Showing the way

Verma says it took him over a year to come to terms with his condition. “I underwent an operation but it didn’t help. The retina was completely damaged. My family tried everything they could,like alternative medicine and consulting a string of doctors. It was very depressing,” says the 36-year-old.

Between 1994 and 2000,he tried his hand at various things — setting up a cable TV business,a catering business with a friend–but nothing worked as it was difficult for him to manage on his own. It was much later that he realised that with the right technology,the visually impaired can find a way. “Doctors didn’t guide me about assistive technology,” he says.

The turning point in his life came in 2000 when he visited the National Association for the Blind. He joined a computer training course there and got acquainted with a special screen-reading software that helped the visually impaired read and work on computers. “I put all my effort into learning about new software and would work in the NAB computer lab even after my classes got over,” says Verma.

After the course,Verma joined NAB,first as a computer trainer and then assistant manager. It was then that he became associated with Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) that creates digital talking-books in an audible format for those who have trouble using print.

After eight years at NAB,Verma is now a consultant,providing training and technical support at DAISY Consortium,an international association. While at NAB,he also started an assistive technology helpline. The helpline works from 9 am to 9 pm and is manned by visually impaired computer literate people who give guidance to callers about softwares. His persistent efforts in assistive technology earned him the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in 2007 by the Government of India.

“I was also involved with the Equal Opportunity Cell (EOC) in Delhi University,where I helped set up a computer lab for the visually impaired. Classes are held thrice a week on everything from the basics of computers to advanced applications. Students can also read e-books and get their documents printed in Braille. Verma is a course coordinator and guest faculty at the EOC.

Prashant also created a cheque printing template to help the visually imapired fill in their own bank cheques. It has a voice-guided mechanism that guides the disabled about the procedure.