迪拜盲人男孩，现今奥巴马顾问

迪拜中文网

迪拜盲人男孩现今奥巴马顾问

34岁的 Sachin Dev Pavithran在美国获得了最好的工作。现住在沙迦的妈妈Suraja讲诉他儿子曾经在迪拜求学的日子。

幸福家庭: Sachin Dev Pavithran 与爱人Margaret, 姐姐Shoma, 姐夫 Renny John, standing,  Sachin’s 女儿Maya, 妈妈Suraja 和侄女 Nicole。

欣喜若狂： Suraja Pavithran 一个人在看她儿子Sachin Dev Pavithran与其他家庭成员的照片

迪拜：本月初，当美国总统奥巴马宣布了新的行政任命消息传出，住在沙迦的印度籍母亲无言表达她兴高采烈的心情。

有视觉障碍的34岁儿子Sachin Dev Pavithran挑战其它几个竞争者获得了白宫一项重要工作岗位。

曾经在迪拜求学的Sachin,被美国一个专门为残疾人士服务的独立机构任命为建筑和运输障碍董事会成员。

‘我们从来没有想过他能获得这么高的职位’，Suraja 她的声音因为激动而哽咽‘ 我希望我丈夫还活着，一起与我分享这份喜悦’。

回忆迪拜日子
回忆起当初，只有6岁的Sachin在医院被确诊为视网膜炎症，就是眼睛退化性疾病，视网膜变性，导致严重的视力障碍，经常盲目。住在 Kerala的Suraja说：“由于Sachin的视力恶化，她会花好几个小时帮儿子读课本与做笔记”。  “在那日子里，我想着孩子能考过多种考试”。他在去美国接受高等教育之前，在《海湾印度高中》读到10年级后，在《我们自己的英语高中》读完11年级-12年级。

Sachin母亲坚定决心和承诺教他怎么充分取代设施与技术的缺乏。 在Utah住处，Sachin与他爱人及三岁女儿通过电话接受XPRESS记者采访时说：“说实话，我之所以能获得现在的工作，主要原因是我母亲的意愿和决心，协助我读书，朗读所有课本，一直到我毕业，那些日子对残疾人士没有这样特别的住所”。

自从2011年以来，Sachin Pavithran一直担任美国Utah州州立大学中心主任，负责对残疾人辅助技术方案。在2002年，他加入此了中心，并自此担任多人职位，包括项目协调员与残疾政策分析师。因为个人兴趣和热情，他加入了为残疾人士研究政策领域。“我想即使我没有残疾，我也会做到我生命结束为止”。

回顾他的以往生活，Sachin说他一直跟着他的热情走。“迪拜留着我很多成长快乐。回忆最多的是我在我眼睛失明的时候对未来生活的困惑。但是，我已经非常清楚的做了什么是我该做的”。

Sachin 在迪拜银行就职的姐姐Shoma Renny John。支持她兄弟对生活的热爱。“盲目生活没有阻止他全部。他是一名空手道黑带，并且跟我一起练习技能。他甚至没有告诉我们，就脚上一跟冒险的条纹绑带去参加蹦极和跳伞运动”。

Sachin的家庭认为他生活的转折点是他决定搬去美国后之后。

Shoma说“当他与我们一起生活的时候，我们都试着过度的保护他，不停的告诫他提前采取措施，走路时哪里凹凸不平需要他跨步或者绕道，但是在美国，他有很多好朋友教他怎么样独自的独立生活”。

Sachin的妈妈说，“这些人不需要我们的同情，所有人想的是好的机会”。

正如总统奥巴马期待着“再今后几个月和几年使用这些特殊的人”一样，Suraja 迫不及待的要迎接他的儿子返回家中，做上他喜欢吃的tikka  paratha鸡。


翻译来自海湾新闻

迪拜中文网

Dubai: When US President Barack Obama announced new administrative appointments early this week, an Indian mother living in Sharjah was elated beyond words.
Suraja Pavithran’s visually-challenged son, Sachin Dev Pavithran, 34, was among the select few picked by the White House for an important job.
Sachin, who did his schooling in Dubai, has been appointed a member of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, an independent US agency devoted for people with disabilities..
“We never thought he would make it this big,” said Suraja, her voice choked with emotion. “I wish my husband was alive to share the joy.”
Uncertain days
Recalling the days when Sachin was struggling with his deteriorating eyesight, Suraja said she would spend hours reading out textbooks and notes to him.
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“At that time all I was thinking was that he should pass the Board exams,” Suraja from Kerala said.
When he was six years old Sachin was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosis, a degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment and often blindness. He studied at the Gulf Indian High School in Dubai till Grade 10 and completed his Grades 11 and 12 from Our Own English High School before relocating to the U.S for higher education.
What Sachin lacked in terms of facilities and technical support for his special needs, his mother’s sheer determination and commitment to teach him amply substituted. “To be honest, the main reason why I got where I am today is because of my mother’s willingness and determination to read aloud all my textbooks till I completed schooling. Those days, there was no special accommodation for the disabled,” Sachin told XPRESS over the phone from Utah where he lives with his wife and three-year-old daughter.
Pavithran is Programme Director of the Utah Assistive Technology Programme at the Utah State University’s Centre for Persons with Disabilities, a position he has held since 2011. He joined the centre in 2002, and has since served in several positions, including programme coordinator and disability policy analyst.
He said he took up the field of research and policy for the disabled because of his personal interest and passion.
“I would have pretty much ended up here even if I were not disabled,” he said.
Looking back at his life, Sachin says he has always followed his passion. “I had lots of fun growing up in Dubai. That is what I remember the most. There were times when I was confused and scared about my future because of my disability. But I have always done what I enjoy, and I am very clear about what I want to do,” Sachin said.
Sachin’s sister Shoma Renny John, who is a banker in Dubai, vouched for her brother’s zest for life. “There was no stopping him from living his life to the full. He is a black belt in karate and would practice his skills on me. He has an adventurous streak in him and he would go bungee jumping and sky diving without even telling us.”
A turning point in his life, Sachin’s family believes, was his decision to move to the US.
“We tend to get over-protective. When he used to walk with us, we kept cautioning him about steps ahead, a bump here or a post there. But in the US, he had some great friends who taught him to be independent and live life on his own terms,” said Shoma.
As Sachin’s mother said, “These people don’t need our sympathy. All they want are opportunities.”
And as President Obama is looking forward to “working with these dedicated individuals in the months and years to come”, Suraja cannot wait to welcome her son back home with his favourite chicken tikka and paratha.