Vijaya Mary School for the Blind

Every spring break, my parents would drop me off to live with my grandma in Vijaywada. I used to head to Vijaya Mary School everyday, looking for other kids to spend time with. I saw how accomplished the students were, even with full blindness in some cases, and many are proficient programmers. With the help of programs such as VisionAid, these students land spots in top universities and companies, showing just how limitless the opportunities are for people with a disability.

Aarush

“We choose our next world through what we learn in this one. Learn nothing, and the next world is the same as this one, all the same limitations and lead weights to overcome… We can lift ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill.” Despite having a severe visual impairment, Aarush is a skilled programmer, finishing prestigious courses such as Harvard CS50. He has traveled across the globe because of his talents, even joining an Internship for you computer scientists in London.

Aditi

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, and the courage to change the things I can”

Aditi was rendered completely blind at the age of 15 because of a degenerative eye disorder. However, she has not let that stop her, winning several hackathons and becoming an esteemed programmer at Microsoft.

Bharathan

“Knowledge always desires increase; it is like fire, which must be first kindled by some external agent, but which will afterwards propagate itself”

Bharathan took advanced courses at MIT and Stanford, and has excelled in computer science. He also has a deep learning specialization from Stanford, showing just how limitless the potential is for disabled individuals seeking to be active in the field of computer science.

Bhargav

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality”.

Bhargav has led his team in many hackathons and has built some incredible projects. Although he has been blind since the sixth grade, he has always been one of the most talented students wherever he goes. He has taken several advanced MIT courses in Python and is truly a superstar in the field of programming.

Pinky

‘‘We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.’

Pinky has a very independent attitude, taking it upon herself to learn Python on her own. She doesn't think about the negative parts of her condition, rather she only looks to improve her skills and progress.

Ronak

‘Life leaps like a geyser to those who drill through the rock of inertia.’

Ronak is an incredible programmer, finishing courses at Google and Toronto edX. He has been visually impaired since he was 6 years old, but has not let that stop him from succeeding in mastering coding.

Sagar

‘Courage is being able to look to yourself and find what needs to be done to solve your problem.’

Not only did Sagar have to learn coding from scratch, he also had to learn English too, as the province which he comes from does not speak English often. However, Sagar has mastered both the languages of English and Python, and he uses his skills to help other blind students.

Aishwarya and Satya

“Dare to step out of your comfort zone“

These two sisters have stepped out of their comfort zone many times, leaving their house and their support system to pursue work in big cities. Despite being visually impaired, they have almost complete independence, working alone in Chennai.

Bhavya

"Limits exist only in your mind. Find your limits and exceed them."

Bhavya lost his vision at a young age, yet he his interests have only expanded since then. He excels at debate and sightless astronomy, and has been hosted at prestigious universities throughout the world because of his powerful skills.

Laxmisagar

‘We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own’.

Although he has severely impaired vision, Laxmisigar is a gifted programmer, participating in difficult hackathons across the prestigious IIT universities. He now uses his skills to teach other blind individuals how to code.

Megha

“Success for me, is not a one-time achievement or a one-time event. I achieved success on the day I qualified as a company secretary after multiple attempts and struggle of six years… Without knowing about any opportunity for visually impaired people, with a single ray of hope, I completed screen reader training and got placed for the first job. Later, I decided to take a shift in career towards Accessibility Testing and am presently working in an IT company providing web accessibility testing, and also providing training to others for the same.

Nibin

‘Success in life does not consist in holding a good hand, but in playing any hand we hold, well.’

Nibin was born partially blind, but lost all of his vision after contracted Glaucoma in 12th grade. However, Nibin still attended IIT Bangalore, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and has won several titles in blind tennis and music.

Bhuvika

‘‘It is because we are different that each of us is special. Your opportunity is in yourself, wrapped in your own personality. Your success must be an unfoldment, an expression of yourself”

Though Bhuvika has a severe visual impairment, she is incredibly skilled at math and programming. At a young age, she could do incredibly large calculations in her head, and this translated to her ability to think quickly on the fly.

Ankit

‘Make this the frame of reference for your life –a picture of you at your best. What your mind can conceive, you can do. Keep stretching. Believe in yourself.’

Ankit is a student with almost 75% blindness, but he has fought to keep up his educational journey. His python skills have won him cash prizes in hackathons and he will no doubt continue to be successful.

Pranav

“Everyday is a new adventure never lived before. Fresh experience awaits you, new things lie in store. You can start your life again for you can be reborn – Every time unto the world, God sends another dawn”

In addition to learning how to code at the young age of 14, Pranav is also an excellent drummer and skater. He is good at everything he does, and has a bright future ahead of him.

Gayatri

“I continuously challenge my capabilities to prove that challenges are my stepping stones to success."

Gayatri has gotten perfect scores on nearly all of her national exams, and excels at music, especially the violin. She is a regular competitor at hackathons, and is a skilled programmer in python.