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N
afiya, 14, an amicable teen is attending her weekday Arabic Braille lessons in the Rabita Welfare Trust of Hennur road, Bangalore which is run by a woman in her late 30’s Qurat and her elderly mother, Fathima.
“I want to become an IAS officer, I wish this country and its people will be kind to me”, states Nafiya with enthusiasm in her blind eyes. Born sightless in a rural village of Tamil Nadu, Nafiya’s world has always been filled with challenges most people never think about. She was 7 when her family shifted to Bangalore with dreams of having a better education for their children. From navigating unfamiliar streets to understanding a new language, Kannada, in a world designed for sighted people around her, Nafiya’s life is a daily test of patience and resilience. Yet, she refuses to let her blindness define her. “Being from the Muslim minority community and blind, I still want to break the norms and become an IAS officer, to be able to work for the underprivileged community children and provide them with better education to become pioneers of tomorrow”, Nafiya states with a wide smile on her face with cute dimples. She is determined to make sure that the world learns to see her for who she truly is: a dreamer, a fighter, and a future leader.
As she held my hand and asked will you take me to the park nearby. I agreed and asked permission from her parents for the same. I took her to the park and she sensed the warmth of the air around and ended our conversation, “Today is a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“Seeing Beyond: Nuha’s 19 years life journey of Dreams unseen”
Nuha Baig, 19, a prepossessing girl in her dreamy world is a Taylor Swift fan and aspires to become a psychologist. One of the 13 visually impaired students in the Rabita Welfare trust, Nuha is an arts student in the first year of graduation with psychology as her main subject. She dreams of pursuing masters in psychology and studying abroad.
“I want to take my parents for Hajj, yeah and I also want to attend a Taylor swift and Alan walker concert, hehehe,” she giggles while whispering the second part of the statement in my ears. “Will you take me? Take my number and we will talk in voice notes on WhatsApp,” she tells me. When asked about her challenges growing up, she recalls, “I could hear the other children whispering about me when I went to a school for normal children for the first time. Some called me names or said I’d never amount to anything. I proved them wrong by reaching this far and will continue to do so,” she smiles again cheerfully holding my hands.
I asked her what was the happiest moment of her life to which she responded saying, “When my sister used to take me for walks in the park and make me feel the leaves of the plants there, but now she started with her job and stopped taking me to the park,” she sighs in a sad tone.
“As a Muslim blind girl, I want to achieve all that I always dream of and I believe I can do that with patience, hard work and faith in the Almighty.”
Their journeys weren’t without hurdles, facing societal prejudices and personal struggles. Yet they chose to rise above, turning challenges into stepping stones and these children are determined to mark their names in bold in the world.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint