Bhubaneswar: Teachers can truly inspire students. A teacher is no less than an angel who gives wings to her pupils and shows them the right ways. And when it comes to educating visually impaired children and making them play football, cricket and chess, many of us find it an impossible task.
“The word impossible is found in the dictionary of fools,” said Napoleon Bonaparte, the great military general. Bhubaneswar-based Trilochan Beura feels the same. Else, he could not have made blind children see dreams and achieve them in the Napoleonic sense.
It won’t be wrong to say that Trilochan has dedicated his life for the well-being of visually-impaired youths. He has truly redefined life for children with disabilities. He is a coach to the state cricket team for the visually-impaired, the state football team for the visually-impaired and the state chess team for the same. That’s not all. He is an itinerant teacher who travels to provide services to students with disabilities. Instead of functioning as traditional classroom teachers, itinerants visit children to educate them.
Ommcom News meets this benevolent teacher to know his journey as a successful teacher to blind children.
Trilochan who belongs to Daruthenga village does not teach sports or education to the visually impaired for the sake of money. Rather it gives him immense pleasure and peace.
“I am passionate about teaching blind children and imparting sports training to them. I run a variety store to look after my family. Whatever I am doing for blind youths and children, it is for my own peace. I get a good night’s sleep after spending quality hours with such kids.”
When asked what draws him to extend helping hands to differently-abled kids, he said “We live in a society sadly where blind children are looked down upon for their vision loss. When all they need is a better understanding and a little bit of sensitivity, our society hates them. We have to realise that these youths are special for a reason and we should understand their true potential. My own brother is a physically-handicapped person. Many a times I have noticed my relatives getting impatient with him as he takes time to catch up things. I also see them getting irritated with Roshan (name changed) at his behaviour. I really felt bad about it. It made me think about the plight of other persons with disabilities and I decided to stand by these people to make them lead a dignified life. After completing my graduation, I joined the National Association for the Blind to make the specially-abled person competent in their chosen fields.”
He continues: “I started my career as an itinerant teacher. I spend time with visually impaired children in their homes to prepare them for primary school education. I provide tutoring in pre-Braille skills and daily living skills. Initially, it was a little tough for me to teach visually impaired kids. The determination to work for them made things easier for me. I travelled to some areas of Barang block and taught as many as 100 students so far as a special educator. I am still carrying on the job.”
How did you become a coach to the visually-impaired teams for the blind and football? To this question, Trilochan responded, “I discovered that blind children could not see sports but they love sports very much. When I came to know from my friend that cricket and football matches are being held for them, I showed interest in going for a training programme to boost my skills as a coach to train them. Besides, I love sports from my early childhood and have won many medals in different categories. For a sportsman like me, it was a golden opportunity to try my hand at sports. I led the cricket team which won the East Zone Blind Cricket tournament held in Kolkata in 2016. Under my tutelage, the cricket team won the runners-up trophy in the National Blind Cricket tournament held in Chandigarh in 2017.”
About his role as a football coach for the blind, Trilochan said, “Being a coach for the Blind Cricket Association, Odisha and Football Federation for Blind, Odisha is a matter of pride for me. Though both the games are completely different from each other, they have one thing in common. They help boost the morale of differently-abled youths. When it comes to football, players are taught to concentrate on the sound of the ball. They are guided by the voices of other players as they pass the ball. The crowd is encouraged to stay silent so that players are not hampered in communication.”
Since 2014, he has been imparting cricket and football training to such kids.
He further says “Coaches play an important role in blind football matches. A coach stands behind the attacking goal, directing the forward players; another coach stands on the sideline and instructs the midfield players, while the sighted goalkeeper helps organise the defence. During a penalty, the coach at the attacking goal taps both the vertical posts and crossbar, so that the player knows where to place the penalty strike.”
Trilochan has trained many visually-impaired youths to participate in the national-level chess competition for the blind. Sudhir Kumar Nayak, Subash Das and Siddhant Nayak have brought laurels to the state after winning medals in national levels and they give credit to Trilochan.
Several visually-impaired youths are able to carve a niche in national-level sports thanks to Trilochan.
Bapina Nayak, Pankaj Mangraj, Dinabandhu Majhi, Prafulla Das and Kisan Mallick are known faces in blind sports because of Trilochan.
That apart, Trilochan does social service in his free time. He helps the missing persons find out their families.
On asking about his inspiration, he says, “I am inspired by social activist Sushant Sahoo. I owe my success to him whose yeoman service inspired me to work for the differently-abled.”
By Rashmi Rekha Das
