Muhammad Reza Akbar, 31, was once an able person with his five senses fully functioning. It suddenly all changed about seven years ago when he was declared by a doctor completely blind after veins near his eyes ruptured.  

“I tried everything to make my eyes function normally again, but nothing worked,” Reza said recently.

After such a blow, he explained that he then suffered from a bout of depression for roughly four years. He was ashamed to socialize with people, even with his closest relatives, so he locked himself in his room for most of that time. Losing his eyesight made him feel that his life and future had also been taken away.

In 2014, he received information about the Mitra Netra (Blind Partner) Foundation, an organization that provides, among other things, training on how to use a computer for visually impaired people.

“In the end, my great desire to become technology-literate led me to become a student of the Mitra Netra Foundation.”

After learning how to use a computer for several years at the foundation located on Jl. Gunung Balong in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, Reza applied for a job at digital agency Teamwork and got it. He currently still works for the company.

“Slowly but surely I got my confidence back by joining Mitra Netra’s classes, and finally I also got a job [...] Being a blind person is not the end of the world,” Reza said Friday, adding that he also received counseling at the foundation, which was established in 1991 and had alumni numbering in the hundreds.

Separately, the foundation chairman’s, Bambang Basuki, told The Jakarta Post that the majority of the foundation’s students, which numbered about 80 this year, first received rehabilitation before being taught other material like on computers, math and the English language.

“In the rehabilitation process, the visually impaired will receive counseling from fellow visually impaired people, who are qualified counselors, such as education counseling graduates,” Bambang said over the phone.

He further explained that the process would boost the confidence of the blind to become independent and productive. Many of the foundation’s alumni had even excelled enough to become teachers, lecturers and
telemarketers.

The foundation has coordinated with several private lenders to empower blind people. Private lender Bank Niaga for example has supported 49 visually impaired people as of today, and has targeted to increase the number to 60 in March this year, Bambang said.

The foundation does not require its students to pay any fees if they are not able to. “The maximum they can to contribute for a single class is Rp 20,000 [US$1.50], or they can pay nothing at all.”

Two weeks ago, the foundation arranged a festival it annually holds for its students to perform, such as singing, playing musical instruments and performing drama-plays in English on a stage.

“Visually impaired kids need to get a chance to express themselves and show their abilities so that they can become confident,” Bambang said.

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