When ‘darkness’ enveloped her, Kavya emerged much brighter

Visakhapatnam: When life knocks us down all of a sudden, it is natural to plunge into ‘darkness’, slip into depression and find solace in solitude.But Kavya Poornima Balajepalli decided not just to fight back by mustering immense strength from within but also convert adversity into a much more meaningful phase so that she could emerge much stronger to contribute to society.

When she lost vision during her final year of Architecture, she decided to accept her irreversible loss, face innumerable challenges with courage and confidence and view life through a different lens despite the darkness that haunted her for the rest of her life. “It was not easy when I was diagnosed with a rare condition known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), resulting in complete blindness. It is a rare neurological disorder where one out of a lakh suffers from. Back in 2017, it was the most challenging phase for me emotionally, physically and financially as my family had to cope with the sudden change,” Kavya recalls.

There were doubts, uncertainties and a lot of ‘what ifs’ lingering on as circumstances changed totally for her. However, the ‘dark’ phase gave her tonnes of courage, confidence and a positive attitude to turn her life-changing health issue into something more meaningful.

Today, her endeavour ‘Poornamidam’ that focuses on making public spaces easy and accessible for all sections of people, more so for persons with disabilities, brought laurels from various quarters. On the eve of Independence Day, Kavya received NCPEDP Mphasis Universal Design Awards 2024 in New Delhi for working towards universal accessibility in public spaces and integrating universal design in architecture curriculum. “Despite the sense of satisfaction my work brings, it also takes a mental toll. However, the appreciation and acknowledgment of my efforts through this award provide the much required boost, inspiring me to continue my work with renewed energy,” Kavya says after receiving the award. As life took an unexpected turn, Kavya had to go through multiple major surgeries, including spinal and brain shunts. Her condition resulted in mobility constraints along with blindness. It prompted her to reflect on various dimensions of inaccessibility that eventually increased the cost of living because of the disability and lack of accessibility in public spaces, transport, education, healthcare, digital avenues, etc. After going through a lot of setbacks, she completed her graduation in Architecture. “When I lost vision, there was not much support for the disabled to pursue what they wanted to. No means to look into to tide over the setbacks that the disabled are forced to go through. It eventually made me focus on inclusivity,” she reasons. While progress has been made from the enactment of India’s PWD Act of 1995 to the RPWD Act of 2016, Kavya opines, effective implementation of universal accessibility remains a significant challenge.

At present, Kavya is pursuing NCPEDP-Javed Abidi Fellowship on Disability. She has been extensively advocating universal accessibility in public spaces. Her contribution drew recognition at global platforms such as G20 India, Global Disability Youth Summit, etc.