In the Eyes of a Visually Impaired Student

He may appear physically imperfect than most children his age, but his positive outlook in life makes him confident, even unafraid, in dealing with the challenges of his everyday life as a visually impaired student.

Kazuya Sakamoto was born premature, weighing only 600 grams. His mother's vehicular accident during pregnancy lead to his early birth and is also believed to be the cause of his visual impairment. Medical doctors say, visual impairment is vision loss that constitutes a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from disease, trauma, or a congenital or degenerative condition that cannot be corrected by conventional means, including refractive correction, medication, or surgery. There are two categories of visual impairment, those that are partially blind, and those that are totally blind. Kazuya is partially blind.

When he was about one year old, Kazuya underwent eye surgery. Unfortunately, the doctor diagnosed that his blindness, although partial, was already in grave condition so that going under the knife was no longer an option. For 10 years now, he has been suffering from partial blindness. However, this didn't stop him from hoping that one day he would see the beauty of the world with his two eyes. He regularly visits his doctor for eye care.

Now on his 5th grade in Saitama Kenritsu Mogakko, a school for the blind and the disabled, Kazuya attends a special class of 5. Each one of them is assigned a teacher that would monitor their daily performance. He started schooling there when he was only 3 years old. They learned about the institution through their city office which also provides for his school allowances and expenses.

Though partially blind, Kazuya is very active in school. His academic performance is above satisfactory and he is also into in sports, especially marathon. He is a consistent "Best in Penmanship" awardee.

But just like any other visually impaired handicapped, he went through periods of adjustments. He was self-conscious and aloof during his early years in school but as time passed, he was able to overcome the feeling of inferiority and got fully accustomed to his educational setting and the people around him.

On the other hand, his mother Jocelyn also had her share of adjustments and difficulties. She works in an obento yasan on a graveyard shift. Straight from work, she takes her son to school and fetches him after class. Being the devoted mother that she is, she makes sure that she ardently attends to the needs of her son.

"Kailangan ang mga magulang ng mga batang may kapansanan katulad nila ay matiyaga, mahaba ang pasensya at malawak ang pang-unawa. Huwag sila mawawalan ng pag-asa dahil darating ang araw matututo rin ang mga bata sa sarili nila. Mahalagang isaisip at isapuso rin ng mga magulang na ginagawa nila ang sakripisyong ito para sa kinabukasan ng kanilang mga anak," Jocelyn said while holding back her tears.

She firmly believes that sooner than expected, her son would learn to stand on his own and live normal life.

Actually, Kazuya can attend a regular school but he opts to stay in his school because of the love that he has for his classmates and teachers.

His visual impairment is not a hindrance for him to stop believing and dreaming big. And with a firm attitude of courage and perseverance and the spark of knowledge in his eyes, it is not impossible for Kazuya to succeed in whatever endeavor he chooses.

He aspires of becoming a pilot someday.

*published in the June '08 issue of "Education", Philippine Digest*

*photo by Florenda Corpuz*