On Friday 4th April, DK India had the privilege of hosting around 30 kids along with their teachers and attendants from Silver Linings, an organisation that works to empower and support inclusive education for children with vision impairments. Also present were the founder and trustee of Silver Linings, Preeti Monga and her partner Ashwani Kumar Monga.
After a hearty round of refreshments, much to the children's delight, Preeti shared her inspiring journey. Diagnosed with total vision impairement at seven years old, she was raised by her parents who, despite having no specialised training, supported her wholeheartedly.
In 2006, Preeti founded Silver Linings, and in 2017 launched Shiksha – a preparatory school and resource centre for children with vision impairment. Today, Silver Linings supports children like Mayank and Pallavi – who write their tests on laptops without the help of scribes. Pallavi wishes to study computer programming, while Mayank has a keen interest in political science.
Next, it was the children who took centre stage. They shared their names, sang songs, and recited poems with such joy that everyone joined in with laughter and applause.
A storytelling session by Priya Singh fro, the Picture Research team was followed by a clay-modelling activity. The children amazed everyone with their creativity – their beautiful clay creations left us thinking we couldn’t have done better ourselves.
Romi Chakraborty, Senior Managing Art Editor from the Children’s team, shared her journey at DK and what keeps her inspired. She encouraged each child to pursue their dreams and follow whatever motivates them. The children were then given a tour of the office and shown how work unfolds day to day. A sumptuous lunch and cold beverages followed, and boxes of chocolates were handed out. The children waved goodbye, bringing the visit to a close.
The visit left us inspired and deeply moved, reminding us of the joy of inclusion and shared moments. As Preeti beautifully put it during her talk, “These children do not need anything in their environment to change. The only change that they need is in the mindset of people.”
In 2006, Preeti founded Silver Linings, and in 2017 launched Shiksha – a preparatory school and resource centre for children with vision impairment. Today, Silver Linings supports children like Mayank and Pallavi – who write their tests on laptops without the help of scribes. Pallavi wishes to study computer programming, while Mayank has a keen interest in political science.
Next, it was the children who took centre stage. They shared their names, sang songs, and recited poems with such joy that everyone joined in with laughter and applause.
A storytelling session by Priya Singh fro, the Picture Research team was followed by a clay-modelling activity. The children amazed everyone with their creativity – their beautiful clay creations left us thinking we couldn’t have done better ourselves.
Romi Chakraborty, Senior Managing Art Editor from the Children’s team, shared her journey at DK and what keeps her inspired. She encouraged each child to pursue their dreams and follow whatever motivates them. The children were then given a tour of the office and shown how work unfolds day to day. A sumptuous lunch and cold beverages followed, and boxes of chocolates were handed out. The children waved goodbye, bringing the visit to a close.
The visit left us inspired and deeply moved, reminding us of the joy of inclusion and shared moments. As Preeti beautifully put it during her talk, “These children do not need anything in their environment to change. The only change that they need is in the mindset of people.”
Abhijit Dutta
Project Editor, Knowledge