I met him a couple of months ago. I was looking for a very long time to do something in this space that is so close to my heart. For many reasons, I feel very strongly about visually impaired people, and especially children, and how they cope and learn and function in this world. In Bangalore, I supported and volunteered with Samarthanam for about two years. I read, transcribed, and helped children and students with their school/college course work and preparing for exams.
Samarthanam is a great organization with ambitious goals, and the drive and ability to meet those goals. It was founded by three blind friends who wanted to create a better facility for children who do not have the ability to see, something the rest of us take for granted. The main founder, Mahantesh is an incredibly guy. I have met him several times, and blindness is a total non-issue for him. He does not stop at anything. He travels the world to raise funds and support for Samarthanam. He has climbed Mt. Everest.
When I left Bangalore and came to the US, I looked around for something similar and found the Braille Institute in Los Angeles . I happily volunteered there for a year, although that was not with children, but with adults. When I moved to Virginia, for a few years, I got thoroughly busy with work, life and family. Then, when life began to settle down ever so slightly, and routine dictated predictable schedules, I started looking for options in the area. Much to my surprise I had to search a lot, and there were none that I could find in the vicinity. I could not travel as far as Maryland or DC, given time constraints.
And then I found Mcnair elementary school and Kathy Miller, the teacher for visually impaired students. She's awesome. And she introduced me to Siddarth. He's five years old, and he cannot see. Never has been able to. And I have been working with Kathy and Siddarth for the last ten weeks. In addition to blindness, Siddarth has some other neurological issue that affects how his brain has and is developing. Although he is five years old, he lacks the cognitive and developmental skills appropriate to a child of his age. He cannot read or write, yet. His speech is impaired. He has attention issues. And discipline issues. The biggest reason for that is that at home, his parents have allowed him to do whatever he wants all his life. They adjust their lives around him. They adjust their lifestyle around him, instead of it being the other way...instead of assimilating him into their regular lives and teaching him how to cope there.
Kathy has done a wonderful job with him for about 8 months now. He is learning. Very slowly, it seems like, but he is learning. And he knows who I am and has learnt to trust me. When I work with him, it is challenging, because he will not give his sustained attention to anything for more than a few seconds at a time. He does not have the natural curiosity of children to explore, to experiment, to learn. He is easily bored and then that quickly leads to disruptive behavior. It obviously takes an incredible amount of patience. Kathy has that. She's been doing this for thirty something years. I wonder at the dedication.
When I see Siddarth, and how incapable he is of functioning without constant adult supervision, I experience despairing moments when I wonder how he will be able to function in this world. Then I will myself to remember how resilient children are. And I look at the facilities he has access to here. And the dedication of the teachers. And I will myself to have faith.
I will continue going to Mcnair. Kathy and the classroom teacher are more than happy to have me help out. I hope I can make some small difference.
Kathy asked me when I met her why I was interested in doing this. Especially given I have so much else going on in my life. I asked myself that also. In the end, I think it is for several reasons. In part, it is because I am thankful for my own family's health and wellness. But it is also because, it is just not enough to count our blessings in this life. What do you give for what you have? I ask myself that every day.
Samarthanam is a great organization with ambitious goals, and the drive and ability to meet those goals. It was founded by three blind friends who wanted to create a better facility for children who do not have the ability to see, something the rest of us take for granted. The main founder, Mahantesh is an incredibly guy. I have met him several times, and blindness is a total non-issue for him. He does not stop at anything. He travels the world to raise funds and support for Samarthanam. He has climbed Mt. Everest.
When I left Bangalore and came to the US, I looked around for something similar and found the Braille Institute in Los Angeles . I happily volunteered there for a year, although that was not with children, but with adults. When I moved to Virginia, for a few years, I got thoroughly busy with work, life and family. Then, when life began to settle down ever so slightly, and routine dictated predictable schedules, I started looking for options in the area. Much to my surprise I had to search a lot, and there were none that I could find in the vicinity. I could not travel as far as Maryland or DC, given time constraints.
And then I found Mcnair elementary school and Kathy Miller, the teacher for visually impaired students. She's awesome. And she introduced me to Siddarth. He's five years old, and he cannot see. Never has been able to. And I have been working with Kathy and Siddarth for the last ten weeks. In addition to blindness, Siddarth has some other neurological issue that affects how his brain has and is developing. Although he is five years old, he lacks the cognitive and developmental skills appropriate to a child of his age. He cannot read or write, yet. His speech is impaired. He has attention issues. And discipline issues. The biggest reason for that is that at home, his parents have allowed him to do whatever he wants all his life. They adjust their lives around him. They adjust their lifestyle around him, instead of it being the other way...instead of assimilating him into their regular lives and teaching him how to cope there.
Kathy has done a wonderful job with him for about 8 months now. He is learning. Very slowly, it seems like, but he is learning. And he knows who I am and has learnt to trust me. When I work with him, it is challenging, because he will not give his sustained attention to anything for more than a few seconds at a time. He does not have the natural curiosity of children to explore, to experiment, to learn. He is easily bored and then that quickly leads to disruptive behavior. It obviously takes an incredible amount of patience. Kathy has that. She's been doing this for thirty something years. I wonder at the dedication.
When I see Siddarth, and how incapable he is of functioning without constant adult supervision, I experience despairing moments when I wonder how he will be able to function in this world. Then I will myself to remember how resilient children are. And I look at the facilities he has access to here. And the dedication of the teachers. And I will myself to have faith.
I will continue going to Mcnair. Kathy and the classroom teacher are more than happy to have me help out. I hope I can make some small difference.
Kathy asked me when I met her why I was interested in doing this. Especially given I have so much else going on in my life. I asked myself that also. In the end, I think it is for several reasons. In part, it is because I am thankful for my own family's health and wellness. But it is also because, it is just not enough to count our blessings in this life. What do you give for what you have? I ask myself that every day.
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