Ganesh Singh was your typical student.
At his High School in Georgetown, Guyana, he was popular among his peers, the heart-throb of teenage girls and he had an insatiable appetite for the game of cricket and maths.
Overall, life was good, but things took a dramatic turn when at the age of thirteen (13), on a visit to the United States, he was diagnosed with Glaucoma.
“I was basically seeing objects; I could define them although I could only see shadows”.
Ganesh was not sure what to think of his condition, but he soldiered on and in August 2000 he sat his High School Examinations from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).
Shortly after his final exams, he visited his Specialist who delivered a blow to what little hope there was. And so, four years after being diagnosed, Ganesh lost his sight. He was 17 years old.
“That’s when I got the really, really sad news, I was told that 99% of my nerves were damaged. I think that’s one of the most difficult stages to get blind or to acquire any form of disability, at 16,or 17, you are in your prime teen-age years. How could I get blind at that stage? My life stopped”.
Overtaken by depression, Ganesh literally locked himself away from the world for five years.
“I stayed at home, listened to a lot of music, went to a few places with my cousin, where no one really knew me.
I lost my high school friends, I blanked them out, from that we lost contact. I had a few friends close to where I lived and they stuck around. It was hard, I was never educated about my condition, although I had Glaucoma; I wasn’t aware of the consequences. I thought something could be done to save my sight; I had such a false sense of security”.
BLIND CRICKET
Believing that all his dreams were shattered, Ganesh even contemplated suicide, but one day, the long awaited wake up call came when he heard about Blind Cricket.
“You can’t believe how excited I was! Cricket was always my passion and now I was being told that although I could not see I could still play? For me that was the turning point of my life, although it came five years after going blind”
Everything took off from then on. Ganesh regained his confidence, attended Workshops and met others who could relate to his situation.
“When I started in Blind Cricket, I then got involved in other things, such as Workshops. The sport of cricket you meet other blind persons and it rubs off on you and helps to build your confidence”
As his confidence soared but there was one major obstacle – learning to use the “white cane” in order to get around. But learning to use the cane was one problem, the other was pride – not wanting anyone to know that he was blind.
As fate would have it, Ganesh soon met Nicole Forde, an Adjustment to Blindness Specialist from the Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB), Guyana Office.
“When I started Blind Cricket, Nicole worked with me in cane training. It has been a great help having a person like Nicole to guide you in the process. I was one of the persons who was the most difficult, for anyone to get me to use the cane it was a difficult task. I have only started using it for a few months. Now I’m pretty okay with it; I don’t see it as something that really labels me.”
Today, Ganesh is unstoppable. He plays an integral role with the Guyana Council for Disabilities, Young Voices Guyana – a Youth Disability Group, he sits on the Board of Guyana Blind Cricket Association and is also a Director of the West Indies Blind Cricket Council.
Ganesh has come a long way and is proud of what he has achieved, so far. He continues to enjoy cricket, but he has all but given up on his dream of becoming an Accountant.
“A part of me will always be dead if I don’t get to do accounting. Who would want to employ me? That’s almost impossible – or rather highly improbable. Therefore, I don’t want to waste my energies and focus on that – but who knows maybe one day”
Having faced his own struggles with blindness, Ganesh has a message for those battling Glaucoma.
“I would say that if you have some sight now, try to care it. Don’t live in any false security because with Glaucoma you can go blind at some point in your life. I am here to tell you that there is life after blindness”
For Ganesh and hundreds of others across the Caribbean, losing his vision was life changing experience that was initially hard to accept. He is now fighting another battle – that of acceptance
“My fight everyday is on those who offer pity and charity. We are equal human beings; give us an even playing field. But there are those who make persons think that when you’re blind or visually impaired you want sympathy; I don’t want your sympathy”.
“For the persons who like attention, it doesn’t last forever; persons will get fed up; so at some point in time you need to be strong enough to have the courage to be independent.
Ganesh has been faced with his fair share of challenges but he has triumphed.
“The future is bright; I am all over the place; there is no time to be bored and the best is yet to come.”