My mantra is to never ever give up! I am determined to make a rocking success out of this company now! My company has worked with more than 200 private companies and NGOs, and over the last 3 decades, I have directly and indirectly touched lives of millions of people across the world; both through public speaking, roaming the streets, trainings and workshops, one to one sessions, print and electronic media and through my book and other writings! The real mission of this company is to earn for ourselves, as well as bring in enough funds to continue and to expand our reach and service in the social space via my NGO Silver Linings!
For we must be self-sustaining, as we have no funding to help us, and my dreams are huge! My dream is to create complete inclusion in the world along with building a haven for blind children, where they get a value based quality education, along with sighted children, so they are able to become productive and dignified citizens! My mission is also to create a secure and happy place for girls and women with disabilities, where they can live, learn and earn with complete dignity; as well as, get every Indian to donate corneas of their departed loved ones, so that we can at least, give sight to the Lacs of Indians, who are only blind because we just don’t have enough corneas donated! For this, my business venture has to become a huge profit center!
In the social space, we are currently working on four major projects; which are Shiksha, Fusion, Dignity and Jyoti.
Shiksha was launched on 2nd January 2017; this is a preparatory school and resource center for blind children, where we prepare our visually impaired students, by giving them a value based education along with teaching them all required technical and life skills and thereafter, send them into regular schools via the integrated education model, to ensure they are included into mainstream right from early childhood! We are seeking financial and other support to run Shiksha on a larger scale and to have hostel accommodation for our blind children, as most parents are not able to bring the children to school daily as well as are not able to give their blind children the support they require .
Fusion which was launched in 2013 is a face to face social networking platform to bring together people with and without disabilities to build friendships, relationships and partnerships to promote natural inclusion and mainstreaming of persons with disabilities. I have personally visited over 400 corporates to promote employment of disabled people in the private sector; as well as to advocate around promoting diversity and inclusion, setting myself up as a living example of both disability and gender!
Dignity is a project which works towards training and empowerment of blind girls who have just finished school and need to learn a lot of social and other skills to get into the mainstream and fend for themselves. We are looking for partners to help us with creating halfway homes and hostels in apartments for blind girls, for they are one of the most marginalized female populations, and once they leave the security of their boarding blind schools, they have suddenly nowhere to go and don’t have any idea as to how to manage thereafter. Silver Linings mission is to create a space where these vulnerable girls can live with security, while they complete their higher education and become equipped to thrive and manage themselves in mainstream society!
We are also into advocating for employment opportunities for people with disabilities in the corporate sector, supplying disabled candidates and supporting the disabled employees as well as the companies to facilitate this to become a smooth and productive experience! I have helped more than 40 people to be employed in the corporate sector, and most of these people are people with blindness! This is very important, as the private sector is most reluctant to employ blind people!
Through Project Jyoti, we are now promoting Eye Donation in partnership with Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital as well as The Fortis Group, where we offer the chance for people to donate corneas of their loved ones who may unfortunately die in hospitals. For who would know better than me, how difficult it is to live without eye sight? There are Lacs of people waiting to get corneas in our country alone!
My mission is to inspire the world and especially women, and for that I have written my autobiography called The Other Senses, published by Roli Books, and the second part of my autobiography called ‘Flight Without Sight’, is under publication by Hay House! I am a motivation speaker, via which I motivate people to become self-empowered and show them, that if I can do what I do, they can do much more and also help empower others around them! I have motivated thousands through my motivation lectures nationally and internationally; through companies, organizations and educational and other institutions! I have worked with people ranging from coal miners and factory workers, from slum dwellers and under privileged and disabled and non disabled youth and adults, to middle and senior managers to leaders and school and college students of the cities! My special focus is upon development of visually impaired girls and women, in the area of social skills and sexual rights for them!
Today I am an entrepreneur, a social worker, a disability activist, a motivation speaker, a life coach, a leadership trainer, a sexual harassment consultant, a counselor, a fitness expert, an author and a grandmother of 3 and a homemaker!
My goal is to help create a world where everyone is living life to their maximum potential; to empower disabled women and to positively change the image of women, with or without disabilities, in their own minds, and in minds of society at large! To bring a positive attitudinal change towards every under privileged segment of society, which will automatically lead to bringing about, equality and opportunity for all! To promote excellence and help people to take responsibility and ownership so we can together create a happier and more prosperous society for all!
