An Urdu Cuplet
President Shri Hemant Takle, Honorary General Secretary Shri S K Singh and the administrators of National Association For Blind , India.
Gratitude ..
I think that the main purpose of this association is to promote kindness within the community since kindness is the language that deaf can hear and blind can see.
Millions of people may have sight but no vision. Many people in our society can see things far off but are blind to what is near.
Helen Keller was born blind and deaf, but could see the light within herself. In her silent darkness, every fragrant flower, every ray of the warm sun, every taste that touched her tongue told her that she want not challenged in the way we describe the visually challenged persons.
I always held the belief that what she left us – the way to hope, the way to peace, the way to love, a philosophy and discipline rooted in non-violence cannot be taken away. These are eternal.
I believe that we can always do more to embody the lessons she left behind and while celebrating the Founding day every year, your association can reach out to more and more people in the community with the message that those who are visually impaired are capable to achieving great things.
I am seeing such persons demonstrating that spirit to us. They are speaking up, they are marching and demanding more for themselves and trying to sulk.
I am amazed at the bouquet of opportunities and services your association is offering to those who are visually challenged.
The blindness prevention programme, talking books, vocational training, employment, advocacy, client services, recreation, women’s empowerment and rehabilitation programmes offered by your association deserves the greatest praise and support.
You have shared what you believe that makes a challenged person forget his or her disability and stand with confidence in any forum.
Each time you introduce a new scheme to assist the visually challenged persons, each time you tell a story we in the community should know, you are actively helping to build this organisation.
You are adding another brick to a structure that is going to grow stronger and support hundreds of people who need your guidance. You are equipping the challenged persons with tools they need to change their worlds.
Over the past many decades I have been working with Rotary’s programme in various avenues which included avoidable blindness.
Building a programme for those who need our help is never easy. It requires patience. It requires listening. Not just listening for show, but actively incorporating what we have learnt into plans.
And that is why the inputs from the Rotary members who are ophthalmologists are absolutely central to our process. The various village outreach programmes and eye donation awareness campaign organised by our members have helped to give sight to many persons.
Like you, we are far from finished. We will continue to iterate on our avoidable blindness programme and we will continue to turn to you for your feedback and advice.
Today, Rotary is affiliated with 168 eye hospitals all over India through its clubs and we have an ambitious programme of adopting 10,000 villages to promote our avoidable blindness programme. Many of these hospitals have received grants from Rotary clubs abroad through the Rotary Foundation’s Grants programme for modern equipments.
Your amazing work to rehabilitate the visually challenged persons will create an economic engine in the society and other people in the community will begin to see more how those who were earlier receiving only sympathy are not asking for it but for probably an opportunity to put their talent to work in areas which they can contribute.
I know optimism isn’t always fashionable. Certainly not when we are fed with a steady stream of cynicism on television and social media.
The frightening visuals of some child getting hit by stray pellet in a disturbed area or some people lying down in makeshift hospital beds in a war torn area with their sights affected make us feel that unless there is peace everywhere, the chances of innocent citizens becoming visually and otherwise challenged will only increase.
We in Rotary are saying peace is possible and working in many nations through our peace scholars. I hope we will all live to see that one day.
I am glad that through the efforts of your association, people with visual defects who were earlier systematically and routinely excluded from huge portions of daily life are now getting included. These are good trends and none of these have happened by accident.
They have happened because many people in your association, toiling for many years fought to make this progress. More than anything else, that is what is needed now.
I am seeing this spirit all across India now. People who choose to get involved in the avoidable blindness programme and rehabilitation process of those who affected get engaged in their task with determination to make a difference to those who may have to led along the road of progress.
I am left wondering many times when I see the ability of the visually challenged persons in walking along our roads with the white-cane with little or no help from the passers-by. I wish the roads were laid much better by the corporation.
What I wish to say is that the day is not far when those who are challenged visually may not need the help of others for many things they can do and this is a great change that is taking place due to the work of your association.
Today marks an important milestone in your history. For the past many decades you have been working around the clock and around India to help a new class of determined persons to forget their disability and change history.
I can’t wait to share my experience I gathered today from seeing all of you and I can’t wait to talk to my fellow Rotary members about your hopes and how you are confident that your investment in this movement will lead to a better future for everyone.
The people whom you have touched with your service will walk with a better sense of a country we all love and they will walk out more empowered to go and change their worlds.
The golden lines of my favorite poet Robert Frost
The Woods are lovely dark and deep ,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Thank you and Wish you A Great year of service.
19 January 2019