City Desk :
Getting employed by the visually impaired persons by receiving or providing training on computer literacy is seen as an important aspect of living an independent life.
With the perception that computer skills is considered as a valuable asset to increase one’s chances on the job market, a student of Dhaka University has taken a programme to impart training on computer to his fellow visually impaired brothers and sisters.
He is twenty-four-year-old Shahin Alam, now studying at Dhaka University. He is waiting for his final exams. But the campus is closed due the Covid-19 pandemic.
Like the other students, he was also spending leisure time at his home. But he wants to do something. Nourishing this aim, he announced to give lesson on computer through social media- Facebook. He also got trainees and has also provided training to 113 trainees in the last one year.
Many provide the training. But the speciality of Shahin, who is from Moheshpur of Jhenaidah district, is that he is visually impaired and provides training to those who are visually impaired at home and abroad. And he doesn’t take any honorarium for providing training.
Shahin, son of farmer Abdul Kader of Alampur village of Moheshpur, has lost his eye sight when he was 13. But nothing resists him to reach his avowed destination. Even now, he is helping others to overcome their obstacles. Shahin has a brother named Saidur Rahman who is now doing job at a private company at Dhaka.
Family members said, Shahin was suffering from severe fever when he was a student of class five. After diagnoses, the doctors informed that he was infected with typhoid. Later, he was relieved of fever, but his eyes were infected and he became visually impaired within three years of the incident. At that time, he was a student of class eight.
But, his eagerness to study didn’t wither away. After the incident, he left the general school and got admission at a school for visually impaired students under the Department of Social Services at Narail. He passed secondary exams from Tularampur High School in 2013.
After passing secondary exams, Shahin was admitted to Shamsul Huda Khan College. He used to go to college through walking about five kilometres from his house. He passed higher secondary in 2015.
He had a dream to study at Dhaka University, but financial constraints barred him to get admitted into any coaching centre. He continued his study with the help of his friends. Shahin excelled in the admission test and occupied position in the merit list. He got admission by taking loan at the Political Science Department of DU.
Shahin had no computer. He used the computer of visually impaired center of the university and gave lesson to others.
Shahin said he has learnt computer during his study. And he was also a trainer of a project of Bangladesh Computer Council and provides training to visually impaired persons, he added.
He returned home in the beginning of the Covid-19 epidemic and spent leisure time for about three months. Later, he thought that he would do something for the disabled persons who are visually impaired. And finally, he started imparting training on computer to the visually impaired persons.
In the first batch, there were 60 students who received a three-month course on computer. In the second batch, there were 53 students. Apart from Bangladesh, 40 Indian students took part in the training.
Shahin provides trainings on fundamentals of computer, screen reader, Microsoft Ward, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power Point, internet browsing, etc.
Shahin said he conducted the first batch on his own initiative. Later, an organization named Access Bangladesh Foundation cooperated him to use Zoom app and provided certificates to the trainees.
Though there are many skills that visual impaired persons need to get competitive employment, acquiring skills on computer has become as one of most desirable skills.
