Manu's story

Manu is an 18-year-old girl, blind since birth. She lives with a joint family of eight people in a village in the Katni district of Madhya Pradesh. Her parents are daily wage earners with meagre income to support the large family.

Manu finished her primary school education at the local school. From class VI onward, she was enrolled in the publicly funded school for blind children. Because of a lack of resources and financial support, she left school after finishing class VIII. Manu was forced to stay at home as a result and developed depression.

Sightsavers reached out to Manu when it launched its Social Inclusion Programme in Katni. Manu, who comes across as shy and introverted, went to a training on the “Rights of Women, Girls, and Persons with Disability.” Manu’s journey with Sightsavers was just getting started.

Manu was enrolled in a series of Sightsavers interventions after the training. She was inspired to enrol in Tanya, Sightsavers programme supported by Madisons Resource Foundation. Tanya is a computer training centre. She enthusiastically picked up beginner and intermediate computer skills throughout the course. She took part in personality development classes, which helped her become more fluent in the English language. This was not the end of the journey. Manu never looked back and diligently continued to learn everything. She was one of the 20 people who signed up for Sightsavers’ 6-day self-defence training programme. Her outlook on life was completely altered by this training, which also increased her confidence.

For Manu, turning back is not an option. She is currently preparing to travel to Delhi for additional study because she hopes to become a successful and confident woman to support her family.