Opening the digital world: how we are empowering visually impaired learners in India
Kamal Deep Jain still remembers when this journey began in India in Dec 2024. As Country Manager for ST Foundation India, he knew that a single skill—like using a computer—could change a life. Yet whenever he met visually impaired people with motivation but no tools, one question stayed with him: how could the digital world be truly accessible to them?
This led to a new program in India: a basic computer course for visually impaired people. This course focused on essential skills such as navigating the internet, using e‑mail, exploring educational content, and working with accessibility tools.
Trainers from abroad arrived in New Delhi, including Sada Kane, Technical Manager in Senegal, who brought experience from similar programs in Sierra Leone and Pakistan. Working with Professor Cristian Bernareggi of Università Cattolica in Milan—himself visually impaired—they had developed a methodology tailored to visually impaired learners, and this approach had now reached India.
Over two weeks in New Delhi, trainees and trainers worked together as Sada showed that visually impaired people can use the same computers and keyboards as sighted users when introduced differently. Starting with touch—finding the “starting position,” learning the layout by movement and memory, and practicing with structured exercises—hesitant keystrokes quickly became confident typing.
For Kamal, these scenes were deeply meaningful. He saw visually impaired trainees and trainers from different regions working side by side to ensure no one is excluded from the digital world because of a disability. Small moments—finding the right key unaided, sending a first independent e‑mail, navigating menus by sound—added up to a powerful story of progress.
Kamal and the ST Foundation team felt strong gratitude toward the international trainers, especially Professor Cristian Bernareggi and Sada. With support from partners like the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and local institutions, they brought to New Delhi a model that can be replicated and adapted for many more learners.
This is why we at the ST Foundation, together with people like Kamal, Sada, and Professor Bernareggi, will continue to strengthen this initiative in India and across Asia. As technology increasingly defines access to information, education, and employment, inclusion is essential. Each visually impaired person who gains digital skills brings us closer to a future where technology truly belongs to everyone.
