Meet the man behind India’s 1st cricket tournament for the blind

At the age of 10 months, he suffered an attack of meningitis and became blind. Yet, today George Abraham is a living example of someone who has made a successful and complete life for himself and is helping other blind people to do the same.

He worked with one of India’s top advertising firms for nearly 10 years and is today a social entrepreneur, an inspirational speaker and a communicator.

Every 5th blind person in the world is an Indian, 25,000 new cases found every year

As founding chairman of the World Blind Cricket Council, he also conceived and organised the first World Cup for the Blind in 1998.

Abraham’s parents refused to regard his disability as a negative and sent him to a regular school instead of one for blind kids. He believes that every blind person can be a potential resource to society and should be given every opportunity to lead a full life.

Abraham decided to empower India’s blind population after a visit to a blind school in 1988 made him realise how miserable the conditions of the blind people living there was.

Eventually he organised the first national cricket tournament for the blind in December 1990. This became an annual feature. In 1996, he set up the World Blind Cricket Council and was its Founding Chairman. In 1998, he conceived and organised the first ever World Cup in New Delhi.

He also set up Score Foundation and Project Eyeway to change the mindset associated with the potential and capabilities of the blind.

Through the radio show Yeh Hai Roshni Ka Karwan he spread the success stories of people who fought every hurdle that came in their way due to vision loss and were able to achieve their dream.