Tiffany Brar

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Tiffany Brar
Personal details
Born
Tiffany Maria Brar

Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Parent(s)Tej Pratap Singh Brar,
Leslie Brar
Alma materRamakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Coimbatore
OccupationFounder of Jyothirgamaya Foundation, Disability Rights Activist
ProfessionSocial worker, Special educator
Known forSocial activist, Motivational Speaker, Inclusion, Disability rights and Advocacy
AwardsNational Award from the President of India, Holman Prize

Tiffany Brar is an Indian community service worker, who became blind as an infant due to oxygen toxicity. She is the founder of the Jyothirgamaya Foundation, a non-profit organization[1] whose stated mission is to help blind people of all ages gain life skills. She is a social activist and trainer, working to create disability awareness. She is an advocate for building an inclusive society.[2]

Biography

"I envision a society without any physical or psychological barriers towards the blind – a barrier-free environment where the blind can walk freely, can travel, can work, think for themselves, and live proud and dignified lives like other citizens. Society thinks that we can only sing sweet songs, only become teachers and telephone operators in the bank. But we can do more. We can dance, we can fire juggle, we can do martial arts, we can become managers and directors of companies. But society is constantly interpreting what we can do and what we can't. This has to change very soon,"-

Tiffany Brar[3]

The only daughter of General T. P. S. Brar and Leslie Brar,[4] Tiffany Brar was born in Chennai, where her father was posted at the time, and grew up in Punjab.[5] She became blind six months after her birth[1][6] due to Terry Syndrome.[1] As the daughter of an Indian military officer,[6] Brar had the opportunity to travel widely. Because she was blind, verbal communication was very important and as a result, she became multilingual.[7] During her childhood, Brar learned to speak five Indian languages fluently.[6] She started her education in Great Britain while her father was posted there.[5][1] She then returned to India and studied in schools for the blind, in integrated schools, and in military schools which were not at all specialized for the blind.[6] After completing her primary education in Kerala, her father was transferred to Darjeeling, where she studied at the Mary Scott home for the blind.[6] As a blind person, she faced many challenges in school.[1] For instance, she was made to sit at the back of the class and at times was not allowed to answer questions. Her Braille notes either arrived too late or did not arrive at all.[1] She was sheltered and protected by her parents[8] and did not know how to venture out independently to take care of her own affairs until her early 20s. She relied on sighted people to take her to school, college, and other places. Because of this, Brar learned daily living skills very late in life.

Segregation and isolation by her classmates and being excluded from various events instilled in her an inner drive to change the situation of the blind in Kerala. Though North Indian by origin, Brar lives in Kerala. She reached first position in the CBSE board exam in 12th grade[5] in a school alongside sighted counterparts.

After completing school, she went on to complete her degree in English literature from the government women's college in Trivandrum in 2006.[6] After the completion of her degree in 2009, she started working for Braille without Borders as a telephone operator.[9][6] She traveled to various organizations where she came across many underprivileged blind people who were confined to their homes and lacked proper training.[6] During one trip she found that roads were not visually-impaired friendly, were slippery, or covered with stones. In some cases, she found that vision-impaired individuals stopped going outside as their societies were not supportive. This urged her to move forward and create her organization, the Jyothirgamaya Foundation.[1] The organization was founded on the idea that if children could not come out to attend school, the school could come to them.[1] Visually impaired children in Kerala are trained in Malayalam, the regional language, through text-recognition software, do not attend special schools, and are not trained in Braille or English. Through Jyothirgamaya, Brar plans to change the system.[9]

After working for two years, Brar pursued her B.Ed in special education (visual impairment) from Sree Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University in Coimbatore.[5] In July 2012, she began running the Jyothirgamaya (meaning "leading to light") mobile school for the blind. The idea for the organization came from a retired police officer from Tamil Nadu, N. Krishnaswamy, to help children constrained by poverty, disability or distance.[9]

In 2018, she was complimented by the Government of India for her efforts during floods in Wayanad. Despite being blind, she led from the front by collecting basic materials for relief camps.[10]

Brar now travels alone not only in Trivandrum, her place of residence, but also to other parts of the state and abroad.[11][12]

Career

Tiffany began her career as a receptionist in an organization, after that, she went to pursue her B.Ed in special education from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University which equipped her with the skills and zest to found the Jyothirgamaya Foundation in July 2012.[13] Research in Kerala found that even though blind children go to school and some blind adults are job holders, they do not have proper mobility and other skills required to assimilate into mainstream society. The reason behind this is that the blind are hidden within the four walls of their homes and are constantly made to believe that they cannot venture out alone and fend for themselves.[14][15]

One of the main reasons for setting up a mobile blind school[10] is that due to poverty, lack of awareness, and negligence on the part of parents and guardians, many blind people who are residing in the rural areas are unable to go to schools or training centers. Brar's concept behind a mobile blind school is that "If the blind cannot go to school then the school shall go to them."[16] She was inspired with this idea after her leadership training at Kanthari run by a German lady, Sabriye Tenberken and her Dutch partner, Paul Kronenberg at Vellayani.[4]

Tiffany has been running the Jyothirgamaya since 2012[8] and has trained many blind people in Braille, mobility, basic computer use, and other necessary life skills.[10] She has also recently initiated a pilot project, Road to Independence, which aims to conduct training camps in all districts of Kerala in order to reach out to the blind in large numbers. She is a artist, teacher and motivational speaker[17] and she conducts sensitization sessions for attitudinal change towards disability. She has served as an ambassador for the WWF Earth Hour campaign conducted in 2016 in India.[18] In the year 2020 she became the first Indian to receive Holman Prize from the LightHouse for the Blind, USA.[4] The award is given annually to three individuals for exploring the world and pushing their limits and twenty-nine-year-old Tiffany has been presented with $25, 000 (Rs 18.28 lakh) prize money to encourage her in ambitious ideas that will motivate her further to greater challenges and shatter misconceptions about blindness and visually challenged around the world.[4]

In the year 2019,she had opened a preparatory school/kindergarten in Thiruvanthapuram for visually-challenged children which was inaugurated by Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja and is also first-of-its-kind in Kerala.[19]

Activism

Tiffany Brar while protesting for accessible currency in Trivandrum,2018

On facing challenges as a girl with a disability, Tiffany was determined to make a difference in the lives of disabled colleagues. She founded her organization Jyothirgamaya Foundation which serves to empower and reintegrate the blind into mainstream society.[10] She gets out to create social change in her state. She believes that persons with disability should have equal rights and should be able to raise their voices to raise their opinions and live a dignified life.

She has given a talk before the Commissioner of Police about traffic rules and how insensitive drivers are while driving on the road towards persons with disabilities. She has had meetings with the governor of state, members of parliament and members of the Legislative Assembly on making and accessible environment in for persons with disabilities in India. She strongly advocates for accessible currency notes, accessible roads, women empowerment, and gender equality. With a group of other blind people, she protested in Trivandrum city to call for action for accessible currency notes. She goes on to raise awareness and advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities as enshrined in the United Nation convention for the rights of persons with disabilities and The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016. She was invited to Germany, Poland and Belgium for conducting sensitization programs.

"why don’t we root the positive in each and everyone’s life instead of searching the negatives in them”? Why don’t we love and accept others with their strengths and weakness? Why don’t we break the barriers and traditions that are followed blindly, which doesn’t help the community in which we are living? Why don’t we smile and acknowledge others at least for a second, which can cause a tremendous change in others lives?"~Tiffany Brar

Equal Adventure

Her blindness did not stop her from being adventurous. She wanted to enable the society to understand that blind people can travel alone, enjoy sports, recreational activities and adventure as equivalent to the sighted counterparts. She has broken the barriers laid down by a society which says that blind people can’t take a risk and can’t enjoy life equally. She did paragliding, skydiving, rope climbing, rope riding and tandem cycling.

Tiffy Template

Brar attending the screening of a documentary about social change makers around the world at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium in 2017

The Tiffy template, designed by and named after Brar and built by Bengaluru inventor Paul D'Souza, is a small template which identifies Indian currency notes to prevent blind people from being cheated by shopkeepers, auto drivers, and so on.[20][21]

Talk shows/Appearances in films

  • In 2017 Documentary film titled പ്രകാശം പരത്തുന്ന ഒരു പെണ്കുട്ടി ( 'A girl who emit radiance') based on Tiffany Brar's life story directed by A.V.Thampan won Kerala State Award for Best Documentary
  • In 2017 Talk Show Lal Salam (talk show) with Mohanlal
  • In 2018 India's Best Dramebaaz, where the participants enacted her life story, which has since inspired over 10 Million viewers

Awards

Tiffany Brar receiving National Award from the Honourable President of India, Dr.Ram Nath Kovind
  • In 2012, she received the Kerala State Award for Social Worker.
  • In 2015, she received the Women of the Year Award from Hope Trust.
  • In 2016, she received the For the Sake of Honour Award, Rotary International's highest award.
  • In 2016, she received the Prestigious Saarthak Naari Women Achievers Award
  • In 2017, she received the Bold and Beautiful Award from Doordarshan.
  • In 2017, she received the Sarojini Trilok Nath-National Best Role Model Award from National Association for the Blind
  • In 2017, she received the Age of Unknown Award by TEDx vazthacaud
  • In 2017, she received the National Award for being a 'Best role model' from the President of India[19]
  • In 2018, she received the Women of the Year Award from Job Day Foundation
  • In 2018, she received the Make A Difference Award from Rotary International
  • In 2018, she received the Women of Vision Kerala vanitha Rathna Award
  • In 2018, she received the Phoenix Award from Padma Shri Mammooty
  • In 2018, she received the Vocational Excellence Award from Rotary International
  • In 2018, she received the Real Hero Award by ZEE Tv from Vivek Oberoi, Omung Kumar and Huma Qureshi
  • In 2018, she received karma Rathna Award for Outstanding social worker from Palm International
  • In 2018, she received the Hellen Keller award from the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), awarded by Dr Sathya Pal Singh, Honorable Minister of State for Human Resource Development.[10]
  • In 2019, she received the Neelam Khurshid Kanga Award from the National Association for the Blind, awarded by John Abraham[22]
  • In 2019, she received the Wonder Woman Award for her Community service from Ladies Circle India.
  • In 2019, she received the Award for Excellence in social service from the Kochouseph Chittilappilly Foundation, awarded by Kochouseph Chittilappilly.
  • In 2019, she received Iconic women for making the world a better place Award from Women Economic Forum.
  • In 2019, she received World of Difference International Award from The International Alliance for Women, Australia
  • In 2019, she received The Spindle Award for Project Jyothirgamaya From Voice, Netherlands
  • In 2020, She received the Spirit Awards from World Pulse, USA.
  • In 2020, She received The Holman Prize[23] from the Lighthouse for the Blind, USA[4]
  • In 2021, She received Inspiring Woman Award from eiT NASSCOM

Recognition

Tiffany Brar with former president of India Dr.A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Tiffany's next, pre-school for visually impaired kids". Tribuneindia News Service. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  2. ↑ "Welcome to Jyothirgamaya Foundation! | Jyothirgamaya". www.jyothirgamayaindia.org. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Jyothirgamaya Foundation".
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Tiffany Brar bags Holman Prize 2020". The New Indian Express. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 George, Sanu (10 June 2019). "Visually challenged Tiffany Brar has big vision". thehansindia.com. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Krishnan, Madhuvanti S. (7 January 2016). "From darkness to light". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Dispelling Darkness- Jyothirgamaya Foundation's Tiffany Brar". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Koshy, Sneha Mary (5 September 2015). "Visually Impaired Teacher Helps Others See the World". NDTV.com.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Ramadurai, Charukesi (29 August 2013). "India's mobile school for blind students puts empowerment on the curriculum | Charukesi Ramadurai". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 "Tiffany Brar of Jyothirgamaya Foundation gets Mindtree Helen Keller Award". The New Indian Express. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  11. ↑ "From darkness to light". The Hindu. 7 January 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Tiffany Brar". YouTube. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "Behold a world unseen". The Hindu. 23 July 2012. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "They Say the Blind Should Not Lead the Blind. She Proves Them Wrong". The Better India. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  15. ↑ "Tiffany Brar, the blind woman who now lead other people through 'Jyothirgamaya' - MotivateMe.in". MotivateMe.in. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "A Star Named 'Tiffany'". The Citizen. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  17. ↑ "Dispelling Darkness- Jyothirgamaya Foundation's Tiffany Brar". The New Indian Express. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  18. ↑ "Interview Of The Week: Outshining The Darkness - Trivandrum News | Yentha.com". www.yentha.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "This 28-year-old woman plans to change lives of visually-challenged children of Trivandrum". The New Indian Express. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  20. ↑ "TIFFY TEMPLATE: NOW, NO CHEATING THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED!". Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  21. ↑ "Bengaluru man invents device to help the blind distinguish fake currency". Deccan Chronicle. 31 January 2017.
  22. ↑ Chandran, Cynthia (18 July 2019). "Thiruvananthapuram: Tiffany to start 'school' for visually challenged". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  23. ↑ "This Kerala-based visually-challenged activist vows to empower disabled". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  24. ↑ http://jyothirgamayaindia.org/content/president-calls-tiffany-courageous-daughter-india The courageous daughter of India

External links

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