Dark childhood, radiant future

The light may have nearly gone out of her life, but that has not prevented her from shining as a beacon of hope for others. Suraiya Akhtar Bably, born with a visual disability, was given the opportunity to study in a school at her hometown of Nilphamari, but only if she could stand first in her class. Which she did: with élan! The third among four daughters in her family, her younger sister also suffers from the same disability. At the age of five, Bably begun to develop some sight: this gave her partial vision, and that too only under bright light. Bably’s education began at a local primary school near her home in the northern district of Nilphamari. Her enrolment was not without difficulty, as Bably faced considerable social prejudice, given her visual disability, in addition to the fact that she was a girl. Her schoolmates did not wish to play with the visually impaired girl: they would heckle her about her visual disability and call her names.
Despite such prejudices, Bably was determined to pursue her studies. Unable to see the blackboard or read books at her school, Bably could study only by committing to memory the words of her teachers. Only when she left the darkened classroom and sat in the sunlit corridors outside her classroom was she able to see enough to be able to write anything. Yet, Bably continued her education in this manner for 10 years. However, when she went to sit for her secondary school certificate (SSC) examinations, she faced an uphill task.
Unable to see enough to write in the darkened examination hall, Bably could not complete the examination. Her teachers could not find a solution to her problem, and she was forced to cut off her education.
But help arrived when the Bangladesh Pratibandhi Kalyan Samity (BPKS) launched its Persons with Disability for Self Initiative to Development (PSID) project in Nilphamari. The grassroots survey team of the BPKS identified Bably and her younger sister as suitable candidates for the project.
The sisters were introduced to BPKS and its PSID approach, and they were enrolled in a Grassroots Disabled Peoples’ Organisation to Development (GDPOD) close to her home. Bably became heavily involved in the GDPOD’s activities. She was elected finance secretary of the GDPOD and chairperson of the women with disabilities (WWD) committee. As a GDPOD member, Bably received several training sessions from BPKS, which empowered her and gave her more self-confidence. Buoyed by the Nilphamari PSID Centre, Bably and her father were motivated to renew her studies.
The Nilphamari PSID Centre helped Bably enroll in a better school and provided her with educational support, including education materials, and paid her tuition fees and gave her an allowance for private tutors.
Initially, the headmaster of her new school was reluctant to admit Bably on the grounds of her visual impairment. He argued that if
girls with normal ability were not always able to pass the SSC examinations, it would not be at all possible for a girl with a visual impairment to do so.
Bably was granted admission to the school only after much negotiation by her father—and on the condition that if Bably did not secure first position in her class, the headmaster would expel her from school.
Her younger sister was also assisted by BPKS to get enrolled
in another school in a nearby district.
Bably renewed her studies with only six months left till her final examinations, but with new hope and aspirations. With the seriousness of her commitment and endeavours, even in such a short space of time, Bably was able to secure first position in the final examinations of her class. In 2007, she successfully passed the SSC examinations, securing a grade point average of 4.45 out of 5. Bably eventually went to Jahangirnagar University for her graduation, after completing her Higher
School Certificate (HSC) from a college in Dhaka. She is currently doing a course in computer training at the BPKS headquarters, where she is also being taught Braille. Bably now harbours dreams of returning to her hometown and establishing an educational institution for visually impaired children, where they can learn Braille. She plans to dedicate her life to the welfare and emancipation of visually impaired children so that none of them have to face the odds she has had to surmount to become self-reliant, instead of remaining as a burden on her family and society. Bably does not want to brood on the difficulties and hurdles she faced as a child. BPKS has rescued her from a dim, semi-dark world of twilight—and she is now looking ahead to a radiant future.
Like her, a few others would also narrate how they became self-reliant through education and training in different trades, with a little seed capital to start businesses, while attending a seminar at Bidyut Bhavan in Dhaka on November 25.  Abdul Aziz Khan, the administrative coordinator of BPKS, said these were intended for policy-makers to chart out a course for the physically challenged. Himself a physically challenged person, without an arm, Aziz said he has earned a post-graduate degree in Bangla Language and Literature from Dhaka University, with the assistance of BPKS. Now, he is helping others surmount barriers and scale the social ladder. Lead, kindly light...

Dark childhood, radiant future

The light may have nearly gone out of her life, but that has not prevented her from shining as a beacon of hope for others. Suraiya Akhtar Bably, born with a visual disability, was given the opportunity to study in a school at her hometown of Nilphamari, but only if she could stand first in her class. Which she did: with lan! The third among four daughters in her family, her younger sister also suffers from the same disability. At the age of five, Bably begun to develop some sight: this gave her partial vision, and that too only under bright light. Bablys education began at a local primary school near her home in the northern district of Nilphamari. Her enrolment was not without difficulty, as Bably faced considerable social prejudice, given her visual disability, in addition to the fact that she was a girl. Her schoolmates did not wish to play with the visually impaired girl: they would heckle her about her visual disability and call her names. Despite such prejudices, Bably was determined to pursue her studies. Unable to see the blackboard or read books at her school, Bably could study only by committing to memory the words of her teachers. Only when she left the darkened classroom and sat in the sunlit corridors outside her classroom was she able to see enough to be able to write anything. Yet, Bably continued her education in this manner for 10 years. However, when she went to sit for her secondary school certificate (SSC) examinations, she faced an uphill task. Unable to see enough to write in the darkened examination hall, Bably could not complete the examination. Her teachers could not find a solution to her problem, and she was forced to cut off her education. But help arrived when the Bangladesh Pratibandhi Kalyan Samity (BPKS) launched its Persons with Disability for Self Initiative to Development (PSID) project in Nilphamari. The grassroots survey team of the BPKS identified Bably and her younger sister as suitable candidates for the project. The sisters were introduced to BPKS and its PSID approach, and they were enrolled in a Grassroots Disabled Peoples Organisation to Development (GDPOD) close to her home. Bably became heavily involved in the GDPODs activities. She was elected finance secretary of the GDPOD and chairperson of the women with disabilities (WWD) committee. As a GDPOD member, Bably received several training sessions from BPKS, which empowered her and gave her more self-confidence. Buoyed by the Nilphamari PSID Centre, Bably and her father were motivated to renew her studies. The Nilphamari PSID Centre helped Bably enroll in a better school and provided her with educational support, including education materials, and paid her tuition fees and gave her an allowance for private tutors. Initially, the headmaster of her new school was reluctant to admit Bably on the grounds of her visual impairment. He argued that if girls with normal ability were not always able to pass the SSC examinations, it would not be at all possible for a girl with a visual impairment to do so. Bably was granted admission to the school only after much negotiation by her fatherand on the condition that if Bably did not secure first position in her class, the headmaster would expel her from school. Her younger sister was also assisted by BPKS to get enrolled in another school in a nearby district. Bably renewed her studies with only six months left till her final examinations, but with new hope and aspirations. With the seriousness of her commitment and endeavours, even in such a short space of time, Bably was able to secure first position in the final examinations of her class. In 2007, she successfully passed the SSC examinations, securing a grade point average of 4.45 out of 5. Bably eventually went to Jahangirnagar University for her graduation, after completing her Higher School Certificate (HSC) from a college in Dhaka. She is currently doing a course in computer training at the BPKS headquarters, where she is also being taught Braille. Bably now harbours dreams of returning to her hometown and establishing an educational institution for visually impaired children, where they can learn Braille. She plans to dedicate her life to the welfare and emancipation of visually impaired children so that none of them have to face the odds she has had to surmount to become self-reliant, instead of remaining as a burden on her family and society. Bably does not want to brood on the difficulties and hurdles she faced as a child. BPKS has rescued her from a dim, semi-dark world of twilightand she is now looking ahead to a radiant future. Like her, a few others would also narrate how they became self-reliant through education and training in different trades, with a little seed capital to start businesses, while attending a seminar at Bidyut Bhavan in Dhaka on November 25. Abdul Aziz Khan, the administrative coordinator of BPKS, said these were intended for policy-makers to chart out a course for the physically challenged. Himself a physically challenged person, without an arm, Aziz said he has earned a post-graduate degree in Bangla Language and Literature from Dhaka University, with the assistance of BPKS. Now, he is helping others surmount barriers and scale the social ladder. Lead, kindly light...