Blind UG student optimistic about advancing his studies, but financially strapped

Jul 24, 2016 News

By Sharmain Grainger

If you want something bad enough you simply have to work hard for it. Some may be more inclined to embrace this notion than others. But what can be especially astounding is when an individual who has a disability lives by

The blind, but very ambitious Leroy Phillips

this mantra.
One such individual is a blind young man who has been on the grind for the past few years, desperately trying to make a name for himself academically. And he is surely getting there.
His name is Leroy Phillips and he is 25 years old. He is currently a student of the University of Guyana (UG) pursuing studies in Communication. During a recent conversation with me, he disclosed that he has no intention of letting his disability keep him back. He hopes to delve into a career of Public Relations, journalism or wherever life leads. He simply doesn’t live by limitations.
This, however, doesn’t mean that he isn’t faced with obvious and not so obvious limitations. A major one in his life is limited finances. But being the optimistic fellow he is, Phillips anticipates that this challenge will soon be a thing of the past.
Although he has completed one year of his Communication Studies, he hasn’t yet paid a cent in tuition fee. This is due to the fact that he was assured financial support from the Minister of Education himself, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, to meet this debt. Phillips is hopeful that this would be soon forthcoming so as to ensure that his one-year of studies at the University is not lost.
Phillips, like a number of blind persons I have met, developed problems his vision over time. He recalled that he was about the age of six when something rather strange started to happen to him. In fact it didn’t take very long to develop, he recalled.
It might have been over a two-week period, he intimated. But complete blindness is not something that anyone could be prepared for. But it all happened too suddenly. “I was sent home from school because my participation was not as expected,” recounted the West Ruimveldt resident.
He was essentially tagged a non-performer and because of this he was one day asked to go home and not come back to school. But little did his teacher know that young Leroy’s shortcoming was nestled in the fact that he could barely see. Unable to explain his circumstance at the time, he had no choice but to vacate the classroom.
It was the very day that darkness would forever take over his life. Maybe it was the glare of the sunlight, which he wandered in for quite a while before he was rescued by a close relative attending the same school, that fast-tracked the process or just simply fate. But Phillips remembers well that the day he was sent home was in fact the last day he saw anything.
“I was walking in circles looking for the exit,” shared Phillips, who was led to the safety of his home by his relative. But he didn’t realise he was completely blind until he had reached home.
“My grandmother gave me a piece of icicle and it slipped out of my hand…I was on the ground feeling around with my hands for it, much to her amusement…she was like ‘Leroy what’s happening, why are you doing that?’ I knew I lost my sight that very day,” he reflected.
But even after several visits to ‘eye doctors’, he was no closer to finding out what really caused his blindness. However, one doctor gave him hope of seeing again when he disclosed that such conditions could be corrected in the United States.
However, all hope was gone when that doctor died shortly after, Phillips recalled.
Life had to go on, and it certainly did.
Phillips was eventually enrolled into the Unit for the Blind at St Rose’s High School, which caters to the blind and the visually impaired. He stayed there for about a decade and later also attended St Agnes Primary and St. Roses High. But although he had a desire to participate in the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC)-administered examination, he was constantly told he was not ready for such a move.
He later went to the Open Doors Centre, yet another school for persons with disability, where he was exposed to computer training and some remedial academic work as well. He also got a chance to freelance for five years as a Broadcaster.
But he had a desire to write the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examination. However, there weren’t any institutions facilitating blind persons to do this. It wasn’t until Ganesh Singh of the Guyana Society for the Blind, with the support of the Ministry of Education, made the bold move to start such an initiative, that Phillips was able to realise his dream of writing CSEC. This initiative was introduced in 2013 and, according to Phillips, “this was a great opportunity for me and many other blind persons. Here was a chance for us to write CSEC for the first time”.
Preparation for the examination lasted for about 18 months. Phillips got a chance to diligently pursue studies in English, Principles of Business, Human and Social Biology, Office Administration and Social Studies – the five subject areas offered.
Armed with his CSEC passes and five years of broadcasting experience, he was eligible to start the Communication programme at UG.
But there was the issue of finances. While the Ministry, since the start of the programme, has assured scholarships for five candidates who participate in the programme annually, Phillips was not among the five eligible when he commenced studies at UG, due to some logistical challenges.
The very vocal Phillips, though brimming with optimism, did confide that “I am pretty much fearful if the Minister or the Ministry do not support me I could have a bit of a setback.”
As such, he is appealing to the Education Minister to honour a promise made some time ago.
Also standing resolutely in Phillips’ corner, is coordinator of the blind CXC programme, Ganesh Singh. He worriedly reiterated too that “if he (Phillips) doesn’t get that support, his whole year of study will go to waste, and financially he isn’t capable of paying it himself.”
According to Singh, Phillips is one of the leading upcoming disability activists, and deserves to be supported in any way possible.