–but it paid off in the end, says successful visually impaired CSEC candidates

By Telesha Ramnarine
MELIEKA Onika Crawford, Amin Britton, and Crystal Aniasatia Aulder have had to make huge sacrifices to write the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, having all been diagnosed with visual impairments from very tender ages.

But they are all glad that they made the extra effort to sit the exams, especially after coming off with grades that they are quite proud of.
Melieka and Crystal are beginning their studies in International Relations at the University of Guyana tomorrow, while Amin will begin his studies in the Social Sciences next year.
Melieka, 17; Amin, 41; and Crystal, 18, did not write the exams in the usual fashion that the majority of kids did. The exams were specifically tailored to meet their needs, with the very helpful JAWS (Job Access With Speech) programme on their computers that read the questions to them.
In turn, they presented their answers verbally to the invigilators.
But, as much as it was easy to actually sit the exams, preparing for them was another matter. And more so for Crystal, whose computer stopped working at a point when she needed it most. All of her notes and other valuable information were lost.

As for Amin, who was born and raised in Linden, travelling to Georgetown at least four times a week for lessons was almost a burden on him, financially and otherwise. Melieka, fortunately, did not have to put up with any such challenges.
In an interview at the Guyana Society for the Blind on Friday, a very positive and confident Melieka, who secured Grades Two and Three in five subjects (Business, Social Studies, Human and Social Biology, Office Administration and English) believes that
it is important to believe in yourself, even if no one else does.

NEVER GIVE UP
She has very limited vision in both of her eyes, having been born with congenital cataract. She was around six years old when her condition began acting up, getting worse with each passing year. She has been told that this is something that cannot be cured.
Attending primary school wasn’t so difficult for her, but when it came to writing the Grade Six assessment, she went totally blind. Interestingly, after those exams were over, her sight returned to the way it was.
She attended East La Penitence Primary School and St. Roses High school. She wrote three CSEC subjects, but did poorly because she could not see. Fortunately for her, she heard of The Guyana Society for the Blind (GSB). “I thought this is a place where I can fit in,” Melieka said, adding:
“I came and took the opportunity they gave to write the exams. And I felt comfortable, because these are people who are like me. I don’t have to feel like I am not wanted, because everyone is accepted here.”
Initially, Melieka said, she felt sorry for herself, because she didn’t have a lot of things to work with, such as a computer and a tablet.
“The teachers didn’t understand me; they thought I was lazy, or I just used my problem as a pass-off from doing stuff,” she recalled.
Today, despite the challenges, she feels she is capable of doing anything. “I think I am capable of doing anything a normal child can do. Don’t ever give up on something you know you can do; all of us have the ability to do well and be successful. And I don’t think you should give up, because someone else gives up on you; you need to believe in yourself in order to gain success,” she advised.

GO WITH THE FLOW
Amin joined the GSB when he was just around 10 years old. He was diagnosed with glaucoma in both eyes when he was just a toddler.
This year, he wrote English, Business, Office Administration and Social Studies, and obtained two Grade Ones, a Grade Two and a Grade Three. It was challenging for him, especially as he was not too keen on computers.
But today, even after the rigors of travelling to Georgetown so many times a week for lessons, he can now say: “I took up the challenge, and now I can smile about it.”
His plans are to start university by next year. He could have started with the girls tomorrow, but he wanted some time to be able to save some money for the travelling.
He intends to travel to UG from Linden each day he has to; he doesn’t like the idea of moving to Georgetown.
Amin now works part-time with the Low-Vision Unit for the visually impaired at the Wismar Hill Primary School.
His advice to others is: “The world is changing, and you need an education to move ahead with it.”

AVOID DISTRACTIONS
Crystal has limited vision in both of her eyes, having been born with a rare disease called Corneal Dystrophies. In addition to this, she has numerous other complaints, including damaged eye nerves; she is required to wear hard contact lenses; and she has dry eyes and has to use artificial teardrops. “There’s a lot more that I can’t even remember at the moment,” she said.
According to one doctor’s theory, Crystal was born with the disease, but an incident in her life when she was just five years old spiralled everything out of control. She was playing with a cousin when she was accidentally hit in her eye by a belt buckle.
With limited vision, she attended North Georgetown Primary School and then Charlestown Secondary school. She wrote CSEC just for the heck of it. Not having joined ‘The Blind Society’ last year, she decided to have a go at it again.
Crystal feels that she could have done much better, had it not been for the fact that her computer “conked out” on her just when she needed it most. “I tried to study on my phone as much as possible. I had to come to the society to work on my SBAs; I had to leave from home to come here each time I wanted to use the computer,” she explained.
She wrote Human and Social Biology, English, Religious Education, History and Principles of Business and secured Grades Two, Three and Four.
Crystal was able to prepare for the exams using the JAWS software, and the talk-back feature on her phone.
“Put away every distraction,” she advises fellow youths when it is time for exams, adding, “Really focus and study as much as possible, because, in the end, it will really pay off.”
Crystal, like Melieka and Amin, is grateful for whatever help she got from teachers and relatives. “The teachers here believe in us more than we believe in ourselves; they literally went with us throughout the exams.”
Crystal is confident that she will also find success at UG. “I don’t see myself as any less, as I used to when I was growing up. Just how they’re doing it, I’m here doing it as well. And I can do every other normal thing that they can do.”
Melieka and Crystal are looking forward to being in the same class at UG with three other members of ‘The Blind Society’.