A motivational speaker, trauma counsellor, aerobics instructor, author and a disability advocate, Preeti Monga, founder and CEO, Silver Linings Foundation, straddles several roles.

The 59-year-old has not let blindness be a deterrent to her way of seeing life, which is always through the prism of positivity. “I am a positive person and my mission is to motivate others, the disabled and the non-disabled, so that they see the adventure of life.”

Monga’s organisation runs with the slogan, ‘Dream It, Do It’ and offers clients a host of services that are empowering for individuals. Her personal development programmes deal with vital topics such as life skills, gender sensitisation, maximising potential, fitness, inclusion and diversity. Her audience varies from corporate employees to people with disabilities. If you Google her name, videos of her talks, including TEDx at Amity University, will surface.

But Monga’s commitment goes beyond organisations. She seeks out individuals with visual impairment struggling to enter the mainstream of life. Focussing more on blind women and girls, the ‘Dignity’ project imparts them personal development skills, sexual rights information and employment opportunities.

Monga now runs two hostels for blind girls that serve as preparatory schools and resource centres. These support young girls from small towns to move into mainstream education. “We have one in Delhi and another small one in Hyderabad. Next month we are setting up a third one in Chandigarh,’’ she says.

Travel route to growth

The other project of Silver Linings gaining popularity is Fusion. Meant to bring disabled and non-disabled people to travel together, it plans trips to interesting destinations which are affordable and partly-sponsored.

For the non-disabled it is sometimes their first encounter with disability and they learn what equal opportunities mean on the ground.

For the disabled it is sometimes their first experience out of their homes. “Travelling is the best way for human development but sadly the visually impaired are nearly completely left out where travel is concerned. The environment is not friendly for them to travel with ease, also blind people often do not realise what they are missing,” Monga explains. She recalls Fusion’s first trip to Pangot, a bird sanctuary 15 km from Nainital in Uttaranchal where she played chaperone to nine visually impaired and three non-disabled persons. Since then there has been no turning back, with sponsors coming forward to help. Some of these trips have stories to tell. She recounts a blind client who touched some ancient weapon displayed at a city palace on one occasion. “. She said this was the first time she realised how a gun was shaped,” says Monga.

Away from the fun, Silver Lining facilitates and promotes cornea retrieval. As Director of Project Jyoti at Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital, in Delhi, Monga has worked to help reduce the numbers of corneal blindness, which is curable.

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