Having a disability, whether it is acquired or congenital, should not be a limiting factor when pursing higher education, according to two new University of Guyana (UG) graduates.
Ganesh Singh and Odessa Blair, who are both visually-impaired, are among the 1,628 new UG graduates.
Blair, who obtained her Associate’s Degree in the field of Social Work, was met with loud cheers from the audience when she made the ceremonial walk across the stage at the Convocation Ceremony last Saturday, basking in her own personal achievement of pursing a higher education in spite of having a disability.
And while he did not attend the ceremony itself due to personal reasons, Singh, still felt a sense of accomplishment that came with obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and passing with a distinction.
Both Blair and Singh are active members of the Guyana Society for the Blind (GSB) and made the decision not to let their disabilities limit their success in the academic field.
Blair lost her sight due to hypertension during her pregnancy with her second child in 2008.
“I was pregnant with my second child and I developed high blood pressure and I just woke up one morning and could not see. Everything happened so fast; I just couldn’t believe it but it was my reality… I felt really hopeless; I felt that was the end of the road until three years later when Cecil Morris and Oliver Kerr came to visit me on an outreach and they spoke to me concerning coming to the society and socialising,” she recounted.
And though it took her sometime before she took up the challenge, she does not regret doing so since had it not been for that invitation, she would not have been where she is today.
“Had it not been for the Guyana Society for the Blind, I don’t think I would have been given the opportunity to write CXC any place else. I think it was the CXC programme that allowed me to go on to the university to further my studies at the tertiary level,” Blair added.
Expounding on her reason to undertake studies in social work, Blair related that it all stems from having been in an abusive relationship along with her desire to help address social issues in Guyana.
“I chose social work because I was in an abusive relationship and I know that there are a lot of social issues that needs to be addressed,” she said, while explaining that she set out to be one of the persons who would fight for the rights of others and to help restore them back to their normal social functioning.
“Using Ganesh as my role model, I came to this society in 2013… I was initially involved in the steel pan playing but then I realised that I can do better than that and I got myself involved in the CXC classes, where I pursued my five subjects. After that, I decided to pursue studies in the area of social work at the University of Guyana,” Blair added.
In response to questions about her emotional state when she took the stage on Saturday evening, Blair said, “I was speechless; it was such a good feeling. I think it motivated me to do better the next time. It was a very, very, exciting feeling when the crowd started screaming and I was there with my cane and I know His Excellency, the president, was there and the Minister of Education and all these other ministers were there throughout.”
‘Bittersweet’
Singh lost his sight just after completing his secondary education at St. Stanislaus College. Afterward, he spent about five to six years at home until eventually joining the Guyana Blind Cricket Association.
It was while engaging in activities with this organisation that Singh got the motivation to further his studies at the tertiary level.
Determined to pursue higher education, his own decision to undertake studies in social work stemmed from his passion for the development and empowerment for persons with disabilities. “I was already working with the disability movement and I had a passion to help empower persons and to help to mould their development; so that tuned in well with social work and being a social worker,” he shared.
Commenting on their experience while at the university, Singh described it as being nothing short of bittersweet.
Both he and Blair agreed that most of their lecturers were very supportive. However, being a champion for the development and empowerment of persons with disabilities, Singh said he cannot help but condemn the absence of specific university policies and infrastructure to cater to the needs of students with disabilities.
“A lot of things that are done for us and the others who would have been pursing studies there was done in an ad hoc way… all of the lecturers I’ve dealt with, with the exception of a few, have been supportive but I really would like to see the university develop a policy to better implement the services for students with disabilities on campus,” he posited.
He highlighted several areas that should be looked at by the university in the interest of differently-abled persons who are desirous of pursing studies there. Among those highlighted were disability-friendly access to the Turkeyen campus and administering of exams to persons with disabilities.
“Presently, no one who uses a wheelchair is able to attend UG because there aren’t any ramps, there are a lot of stairs, and the walkway is not accessible to a wheelchair, so right there it poses a challenge. For the blind persons, I would want to see a change in the administration of exams; they are basically influencing persons to use methods they are not comfortable with,” he related.
“Globally, scribes, braille and electronic formats are accepted ways of administering exams to a blind person. Miss Blair might have her preference and I might have mine but some lecturers and some persons are telling you, ‘you will have to do it this way and you have to do it that way,’ but it’s a choice right?” Singh added.
Sharing her own experience, Blair said she found difficulty in accessing the study material in a format that is friendly to a visually-impaired person.
“At first, I could remember when I used to have to purchase my handouts, take it the library and have it scanned and for me that was very time consuming. Sometimes exams would come and the handouts aren’t ready. Eventually, we asked the lecturers to send us soft copies before it is printed, which made it far easier to navigate on the computer to study and prepare for classes,” she said.
Singh is moving to engage the University of Guyana to develop a policy with the hope of having things run in a more systematic and organised way for the benefit of persons with disabilities. “I went there in 2012 and that was enough time to put systems in place; Miss Blair and two other persons went there in 2014 and after then we basically had persons attending in twos and threes and fours, so they had enough time to implement things. Not having people there a few years ago is no excuse, they had enough time to put measures in place if they wanted to do so,” he added.
Nonetheless, Singh expressed gratitude to lecturers in the Social Sciences Faculty, particularly the social work lecturers, for the support, including former Head of Department Dionne Frank and present Head Monica Miller as well as his family and friends who supported him throughout
Blair expressed similar sentiments as she acknowledged the need for more work to be done to help make the university a friendlier environment for persons with disabilities.
“The university needs work done for visually-impaired persons but everywhere you go has its challenges and we just have to work around it until better can be done,” she said, while thanking her lecturers, family and friends for their contributions towards her success.
“I’d specially like to thank thanked Pastor Jenny, who made it possible for me to succeed in terms of transportation. Had it not been for her, I don’t think I could have made it to and from where I am living to here and to university. She stood by me from the beginning and she is still there,” Blair related.
‘The future’
Although the duo graduated on Saturday, their work is not over; in fact, it has just begun.
Asked about plans for the future, Singh indicated his plans to pursue a Master’s Degree in either Social Work or education next year. Once this is done, he plans to move on with pursing his PhD.
Blair, on the other hand, shared her excitement at being able to join the world of work as a social worker, while at the same time pursing her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Guyana.
“I think I can make a significant contribution to my country… I think I am going to be the most exciting social worker and I can’t wait,” the mother of two related.
Having gone through the experience and coming out successfully, both Singh and Blair ask that other persons with disabilities to not look at their disabilities as limitations to their success in life.
“Disability is not a limitation. When you have a disability, whether you acquired it or you were born with it, it should not limit you in any way. You should dream big, you are still allowed to dream even with a disability,” Singh noted.
“Work with whatever resources you have at your disposable to make your dream a reality. The sky’s the limit, even if you have to break down the barriers society has erected round you, break them down. When you have a disability, you have to be an advocate; nothing happens easy, you have to be strong and empowered and it will happen,” he added.
Similarly, Blair challenged persons with disabilities to believe in themselves and their potential to be great.
“I believe that persons with disabilities do have potential; it’s just that they doubt themselves but when you get into the system, you start realising that it’s so easy. My encouragement to them is to pick up yourself, brush yourself off and try to be creative and it will be beneficial to you in the end,” she shared.
