A Jamshedpur-based visually challenged youth is busy “opening the eyes” of the people of Pune so that those who are disabled like him can get a better life.

Meet 23-year-old Abdul Razique Khan, a resident of Dhatkidih, Jamshedpur, whose efforts to make a difference in the lives of visually and physically challenged people and also the underprivileged in Pune, where he is pursuing MBA, have been greatly appreciated by one and all.

Abdul’s own story is one of arduous struggle — being a victim of Marfan syndrome, he completely lost his eyesight in 2003 despite prolonged treatment and several surgeries. But that did not stop him from continuing a normal life as he went on to complete Plus Two from DBMS English School (2007) and then pursued BBA from Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies (2011) followed by MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management — both in Pune.

Along with studies, he also carries out social projects for the needy and disabled. In fact, it was under his leadership that a funding programme for underprivileged children was introduced during his stint at Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies.

“I was made the head of the institute’s social club, Initiate, in 2010. I organised fund raising programmes for providing education to underprivileged kids for two years. After I passed out last year, the juniors took up the project,” said Abdul, who has come to his hometown for a two-month summer internship with Tata Sons as part of his MBA curriculum.

The youth’s stint at Tata Motors, where he was posted, ended on Wednesday. He will go back to Pune on June 19.

The 23-year-old’s social work did not end once he left Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies. In fact, he is credited with initiating a campaign in Pune for providing access to visually challenged children in educational and other prominent institutions.

“The campaign called Open Your Eyes was appreciated not only by those in Symbiosis, but also by the people of Pune. As part of it, we conducted accessibility study for the disabled at government and public educational institutions and urged the authorities to admit the differently abled under the Persons With Disability Act,” said Abdul.

He also started a forum, where visually challenged achievers can interact with the parents of others of their ilk. “The idea is to get inspiration and encouragement from those who have surmounted all odds to succeed in life,” said Abdul, who took help of writers to appear for examinations and uses screen reading software on his laptop.

He has also picked up the basics of braille at National Association of Blind, Jamshedpur.

Currently, Abdul is working on a project for Mumbai-based organisation Retina India, which aims at empowering the visually challenged through a social platform. “I cannot divulge much about the project, but it will certainly make life easy for people like me, irrespective of where they reside across the country,” he said.