Being sighted without eyes
Bring the light to the blind (ondhozone deho alo). Most of us are familiar with this humanitarian appeal. And Helen Keller, the world acclaimed great woman responded to this appeal and worked selflessly for the blind/ visually impaired all over the world.
She was a blind and deaf lady. She was an inspiration for the disabled to become educated, enlightened, self reliant, and to love their lives as they are same as the sighted people. She said: "When the door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one, which has been opened for us."
Helen Keller started her mission on June 15, 1915 by rehabilitating the blind soldiers in WWI. After that she worked non-stop for the welfare of the vulnerable and disadvantaged in many countries. To give a wake-up call to the disabled, she visited many countries of all the seven continents. Wherever she went, she motivated the disabled and urged governments, NGOs, and civil societies to work for the betterment of the blind, vulnerable and destitute people.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In addition to that she wrote articles and books for reestablishing the due rights of those disadvantaged. Helen Keller said: "I hope one day to see enough Braille presses, libraries, schools, and training centers and teachers to assure all persons the opportunities they would have had, had they not been blind. This is my greatest purpose in life."
Her write-ups have been translated in to many languages. She said: "Life is made up of joy and sorrow, and in the long run we all get our share of each." There was a film on her life, titled The Miracle Worker. The documentary film: Helen Keller in Her Story received an Academy Award also. Her organization, Helen Keller International, has been working for more than 90 years in many countries of the world and the number is increasing. She said: "God has given each one of us a task, which we can perform better than anyone else. We must find out what that task is, and how to do it in the best way possible."
In fact, Helen Keller herself was an institution and she was really unique. She was born in America on June 27, 1880 and died on June 1, 1968 -- just 26 days short of her 88th birthday.
She was born as a normal child, but became seriously ill at the age of one year and seven months. Though she was cured of that deadly disease, scarlet fever, she became blind and deaf forever.
Getting no proper treatment, her parents met the scientist and telephone inventor Dr. Alexander Graham Bell for his advice. Dr. Bell advised Helen's parents to be hopeful and he appointed Anne Sullivan as a teacher for Helen Keller. As a dedicated and committed teacher Anne Sullivan started her teaching with a doll.
She wrote the word D-O-L-L in Helen's hand by finger spelling and by the end of the day Helen was able to learn 30 words through that process. "Helen is a brilliant student indeed!" Anne informed all and became very glad and encouraged.
Helen got her BA degree in 1904 from Radcliff College. Getting the news the world became surprised and realized that Helen established an unprecedented example. Helen said: "My spirit was indeed in prison before my teacher came to me. But her love and the power of knowledge set me free, and I have lived happily in spite of my deprivations. I am seldom conscious of them, and I am never really in the dark."
To maintain impartiality, the Radcliff College authority did not allow Anne Sullivan to sit by Helen at the time of examination to spell questions in to Helen's hand. A teacher of that Radcliff College spelled the questions into Helen's hand and yet meritorious Helen got the uncommon result and graduated.
She read a lot of books in Braille on various subjects and said: "More than at any other time, when I hold a beloved book in my hand my limitations fall from me, my spirit is free." To establish women's rights for due wages and empower them, Helen said:
"The women who works for a dollar a day has much right as any other human being to say what the conditions of her work should be."
She was always against the war and protested that by saying: "War is a beast that devours civilization and turns all good works to contempt. Kings and governments make war. The people pay the cost."
Thus with the spirit of Helen Keller, the disabled people gained confidence and went ahead to reach the goal of their lives. She was Helen Keller who was a role model to be sighted without eyes to guide the world for overcoming disability, poverty, superstitions, obstacles, inferiority, dependency, hopelessness, darkness, ignorance, illiteracy, cruelty, etc. She said: "Every one of us is blind and deaf until our eyes are opened to our fellowmen, until our ears hear the voice of humanity."
So it is the demand of the time that Helen Keller must be included in the text curriculum both Bangla and English for the greater interest of our fellow disabled to help bring them in the mainstream of development and so that all children can learn of and take inspiration from her shining example.