and sixth form subsequently. He then began attended UG for four years and studied international relations.

Life was not very easy for Asif. Two years into UG, he started working as a teacher with visually impaired students. Balancing work and school took a toll on him at times, along with other challenges that came along such as travelling by public transportation.
He also saw that there were major problems early in the 2000s with the country’s education system and its lack of adequate provisions for those in the disability community.

“UG started to receive an influx of visually impaired students and didn’t have many facilities in place to accommodate us. They didn’t have a policy that deals with disability, visual impairment; so most of the lecturers and administrators were clueless in how to adapt to students with disabilities,” he recalled.

“You basically had to have the strength and determination to pursue studies,” he said about what helped him to continue. He also had lots of support from teachers who would reinforce whatever work they did in school. His relatives and friends also supported him. “Family involvement is very crucial. Most of the work was done in my books and my family would revise with me. Some of the work was also recorded on cassettes,” he recalled.
Large print materials and recordings were two of the major things that helped him. “As time progressed, lecturers provided more support than the institution itself. The lecturers went out of their way to provide whatever extra support they could have.”

No different 

Asif said he is very humbled and happy at being able to complete his education. “It’s not something that I can explain. Having an education from nursery to tertiary is something I am very fortunate to have because not many persons with disabilities can access this. So I think it is an accomplishment that made me stronger, and more determined to inspire other youths.”

He has an interest in politics and is especially looking forward to getting involved so that he may be able to lobby for certain changes regarding disability and human rights.
“Your disability makes you no different from any other person. Young people must know that they should make sacrifices and have confidence in themselves. And that’s what I have in myself; lots of determination, passion and confidence.”