An event to show gratitude to readers, writers and learn from professionals

The Blind Graduates Forum Of India is back with its annual celebration that honours readers and writers who have assisted visually impaired students in their graduation examinations.

The Blind Graduates Forum Of India (BGFI) has been working to empower and motivate the blind students for years and is an organization dedicated to the welfare of blind community. BGFI realizes the importance of readers and writers and every year honors them through the Readers and Writers Day and this year the event will be held in Mumbai on 28 September.

Readers, writers assist the blind and visually impaired students during their examinations. They read out the questions and also write answers making sure that blind students appear for exams like other students. For students with vision related disabilities giving exams with the help of these wonderful aides is a boon that gives them the opportunity to show their potential.

At the upcoming event, apart from acknowledging the contribution of readers and writers, young graduates will get to hear some words of wisdom and experience from two dynamic speakers- Ajay Minocha and Ekinath Khedekar.

Based in Mumbai the two men are professionals and have years of experience in the corporate sector. Both have built their careers through hard work, strong will and have excelled in their fields breaking the notions about visually impaired people.

Ekinath Khedekar is currently working with Reliance Power Limited as a Deputy General Manager , Corporate Strategy and Sustainability. He is also sports savvy and is involved in promotion of para sports for the blind people in the country. Ekinath did MBA in Finance from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and feels that higher education can widen the horizon for people with visual impairments. At the same time he feels that a career should be chosen as per personal interest and not as a compromise.

The choice of career should reflect what a person really wants from life and should not be based on the societal expectations. I have learned from experience that being happy with your career is the most important factor. My advice to the young graduates will be according to wisdom I have gained over the years. Students with visual impairments may not always get the opportunities they want or deserve but that should not deter them from the path of happiness.- Ekinath Khedekar, Deputy General Manager Reliance Power Limited

“I know about the various roles in the corporate sector, the pro and cons of the various industries. I have had more access to accessible technologies as compared to my friends and I understand what all this implies”, adds Ekinath

Ajay Minocha is working in a European bank in Mumbai at present. He is an MBA from IIM Indore and has recently completed his CFA certification. He has worked hard over the years to gain knowledge about the finance sector as he finds it extremely interesting and challenging. He wants the fresh graduates to keep their minds open and not be discouraged from pursuing the finance sector because it seems tougher.

“People tend to assume that a person with visual impairments cannot be good with numbers. When I started my journey, not even a handful of people were there who could guide me through higher academics. I did not have any support system or guidance as such and so I was dependent on my own resources and abilities,” says Ajay Minocha

Ajay also feels that the lack of awareness limits the scope when it comes to career in financial sector as there is a lot of aspects in this field that can be taken up as career.

He adds, “My objective will be to let the fresh graduates know about my journey and how I have worked around the challenges. I would like them to know that nothing is impossible and hardwork and perseverance can go a long way in building a career. “

So if you are a fresh graduate with vision impairment, come to the event with your reader or scribe and use the opportunity to show your gratitude to them.

To know more about the event call 9892145699.

Watch in Sign Language