Manish Kumar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, August 17: Twenty-one-year-old Syedhasir Sher, an engineering student from the city, was involved in distributing clothes and food to earthquake victims in different states in the recent past. During his visit to some earthquake-hit states he encountered a group of people who infused in him the idea to work towards a mission.
Soon after coming back he, along with two other friends, decided to embark on a journey which could give their life meaning and direction. During his involvement with philanthropic work he came into contact with blind people in several states whose spirit and will to live despite challenges inspired him to work for their betterment.
“Usually people show pity on blind people and sometimes offer some temporary help to them. However, at several fronts I have seen they are engaged in normal jobs. In Kolkata I saw some low-wage earning blind workers donating a chunk of their daily earnings for building a shelter for blind destitute children. This incident really inspired me to take up the cause of the blind,” says Syedhasir.
Syedhasir and his team’s close interaction with blind people and understanding of their problems have enabled them to launch initiatives with a practical orientation. The team members decided at a particular juncture in their journey to paint their visions and compile a set of inspiring stories of the visually impaired and produce photo stories which could later be converted into a book to portray the universe of blind people.
“Once I taught a blind old man in his late 60s how to handle a camera and click pictures. The response and happiness in return was overwhelming. In that one memorable experience of my life I had learnt the beautiful difference we can make in people’s lives just by giving them a reason to smile. I was happy because I had created a difference and made an unfortunate individual smile. I was happy to know that people believe in the power of giving, even though they are few,” Syedhasir said.
The team is now planning to cover all 29 states of the country and has already covered several parts of Orissa, West Bengal and Delhi. Other than Syedhasir, other team members who are whole-heartedly involved in the project include Maria Siddhiqui, a mass communication student from Jamia Islamia, New Delhi, and Farakh Abbas, a theatre artiste based in Jammu & Kashmir.
