BLINDNESS 247
SHANTI*
Shanti is a little blind girl, who was born in
a small village in India. When they found that
she was blind, her parents and grandparents
tried to hide the fact from the other villagers.
They thought all blindness was sent to a
family as a punishment for sin, and that
people would look down on them.
Secretly her parents took Shanti to an
orphanage and left her there.
Nobody in the orphanage had ever cared
for a blind child, and they did not know
what to do. There were so many other
children who needed care, that there was
no time left for her.
Shanti was kept alive, but that was all.
Nobody talked to her or held her lovingly or
tried to stimulate her. Her blind eyes made
the nurses think she could not understand
or recognize anything around her. So when
other babies began to reach out for objects
they saw, and then to crawl toward things
they wanted, Shanti was left lying silently
on her cot.
People got used to the blind child.
She was picked up when necessary, and
cleaned and fed. They fed her with a bottle,
or pushed food into her mouth. But nobody
tried to teach her how to feed herself or
how to walk and talk.
As she grew older, Shanti spent most of
her time sitting on the doorstep, rocking
herself and poking her eyes (see p. 364).
She never said a word and only cried when
she was hungry. Other children stayed away
from her; they were afraid of her dead eyes.
Everyone thought she was mentally slow and
that nothing could be done about it.
In time, Shanti did begin to talk and
walk. But the sad, stony look on her face
never disappeared. Now, at age 7 she is
in some ways still like a 2-year-old. And
in other ways she is no longer a child. We
can only guess at her future.
RANI
Rani is also a little blind girl, born in another
village in India. Like Shanti’s family, when
her parents learned she was blind, they were
worried about what the villagers would say.
But the baby’s grandmother, who had slowly
lost her sight 5 years ago, said, “I think we
should do everything we can for the baby.
Look at me. I, too, am now blind, and yet I still
have all the same feelings and needs as I did
when I could see. And I can still do most of
the things I used to do. I still bring water from
the well, grind the rice, milk the goats,...”
“But you could already do all those things
before you went blind,” said the father. “How
could a blind baby learn?”
“We must help her learn,” said Grandma.
“Just as I’ve learned to do things by sound and
touch, so Rani must learn. I can help teach her,
since I know what it’s like. But we can also get
advice from the health worker.”
The village health worker came the next day.
She did not know much about blindness, but
she knew a little about early child development.
She suggested they give the baby a lot of
stimulation in hearing and feeling and smelling
things, to make up for what she could not see.
“And talk to her a lot,” she said.
The family took the advice. They put all kinds
of things in Rani’s hands and told her what
they were. They gave her bells and squeakers,
and cans and bottles to bang on. Grandma,
especially, took Rani with her everywhere,
and had her feel and listen to everything. She
played games with her and sang to her. At age
2, Grandma taught her to feel her way along
the walls and fence, just as she did. By age
3, Rani could find her own way to the latrine
and the well. When she was 4, the health
worker talked with the neighbors, and did some
CHILD-to-child activities on blindness with
their children. After, a few children came to
make friends and play with Rani. Sometimes
they would all blindfold their faces and try to
find something or tell different things apart. At
these games, Rani usually won.
When she was 6, Rani started school. The
neighbor children came for her every day. When
the villagers saw them all walking down the road
together, it was hard to guess which one was
blind.
*Story adapted from How To Raise a Blind Child.
disabled village children