Shrushti's Story

Nine-year-old Shrushti Anantkumar studies in class three at a local government school. Born to a small time farmer, Shrushti is an average student and likes numbers and spellings.

All was going well for Shrushti Anantkumar, daughter of a small time farmer, studying at a local government school, until she found herself struggling to read the blackboard. Her parents were called and the teacher recommended a thorough vision check. The doctor confirmed that she was rapidly losing her eyesight, and had already become severely low sighted. Shrushti was suffering from poor eye health and low vision.

This was disastrous news for her parents. They could not accept the fact that their daughter would soon become blind. They got in touch with Sightsavers’ partner, National Association for the Blind, Karnataka. She has been a part of the project since then.

You cannot remain unaffected by it. You cannot become hardened to it

The project enabled Shrushti to learn the use of Braille, and also provided her with the continuing support of a special educator who influenced the school authorities to allow her to carry her work home. This helped her complete the work at her own pace while remaining at par with the class’s progress.

Despite poor eye health Shrushti has been showing good progress in the last two-plus years that she has been receiving the support of Sightsavers and its partner.