Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 02, 2014 News
– visually impaired girl reveals why
By Sharmain Grainger
It was Robert M. Hensel who thoughtfully expressed “know me for my abilities, not my disability.”
This was in spite of the fact that Hensel was born with spina bifida or spilt spine which simply means that the spinal cord is underdeveloped resulting in tremendous limitations.
But because he was determined to overcome the debilitating condition, Hensel strove to prove to the world that “I don’t have a disability, I have a different-ability” when he claimed the Guinness World Record for the longest non-stop ‘wheelie’ in a wheelchair covering a total distance of 6.178 miles.
And there are many other differently-able people in the world today who are particularly keen on showcasing their abilities rather than their disabilities. Some of these individuals have had achievements in this regard that are on par, if not better, than the so-called ‘able’ people. One such person is 19-year-old Rosemarie Ramitt.
While she was not born with a disability, by the time she reached her teenage years she was classified as differently-able. Though it developed over a period of time, by the time she reached the age of 13, Ramitt was visually impaired, so much so that she was forced to leave the mainstream school. This was particularly difficult, not only for the developing lass, but her family too, as she was even then an excellent performer.
But this did not stop Ramitt from becoming one of the few differently-able young people from achieving an academic dream that some might have thought impossible. With immense support she was able to go on to write five subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) May/June examination earlier this year.
When the results were unveiled, Ramitt secured Grade Ones in all five subjects she wrote – English A, Office Administration, Principles of Business, Social Studies, Human and Social Biology. Her studies were conducted through the Guyana Society for the Blind, a programme that was implemented through very close collaboration with Ministry of Education.
But it was no simple task to learn as a visually impaired person, said Ramitt, as she vividly recalled life before developing her disability.
During an interview, she remembered growing up with her parents and siblings in busy Georgetown and attending St Agnes Primary School where she wrote the Common Entrance Examination. However by this time her family decided to move to the East Coast of Demerara, which saw her being allowed to attend Annandale Secondary. And it was while she was in second form that something
that was then difficult to explain started to occur.
“For some reason I started getting these terrible headaches…I remember getting them for about a week and I just couldn’t take it; even the sun was too much for me and I would cry because of these headaches,” recalled the soft spoken Ramitt.
Before long her eyes started to turn red. Nevertheless, she, along with her family members, was convinced that it was merely a passing phase of her life. They however were all especially worried when the next phase turned out to be the deterioration of her vision.
“It deteriorated so fast that within a week from not being able to make out faces it went to not being able to see in a book inches from my face,” related Ramitt.
It was then that her parents, Regan and Sonia Ramitt, made the informed decision to remove her from school. Hospital visits were abundant as her mother made efforts to ascertain what could have been the possible reason for the rapid deterioration of her daughter’s vision. Ramitt was eventually diagnosed with Uveitis (characterised by inflammation at the back of the eyes). Although she was told that a cure was available for the condition there was also the caution that 100 per cent vision was not likely to return.
After four years of trying and testing all the possible treatments at various hospitals both locally and abroad, Ramitt was still visually impaired.
The only visual ability she retained was the awareness of bright lights which did nothing but caused her headaches.
“Trying to get my vision back was really a waste of time…four years had gone by and I missed school so much; I hadn’t done anything with my life and everything was just going by,” were some of the thoughts that overwhelmed the teenager.
There was no way she was going to be accepted into a “normal” school. However, as fate would have it her father would one day happen upon a leaflet detailing the work of the Guyana Society for the Blind. And soon Ramitt, at the age of 16, was being enrolled into the organisation. She was able to find herself again; even completing computer training programmes designed especially for the visually impaired.
But adapting to the way of life of the visually impaired was still not easy to come to terms with, said Ramitt as she disclosed that while she never complained about the condition she developed “I did ask God why…It was really hard at first and I didn’t even realise how much it was affecting me until I met Ganesh Singh.”
Singh, the coordinator of the CSEC programme at the Guyana Society for the Blind, was the one who was able to impress upon Ramitt that there was much more she could do in order to be a victor and not a victim of her condition.
“He would tell me about all the things I should be doing and I would say no way I can do that….and then he told me I hadn’t fully moved on because of the things I wasn’t doing,” Ramitt recalled.
It was after about a year at the Society that Singh was able to fully assess Ramitt’s performance and then informed her that she had a good ability to memorise things. In fact he was the one, she remembered, who encouraged her to participate in the examination.
She recalled that there was a great deal of fanfare at the start of the programme as it was the first of its kind to be introduced. Preparing for the examination was not without its own challenge, but there was much forthcoming support, Ramitt disclosed.
“We use to study and study and like the more we study the more we felt we didn’t know. We were like a family…working together the whole time,” said Ramitt of her colleagues at the Society.
And according to her, she was especially elated when she got the news of her performance. “When I heard I screamed in disbelief…I was home and Ganesh (Singh) called me and gave me the news…I was not sure that was possible; I knew I would do well, but not so well,” she related as a smile formed on her face.
She credits her success to God, her parents, particularly her mother who “stayed up with me to read past examination papers” and of course the folks at the Guyana Society for the Blind. “They really helped me….so I’m not seeing this success as my success, it is for others; to inspire other persons that they too can do whatever they set their minds to, regardless of what challenges they might have.”
And since she is convinced that she has a lot to offer, Ramitt has since enrolled at the Cyril Potter College of Education to become a trained teacher. She is currently undertaking the secondary programme, with English as her major and Science as her minor.
She already has plans to continue her studies at the University of Guyana.
Ramitt was earlier this week duly honoured among the top performers of the country. In fact she stood alone in a top performing category, that of ‘Outstanding Performance by a Special Needs Candidate’ during an auspicious ceremony on Thursday last at the National Cultural Centre.
Her performance was highlighted by Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, during a ceremony to honour the top performers. The Minister in lauding the various standouts noted that “I want to specifically recognise Rosemarie Ramitt who, for me, epitomises the Guyanese spirit and who, for me, says when a Government cares and invests in its people what the possibility are.”
Minister Manickchand disclosed that the investment was characterised by the implementing of a small (CSEC) class for the visually impaired through the Government’s One Laptop per Family programme. And the outcome was exceptional, as according to the Education Minister within nine short months those who participated were prepared to write the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations.
“This is something that has never happened before and this was the largest group of persons with vision impairment to have written exams in the Caribbean, and Rosemarie Ramitt (because of her performance) epitomises the spirit of Guyana and what Guyana is capable of, by getting five Grade Ones,” the Minister proudly announced .
The disclosure was one that prompted a bout of resounding applause from the audience witnessing the ceremony.
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