STARS OF NAB

Shruti spends her summers working with the National Association for the Blind, India and their members from the visually challenged community, who she fondly refers to as the "Stars of NAB". The initiative is aimed at learning more about the individual daily lives of these inspiring women and men, share their tales of bravery and courage with others, to raise awareness and inspire others with their successes and setbacks. "Their stories are not of only of success, but they are tales of women and men who challenged their very vision with grit, courage and determination to make their mark on this world. They do not ask for compassion from us, but understanding and inclusiveness in the society. The National Association for the Blind is tool for them to climb their ladder of success, a lighthouse that shone light on them, when they needed it the most. "

Labhendra Mhatre

Labhendra was born in Mumbai and grew up as a good student of science until the age of 16 studying in Class 12. Destiny took a difficult turn for Labhendra on the auspicious day of Diwali, the festival of lights when he lost his eyesight due to a firecracker accident. The accident left him completely blind and could not be corrected despite consultations with some of the best eye surgeons in Mumbai. The sudden change in the course of life left Labhendra coping with blindness with little direction. This made him completely frustrated and irritated since his career plans and aspirations seemed to have ended. It was during these dark and difficult times in 2006 that the National Association of Blind’s (NAB) rehabilitation program of 4 months came to his rescue. The various lectures and acquaintances with similar visual constraints helped charge his spirits and he quickly emerged out of the depression he faced during his early days. With a new outlook to life, he was introduced tophysiotherapyone-year long diploma course which he pursued and earned a degree in 2014. Equipped with the physiotherapy degree he worked for several NGOs as an intern physiotherapist and currently runs a physiotherapy center in a Mumbai. He aims to promote awareness about physiotherapy, has conducted workshopsfor ergonomic sitting and working positions for teachers and students in schools for sedentary lifestyle, and is a highly demanded physiotherapist in his locality. Labhendra expressed his utmost gratitude to NAB for helping his traverse the most difficult and trying times of his life.

Rushab Kapasi

The apple of the eyes of the Kapasis’ was born visually challenged, they were blessed with a baby boy whose cornea was opaque rendering him with less than 5% eyesight in both eyes. The medical efforts made by the compassionate parents of getting a donor and an eye operation carried out on the right eye failed miserably leaving little Rishabh completely blind on the right eye. Since this endeavor failed, the parents decided not to pursue any further medical effort in restoration of the eyesight.

Instead, Rishabh was enrolled in a regular school after facing rejection in 4 schools, but despite facing tremendous struggles in his primary years, due to the teachers being untrained to handle visually impaired kids and struggles from other children who lacked the maturity to understand his problem. The further he progressed, the lesser he could see, but he had learnt how to shape his identity. This came from the weekly sessions with Mrs. Pragnya from the National Association of the Blind, who would not only simplify and help him learn his school syllabus with better learning techniques suited for him, but would mentor and encourage him to participate and include himself in the activities and competitions that other children participated in. From being one of the brightest children in class, he soon became a confident young man, and today he is a Chartered Account, which is one of the toughest accountancy certifications to gain in India, with less than a 5% who take the exam gaining their degree. He is currently into teaching students the Chartered Accountancy course and possesses his own charm and wit, with which the students truly enjoy his lessons. In his free time, Rushab likes to paint and draw, and has won several accolades for the same in his school days.