Battle For Blindness

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” — Lao Tzu.

And so it was for Ram, whose journey began with helping one blind girl get a job and has now spawned into an organization - Battle for Blindness that has now set up a hostel for visually challenged girls from very poor families and currently supporting 14 girls.

Ram grew up in Begusarai, Bihar, in a family with strong connections to the Army. His dad and older brother both proudly served the nation in the Indian Army. Ram's heart was set on following their footsteps, especially after the 1999 War which fired up his family's patriotism. But despite his best efforts, Ram couldn't make it into the army.

So, he headed to Delhi for studies and later started a company called "Intern Gyaan" to help young people find opportunities. But deep inside, Ram always felt a calling to do something more meaningful. He began volunteering with groups like Shubham and Antar Jyothi, which helped blind people. Ram met many visually impaired folks from different parts of India and was touched by their stories. Slowly, these people started reaching out to him for advice and help. It made Ram really happy to assist them. One special moment was when he helped a blind girl named Santhoshi get a job at a bank. Seeing the happiness on her parents' faces was incredibly rewarding for Ram.

As time went on, Ram started raising money from kind-hearted people to help the blind people he had met. He approached a doctor for help, who gave him a brilliant idea – to start an organization to make an even bigger difference. And thus “Battle for Blindness” was born. Ram Kapoor's journey from wanting to be in the army to becoming a champion for the visually impaired is a story of heart, determination, and making a real difference. He initially got support from his brother's army friends who loved the idea and even suggested the name. With this newfound mission, Ram set out on a journey.

India is home to 15 million visually impaired women, of which only five per cent are capable of earning a living independently. Not just that, 99 per cent of blind women and girls have no access to any form of education. The stats are so alarming as visual disability accounts for 19% of all physical disability in India.Ram knew he might not be able to help all the 12-15 million blind women but he had to start somewhere. So he started with a residence and training facility for blind girls who are majorly orphaned or abandoned.

'In the year 2020, Ram started a hostel for visually challenged girls belonging to different villages in rural India with free boarding and lodging facilities. It is situated at Dwarka Mor, Delhi. They do not charge any payment from the girls and hence the girls can focus on their education. Their hostel facilities are a lifeline for 14 visually challenged girls. These girls come from the most marginalized and poorest of poor families with little or no support. The hostel has been designed to provide these girls with a clean, hygienic, comfortable and homely life, which includes personal beds, well-ventilated rooms and clean toilets.

They provide a family-like atmosphere, healthy meals, medical aid as well as education and scholarship support to the girls residing at the hostel. They also provide career and employment assistance and mentoring to help these young and bright girls secure a place for themselves in society. The girls are trained in typing skills, computer skills and on the audio, tool called JAWS, which is meant for blind people. They have seen a measurable impact owing to the supportive environment of the hostel, and a number of girls have now moved on to employment of their choice.

Please support us in our venture to support one girl for a year. The costs for the same are given below:

The cost to support a girl child is Rs. 10,000 per month or Rs. 1,20,000 per year.

'Below are the costs to support on blind girl for a month:

A little background: At danamojo, we offer NGOs a platform to securely and compliantly collect donations online. But fundraising is tough. Amongst other ideas we suggest to NGOs, one is to ask their employees to raise money for their NGOs. And we decided to lead by example by putting our words into action. This August, employees of danamojo are all raising money for NGOs that they have decided. We’ve divided ourselves into three teams, and are running a fundraiser for 3 different NGOs.