Visually impaired students celebrate graduating from UG

FOUR visually impaired students, who have all had to make tremendous sacrifices to be able to pursue higher education, have recently graduated from the University of Guyana (UG), making their families and other support groups very proud.
A lesson can surely be taken from the lives of these individuals, especially by other young ones who may have been born with ‘gold spoon’ in their mouths, so to speak; and who may be unappreciative of the efforts by their parents and others to help them achieve success.

Three of the four persons, all of modest means, were afforded the opportunity to study at UG thanks to government scholarships that they received through the Guyana Society for the Blind. Notwithstanding, these individuals have had to come up with lots of additional money on their own to be able to cover other costs, such as for transportation. And this was by no means easy on them and their families!

GOING THE DISTANCE
Take 24-year-old Diane Singh, for example, who has to deal with total blindness. She lives on the West Coast of Demerara and found it an impossibility to travel alone. Therefore, getting to UG, at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, at least five times a week, posed a real challenge to her and family.

On some occasions, a family friend would drop her and a relative, whoever would be accompanying her that day, to the Guyana Society for the Blind on High Street, and then they would take a taxi to UG.

Apart from finding money every day for transportation to and from UG, the family also had to come up with more money for Diane to be able to complete the practical aspects of her courses, such as when she had to visit different agencies and orphanages.

Diane, who graduated recently with an Associate Degree in Social Work, is grateful for the loving support her dad, Boodram, who is a taxi driver, provided; along with the help of her mother, Phulkumarie, and sister, Natalie. For two years, until Diane finished her studies, the family members had to take turns in taking Diane to UG and then picking her up in the afternoons.
“I was so proud of myself,” Diane told the Pepperpot Magazine, as she recounted all that was involved in making a success of her studies.

OVERCOMING LOSS
Oddessa Alexis Blair, 40, of Farm Village, East Bank Essequibo, a stone’s throw away from Parika, also successfully completed her studies, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work.

Some years ago, Oddessa was looking forward each day to the birth of her bouncing baby boy. At five months pregnant, though, she developed hypertension that resulted in the sudden loss of her sight. She never got a chance to see her son.

Now having to cope with total blindness, Oddessa related that a lot of hard work and studying had to be employed at UG. “But I did my best. I’m so proud. I never thought I could’ve done it, so I am very much overwhelmed,” she told this publication.

HIGHER HEIGHTS
Rosemarie Ramitt, 23, of Triumph Village, East Coast of Demerara, also graduated lately with an Associate Degree in Social Work.

She was not born with visual problems but somewhere at age 13, loss of proper sight suddenly descended upon her. Today, she sees bright colours and can discern when an object or someone is in front of her. But she cannot see to read nor can she comprehend graphs, charts and pictures.

Rosemarie, who graduated from the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) in 2016, is now working to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Education by 2020.

‘MASTERMIND’
Ganesh Singh, a 34-year-old executive member of the Society, completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work in 2016 and graduated recently with his Master’s Degree, which he had to fund on his own.

Ganesh told this publication that this is the first time that a ‘Masters’ in Social Work has been offered in Guyana. He is also proud of the fact that he is the first person with a vision disability to graduate with a Master’s Degree. “There are many other persons with the degrees and ‘masters’ but they never really acquired them whilst being blind; they acquired them before getting a disability,” said Ganesh.

For his research, he said he focused on analysing the Guyana Disability Act in comparison to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the American Disability Act and the Antiguan Disability Act. He also developed a disability policy for UG and CPCE.

“I had an excellent support system; very good friends in my class. And this was a dream come true because I always wanted to acquire a ‘Masters’ level degree, and to be able to make myself more marketable in the job market. It also facilitated me having a different approach to my disability rights advocacy. I feel very satisfied and accomplished.

Ganesh is hoping to move on to achieving his PhD and is still deciding whether to pursue it online or to migrate for a while.” I’m ready to invest these additional four years and despite it will be costly, I am pretty optimistic about being able to do it.”