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EXACTLY one year after he started his mission, Raj Tribhuwan of the Raj Foundation is back in Guyana to continue his quest to open the world of information technology to visually impaired persons in Guyana. Battling the challenges that accompany his being visually impaired since he was a toddler living at Enmore, on the East Coast Demerara, Tribhuwan, who beat the odds to become well educated, and to live an independent life, continues his mission to help others do the same. Having resided in Canada for the past 26 years, Tribhuwan is not only living the life he wanted, but is working to help other visually impaired persons do likewise by providing them access to Job Access With Speech (JAWS) software.
Produced by the Blind and Low-Vision Group of Freedom Scientific of St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, JAWS supports all versions of Windows released since Windows XP. The programme typically retails for between US$1 and US$895, depending on which version the purchaser is buying — home or professional. The JAWS’ scripting language allows the user to use programs without standard Windows controls, and those that were not designed for accessibility.
Tribhuwan, who attended the St. Roses High School, and was later employed there as a guitar teacher, has become a leader in the community of visually impaired persons in Ontario, and teaches Access Technology to visually impaired Canadians, many of whom are migrants from all over the world, including Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
However, his heart has always been on the situation in Guyana, because his desire is to impart his knowledge, skills and experience to make a difference for the community of visually impaired persons in Guyana.
According to statistics from the Guyana Society for the Blind, 120 legally blind persons are registered in the city. Visually impaired children have large dreams and aspirations similar to those with 20/20 vision. Unfortunately for many of them who live in developing nations, including Guyana, despite possessing exceptional talent and intelligence, they may fail to bring those dreams to fruition without some help to access learning materials and technology.
Shockingly, the St Roses facility and another in Linden are the only two for visually impaired children in Guyana. Outside of these areas (and this includes the Essequibo Coast, the Essequibo islands, the hinterland and Berbice) there is no education unit for the visually impaired. And the two units at reference are being run without access to the Internet.
Since his visit the previous year, people at the Guyana Society for the Blind in Georgetown are using laptops from the government’s One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme, which are equipped with the JAWS programme.
The way technology has altered Tribhuwan’s life bears repeating, as it is truly amazing. Back home in Canada, he lives a completely independent life, as he has equipped his personal space with the most up-to-date technology accessible. Modern wonders include a labelling system that allows him to label items in his home, and to read them with a device similar to one used to scan bar codes. He checks up on his health, using a talking blood sugar reader and a talking blood pressure monitor. Other handy gadgets include a talking watch, and a specially equipped phone.
Tribuhan previously spoke of the plight of blind persons in Guyana, saying: “While living in Guyana, and among the blind, it used to grieve my heart to witness, day after day, great talent and wits, aspirations and dreams boiled down to nothing. As a music instructor in the blind unit at the St. Roses High School, I had a first-hand and day-to-day look at the plight of blind students struggling to get a proper education among their sighted peers.”
He remembers the times when students writing the CXC and GCE examinations had to wait for a volunteer to read the text books on cassette tapes before they could study the materials, because they could not then have made their notes in Braille.
Then there was the group who never had the opportunity to attend a high school having to be content with going to what was then referred to as the Blind Institute. Their struggles were similar to those in the group mentioned above, but there were aspects that were different.
Said Tribuhwan, “At the Blind Institute, the blind adults possessed numerous skills and talents, but could not get the raw materials to work; and when little became available, the market was not created.” The equipment which was donated last Wednesday will enable visually impaired students in all parts of Guyana to study and communicate in an online community.
In some countries, such as neighbouring Suriname, where Tribuhwan once resided during his quest to find better opportunities, there are barriers of a different sort. He explains: “There was a special school for the visually challenged, but one must be born a local to attend, I was told. The blind adults met twice a week for two-hour sessions; were given a few pieces of raw material to make this and that; a cookie or two; some cheap drink; sang a song, and were locked away for the rest of the week until the next time.”
So, when he migrated to Canada, he knew his first goal would be education. After exploring opportunities and possibilities, he got enrolled in school, and became involved in volunteer work with the visually challenged at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). Remembering the group he left behind, Tribhuwan vowed to one day make a change and difference in their lives.
With help from some friends and family members, he created the non-profit Raj Tribhuwan Foundation in October 2009. For more info visit www.therajfoundation.com.
Produced by the Blind and Low-Vision Group of Freedom Scientific of St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, JAWS supports all versions of Windows released since Windows XP. The programme typically retails for between US$1 and US$895, depending on which version the purchaser is buying — home or professional. The JAWS’ scripting language allows the user to use programs without standard Windows controls, and those that were not designed for accessibility.
Tribhuwan, who attended the St. Roses High School, and was later employed there as a guitar teacher, has become a leader in the community of visually impaired persons in Ontario, and teaches Access Technology to visually impaired Canadians, many of whom are migrants from all over the world, including Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
However, his heart has always been on the situation in Guyana, because his desire is to impart his knowledge, skills and experience to make a difference for the community of visually impaired persons in Guyana.
According to statistics from the Guyana Society for the Blind, 120 legally blind persons are registered in the city. Visually impaired children have large dreams and aspirations similar to those with 20/20 vision. Unfortunately for many of them who live in developing nations, including Guyana, despite possessing exceptional talent and intelligence, they may fail to bring those dreams to fruition without some help to access learning materials and technology.
Shockingly, the St Roses facility and another in Linden are the only two for visually impaired children in Guyana. Outside of these areas (and this includes the Essequibo Coast, the Essequibo islands, the hinterland and Berbice) there is no education unit for the visually impaired. And the two units at reference are being run without access to the Internet.
Since his visit the previous year, people at the Guyana Society for the Blind in Georgetown are using laptops from the government’s One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme, which are equipped with the JAWS programme.
The way technology has altered Tribhuwan’s life bears repeating, as it is truly amazing. Back home in Canada, he lives a completely independent life, as he has equipped his personal space with the most up-to-date technology accessible. Modern wonders include a labelling system that allows him to label items in his home, and to read them with a device similar to one used to scan bar codes. He checks up on his health, using a talking blood sugar reader and a talking blood pressure monitor. Other handy gadgets include a talking watch, and a specially equipped phone.
Tribuhan previously spoke of the plight of blind persons in Guyana, saying: “While living in Guyana, and among the blind, it used to grieve my heart to witness, day after day, great talent and wits, aspirations and dreams boiled down to nothing. As a music instructor in the blind unit at the St. Roses High School, I had a first-hand and day-to-day look at the plight of blind students struggling to get a proper education among their sighted peers.”
He remembers the times when students writing the CXC and GCE examinations had to wait for a volunteer to read the text books on cassette tapes before they could study the materials, because they could not then have made their notes in Braille.
Then there was the group who never had the opportunity to attend a high school having to be content with going to what was then referred to as the Blind Institute. Their struggles were similar to those in the group mentioned above, but there were aspects that were different.
Said Tribuhwan, “At the Blind Institute, the blind adults possessed numerous skills and talents, but could not get the raw materials to work; and when little became available, the market was not created.” The equipment which was donated last Wednesday will enable visually impaired students in all parts of Guyana to study and communicate in an online community.
In some countries, such as neighbouring Suriname, where Tribuhwan once resided during his quest to find better opportunities, there are barriers of a different sort. He explains: “There was a special school for the visually challenged, but one must be born a local to attend, I was told. The blind adults met twice a week for two-hour sessions; were given a few pieces of raw material to make this and that; a cookie or two; some cheap drink; sang a song, and were locked away for the rest of the week until the next time.”
So, when he migrated to Canada, he knew his first goal would be education. After exploring opportunities and possibilities, he got enrolled in school, and became involved in volunteer work with the visually challenged at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). Remembering the group he left behind, Tribhuwan vowed to one day make a change and difference in their lives.
With help from some friends and family members, he created the non-profit Raj Tribhuwan Foundation in October 2009. For more info visit www.therajfoundation.com.
JAWS was originally released in 1989 by Ted Henter, a former motorcycle racer who lost his sight in a 1978 automobile accident. In 1985, Henter, with a US$180,000 investment from Bill Joyce, founded the Henter-Joyce Corporation in St. Petersburg, Florida. Joyce sold his interest in the company back to Henter sometime in 1990. In April 2000, Henter-Joyce, Blazie Engineering, and Arkenstone Inc. merged to form Freedom Scientific.
