From Our Correspondent
JOWAI, Oct 19: A month-long training programme for the visually impaired was inaugurated in West Jaintia Hills on Thursday by Amlarem MLA and Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui.This training is being provided by the Society for Urban and Rural Empowerment (SURE), which is the training partner of the Meghalaya Skill Development Society (MSSDS).
In his opening remarks, Dr HH Mohrmen stated that SURE, in collaboration with Lambormi Suchen, Skill Development Officer (SDO), West Jaintia Hills, has worked tirelessly to develop training modules and provide much-needed training to this section of society.
Mohrmen also highlighted the uniqueness of this training, as both the master trainer, Kelvin Suting, from the District Commerce Industries Center (DCIC), and all seven trainees are visually impaired. This training, he said, challenges the statement “the blind cannot lead the blind.”
Lambormi Suchen, SDO, expressed his pride that West Jaintia Hills is the first district in the state to provide training to the visually impaired, led by a master trainer who is also visually impaired. The one-month training covers broomstick making and ‘mator’ or bamboo broom production.
Suchen also noted that this is the first time in the state that exclusive training for the visually impaired is being conducted, made possible by the efforts of SURE and Kelvin Suting, the master trainer, who worked tirelessly to prepare the syllabus, training manual, and the training proposal.
Kelvin Suting, the award-winning master trainer, recalled his past experiences with trainings and highlighted the issue of trainers who were not visually impaired struggling to understand the challenges faced by blind trainees.Based on this observation, the training was specially designed by the staff of SURE in collaboration with the master trainer to cater specifically to this section of the population.
The training syllabus has been tailored to meet the needs of the visually challenged, he added, emphasizing that ‘only the blind can teach the blind’.
Krishna Phawa, one of the trainees, expressed his aspiration to follow in Kelvin’s footsteps and hoped that the training would enable him to earn a livelihood and find success in life. He also thanked SURE and MSSDS for the training and believed that all seven trainees would benefit from the one-month program.
Rymbui, on the other hand, encouraged the trainees in his inaugural speech, emphasising that everyone has been bestowed with talents and the power of thinking and understanding. He noted that even some normally-abled individuals fail to make the best use of their cognitive abilities and talents. Rymbui inspired all the trainees to draw inspiration from Kelvin Suting, who could serve as a role model for them. He also mentioned that the government has schemes that the visually impaired can access.