In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Sachin Porwal, a visually impaired Law student from The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad. Sachin lost his vision in class six due to Retinitis Pigmentosa and was forced to drop out from the mainstream English medium school and take admission in a government-run Hindi medium school for Blind children. The transition from being a sighted child to becoming totally blind came with a lot of challenge...
Dec 05, 2022•24 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Justin Philips, a Braille and spoken English trainer at Vision-Aid, an organization working to empower blind and visually impaired people in the country. Born with congenital blindness, Justin lost his sight by the age of seven. Despite the lack of technology and resources for blind people during his growing up years, Justin achieved a master’s degree in Economics. He navigated his career path as a telephone operator, salesperso...
Nov 21, 2022•26 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Shakila Maharaj, a social entrepreneur, innovator, recognised global disability trainer and strategist from Durban, South Africa. After losing her vision in early twenties due to a childhood injury, Shakila’s life was uprooted. Her family shifted to Ireland to ensure she had access to quality education and life. Over the years, Shakila’s remarkable and diverse accomplishments have contributed towards creating an inclusive societ...
Nov 14, 2022•28 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Peter Donovan, a visually impaired financial planner and a cricketer from Queensland, Australia. Peter, who was born with Albinism, struggled with vision issues since childhood. After completing his education, he chose a financial institution to work as a financial planner. But the highlight of his career was his cricket journey, where he got to represent Australian National Blind Cricket team from 1987. Peter became the first c...
Nov 07, 2022•28 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Pramit Bhargava, founder of Visioapps, a Gurugram-based startup, which developed the Louie Voice Control app, a 'virtual friend' to help visually impaired navigate digital apps. Pramit graduated from India’s prestigious engineering and management institutions (IIT and IIM) and worked for global companies such as Unilever, Motorola, and Quest Diagnostics before losing his vision to the side-effects of medicine, impacting his Reti...
Oct 31, 2022•30 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Sathish Kumar, a passionate digital accessibility engineer, accessibility coach, mentor, A11y blogger, editor, speaker and trainer. Born blind, Sathish was enrolled in a blind school at the age four. His love affair for computers began at the age of seven when his school introduced him to computers with screen readers. He remembers it as a magical device. An MPhil in English Literature, Sathish chose digital accessibility as his...
Oct 17, 2022•22 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Dr Sharad Philip, a practicing Psychiatrist and a Clinical Assistant professor in a prestigious public medical school in India. Sharad and his two younger brothers were diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa and lost his vision at a young age, leading to challenges through his growing up years. Despite a discouraging eco system during his college years, Sharad was determined to study Science and not let his lack of sight become a b...
Oct 10, 2022•29 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Praveen Kumar G, a development professional with over two decades of expertise in project management, monitoring and evaluation, organisation development, diversity, equity and inclusion. Born with Retinitis Pigmentosa, Praveen has not let his blindness become an impediment in achieving his goals. His passion for travelling, experiencing diverse cultures, meeting people and visiting historical places has taken him across 22 stat...
Sep 26, 2022•28 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Adriana Galani, fondly known as Adina Galani. Adina was born with vision impairment in the main city of Bucharest in Romania and currently lives in Austria with her husband who is an Indian. Adina’s love affair with India began at the age of seven when her mother took her to watch a famous Hindi film,’Yaadon ki Baraat’ in a theatre in Romania. With her first stint at learning the title song of the film, Adina had found her lifel...
Sep 19, 2022•26 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with John Samuel, a person of Indian origin born and raised in North Carolina in the United States. He is an award winning entrepreneur and a writer. John first learnt of Retinitis Pigmentosa when he was in college. The news of degenerative eye disease was devastating to him, which would take him more than fifteen years to accept and be open about. Over the years, John navigated through ups and downs of life. His determination to exc...
Sep 12, 2022•27 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Amar Jain, a visually impaired corporate lawyer and a Co- Founder of Mission Accessibility Campaign. Amar who hails from Jodhpur, Rajasthan was enrolled into a Hindi medium Blind School at an early age. Despite coming from a conservative society, Amar’s parents were supportive and encouraged him to carve a path for himself that was unconventional. He chose law as a profession to fight for the rights of blind and visually impaire...
Aug 22, 2022•26 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with a young, visually impaired tech geek, Aarush Bhat who believes in the power of technology for an inclusive world. Blessed with supportive parents, Aarush could pursue his interest in technology from a young age. His first stint with coding started in class five when he was able to make his own website. Ever since, there has been no looking back. He has independently written his examinations using computers, proving that blind st...
Aug 08, 2022•29 min
In the latest episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with a multi-talented nineteen-year-old Hannah Alice Simon from Kochi, Kerala. Her name began to make the rounds after she topped the CBSE Class 12 exam 2022 with 496 marks in the specially-abled category. Hannah’s journey from a blind girl to the topper of the CBSE came with a lot of challenges. But what remained constant in her life was the support of her parents who believed in her abilities and encouraged her to take life h...
Aug 01, 2022•24 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Mahenoor Ali who is a Postgraduate in Mathematics from IIT Delhi and an aspiring civil servant. Though Mahenoor was born blind, it did not stop her from pursuing her passion for Mathematics. She was supported and encouraged by her father who assisted her throughout her schooling years. She graduated from Miranda House and did her master's in Mathematics at the prestigious IIT Delhi. As a young achiever, Mahenoor is a topper in c...
Jul 25, 2022•26 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Dr. Reshmi Pramod, an Ayurveda Doctor. She is the Founder and Managing Director of Jeevaniyam Ayurveda Hospital & Research Center, Kochi, Kerala. In 2004, Dr. Reshmi lost her eyesight. However, she did not allow this impairment to hamper her dream and career. Born in a family of doctors and Ayurveda practitioners, she grew up dreaming of becoming a doctor and serving the community. With the help of her family's support and l...
Jul 18, 2022•26 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Hein Wagner, a Global Adventurer and a Motivational Speaker. Hein who was born blind, discovered his passion for adventure as a teenager when he took his first hike and fell in love with nature. He went on to start his career as a switchboard operator and soon entered the IT industry and worked his way up the career path. In 2014, he quit to pursue his passion for action. Hein lives a life of high adventure, competing in enduran...
Jul 11, 2022•29 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Melody Goodspeed, Major Gifts Specialist at American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). An adventurous and fun-loving person, Melody is also a wife and a doting mother to two children. After losing her vision at a young age of twenty-six, Melody hit rock bottom until she decided to fight and persevere through the disability. She went through rehabilitation, learned computer software, assisted living skills and made a re-entry into ...
Jun 20, 2022•29 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks to a young and vibrant social entrepreneur Sristi KC from Nepal. She is also a motivational speaker, dancer and a trainer. Sristi lost her eyesight at the age of sixteen due to the negligence of the doctor who was treating her for an eye infection. Despite a setback at a young age, she went on to top her university, receiving an award from the president of her country. Her love for dance helped her get a scholarship in Europe for her...
Jun 13, 2022•26 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Siobhan Meade, a digital marketing professional, journalist and a disability activist from the United Kingdom. After losing her vision at the age of sixteen to Glaucoma, Siobhan found it challenging to go about her life until she heard a blind man share about his achievements over a radio programme. With the new found confidence and support from her family, friends and teachers, Siobhan has come a long way in making a mark in th...
Jun 06, 2022•26 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with, Sabriye Tenberken, German Tibetologist and co-founder of the organisation Braille Without Borders. Sabriye became totally blind by the age of twelve due to Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition. Despite a set back at an early age, she learnt to deal with her blindness. An adventurer at heart, she wanted to travel the world. After completing High school from an Institute for the Blind in Germany, Sabriye enrolled at...
May 23, 2022•25 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Guneet Sethi who acquired blindness much later in life. But she never gave up on life. In a career of 30 years, Guneet has worked different jobs like teacher, communications specialist, creative writer and trainer. A motivational speaker, she is known for her recipe of a perfect cup of coffee! Do listen in to this delightful account of perseverance. To access the podcast transcript, click on link: https://otter.ai/u/YWet_56sos-d...
May 16, 2022•23 min
Our guest in this episode of Eyeway Conversations is Jim Stovall, a celebrated author, humanitarian, national champion Olympic weightlifter, entrepreneur and a highly sought after platform speaker. In conversation with George Abraham, Jim shares his inspiring journey. Born in Oklahoma, United States, Jim grew up to be a professional football player until he was diagnosed with macular degeneration, an eye disease that most often attacks the elderly, at the young age of seventeen. By the age of tw...
May 09, 2022•21 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Tiffany Brar, founder of Jyothirgamaya Foundation , a non-profit organization based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala that trains blind people of all ages in Braille, mobility, basic computer use, and life skills. Tiffany, who became blind as an infant due to oxygen toxicity, completed her primary education in England where she found an inclusive setup, doing things like other sighted children with a special resource person dedicate...
May 02, 2022•26 min
In this episode of Eyeway conversations, we get to hear about Geetha’s journey in her husband Saleesh’s words (as Geetha only communicates in Malayalam). Geetha, our guest, an inspirational entrepreneur from Thrissur, Kerala shares her experiences with the host, George Abraham. Geetha was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at the age of 13, a rare genetic disorder that causes gradual vision loss. By the age of 15 she had turned totally blind. Despite the challenges, she focused on becoming inde...
Apr 18, 2022•22 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with David Absalom, Honorary General Secretary of Indian Blind Sports Association (IBSA) and the Asia Continental Chairperson of International Blind Sports Federation. IBSA was founded in 1986 and has since emerged as the premier national blind sports body in the country with over 247 affiliates in 27 States. It is the sole Indian Affiliate of the International Blind Sports Federation, the apex sports organization for blind sports in...
Apr 11, 2022•28 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Ram Kamal Manoj; a social engineer, journalist and a brand consultant who runs a not for profit organization, Chakshumathi based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Ram believes that assistive technology is the solution to all the present day challenges of blind and visually impaired people and this belief led to an Empowerment and Assistive Technology Centre for Blind in Kochi, Kerala in 2011. A member of the DAISY forum of India, C...
Mar 28, 2022•26 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Dr. Sam Taraporevala, a retired Associate Professor & Head Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the autonomous St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. Born blind, his parents chose to educate him in a mainstream school and college, after which he pursued his PHD. Between 2002 and 2003, while teaching at St Xavier's College, Dr Sam set out to explore the reason behind the declining numbers of blind and visually impaired studen...
Mar 21, 2022•26 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Kiran Kaja, who works as an Accessibility Program Lead with Instagram in Menlo Park, California, United States. Born in India with a rare degenerative eye disease, Kiran sought out his passion for accessibility and working to make software and hardware useful and accessible for people with disabilities. He has over 16 years of experience in working with the leading tech companies across the globe that includes Google, where he w...
Mar 14, 2022•29 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Nagraj More, Chief Manager, Training and Development at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). Nagraj was born blind and growing up had often heard people blaming his karma for his blindness. But his mother ensured that he grew up to be an independent man shunning all the negative comments people made about her blind son. After completing Masters in Human Resource, Nagraj joined BPCL, where he received immense support from...
Feb 21, 2022•25 min
In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Pranjal Patil, the first visually impaired woman IAS officer in India. Pranjal lost her eyesight at an early age of six due to Retinal Detachment. Following which she was shifted to a special residential School for Blind girls in Mumbai, Maharashtra, the decision she is grateful for and that changed the course of her life. Pranjal’s interest in civil service examinations was a result of her keenness towards social issues and the...
Feb 14, 2022•27 min
