How one young man is determined to be a voice for persons living with disabilities

EVERY year on December 3, Guyana joins the world in celebrating the International Day of People with Disabilities. This year, it is being observed under the theme, “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future”. Someone who embodies this theme is Asif Khan. At just 28 years old, Asif defies expectations every day. Born visually impaired, he has transformed a potential barrier into a powerful purpose, dedicating his life to leadership, advocacy, and teaching others who learn just a bit differently from most.

A packed childhood
Coming from Region Seven, Asif was born with impaired vision, and would later be determined as legally blind. In the face of this challenge, however, Asif describes his childhood as packed; never one to back down from a challenge, he made it his mission to do everything his peers did. With the support of his family, Asif’s childhood days were fun, carefree, and vibrant.

Speaking to the Pepperpot Magazine, Asif shared, “My childhood was very interesting, very exciting. I participated in almost anything and everything that any other child could have basically been involved in—you know, from different sports to celebrating various holidays like Easter, flying kites, picking fruits from the trees, and making all sorts of trouble in school.” His family later moved to Georgetown.

This is where Asif’s passion for education truly sparked, and with the right tools, he was soon excelling at his studies. “I attended St. Agnes Primary, and then I moved on to St. Rose’s High School.” He further added, “I would have also done my undergrad in international relations at the University of Guyana. So, moving to Cyril Potter College and completing my associate degree was challenging; but I was prepared to deal with it, to face the challenges, and to cross whatever hurdles.”

Joining the teaching profession
One of the reasons Asif was able to do as well as he did academically, attending high school and later the University of Guyana, was largely owed to the tools and teachers tailored to his visual disability. Although it was not his initial aim for a job, Asif soon found himself in the teaching profession, and he has not looked back since, finding a passion for giving other children the same encouragement and patience he had.

“Being a teacher was never really my actual career goal. But like I said, teaching would have called me, and I wouldn’t say it was something that I decided or planned for, because my career path was otherwise. But I guess, being able to contribute and make an impact on the lives of students who are visually impaired, which I teach specifically, I guess it was part of what I had to do in terms of my contributions back to society.”

Asif says a day in his classroom is like any other, but with a few different resources and a little more patience. “Learning for students and learners with disabilities is always a challenge. Being visually impaired is no different. Our educational system in Guyana still has a lot of gaps. However, fortunately now, there is much more improvement in the system.” He further added, “What I do specifically is reinforce content. A day in my classroom as a teacher working with visually impaired students is like any other teacher’s day. I meet with my students, we have our work planned for whichever subject area, and I commence teaching using various methodologies.”

Being a voice for persons with disabilities
Asif has been an activist for persons with disabilities since he was young, championing the opinions and rights of his peers. He says that activism is important, and although Guyana has come a long way in crafting policies and developing accessibility, there is still more that could be done. As he stated, “Since basically from the age of, I would say, 12, I’ve been a part of a number of organisations for persons with disabilities. I started then, and now, even recently, I have founded my own organisation. And this is where the work of what I intended to do in terms of advocacy will continue.” He further added, “There is a lot being done presently. The government has been doing a lot in terms of some of the social policies. In terms of education, there’s quite a lot there.”

There are a number of areas and challenges Asif says persons living with disabilities struggle with. Among them are the more complex, lesser-known issues such as accessibility, specialised housing, and accommodative transportation. As he shared, “For persons with disabilities, a typical day for us isn’t easy. We have to travel, transportation is a challenge, some persons have medical expenses, etc. So there’s quite a few things more.” Asif added that he is optimistic, given the strides the country has made and the changes that we continue to see. “I’m optimistic that much, much more will be done in the future by the respective ministries. And we look forward to that,” he said.

Battling misconceptions
Throughout his career, Asif has had to face a number of challenges, with everyday life presenting hurdles. One of his biggest battles continues to be the misconceptions of others. As an activist, Asif champions the sentiment of not judging a book by its cover. “First of all, for persons with disabilities, others may think or feel that because we have a disability, we are not smart. That’s wrong. Because a person has a disability, it doesn’t mean that they can’t critically think and analyse,” he shared.

As a teacher, Asif emphasises that people are more than their disabilities, having passions, goals, and lives outside of their imperfections. “There are persons with disabilities who have families, who have husbands, wives, and children. So those are the three I would mention.”

Now, as an educator, Asif says that the thing that is important to children living with disabilities is the same thing that is important for all children: education. “My advice would be to try your best to ensure that you take your education seriously. It doesn’t matter what you have to do to ensure that you study. There are resources now; there are better opportunities.” He further added, “Don’t limit yourself, and don’t see your disability as a barrier.”