Help Shavane a Blind Entrepreneur to Achieve his Goal

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. -Helen Keller

born January 1988, Shavane Daley came as a gift to his parents. When his mother received this her boy child that said day she felt a grand shower of blessings bestowed over her life. As little Shavane grew into a toddler he continued to amaze and cheer up the hearts of his family and he too would be happy to see their faces smiling back at him. However, by the time he got to age three, his family observed that he had great difficulties seeing. He could be seen going close up to objects to get a better view. This bothered his family, and they then decided to take him to an eye specialist. After tests were completed little Shavane Daley was diagnosed with cataract. And from that day he has been in and out of the hospital since. The doctor recommended correctional glasses from such early stage in his life with the hope to prevent further deterioration of his eyesight. However, as he change glasses and his tests increases so too did the family’s expenses.

As Shavane gets older, the doctor decided to try laser surgery to clear the cataract. This made it a lot worst for Shavane as he was not able to see as clear as before. The doctor decided to schedule him for a major surgery with the attempt to correct the issue however this was not successful. A family friend along with his mother took Shavane to Trinidad to examine the condition of his eye. At that point, the specialist pronounced that 80% of Shavane’s retina was damage and he was referred to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. The family friend and the doctor went ahead to make an appointment and Shavane was schedule for the following week. The following week when he arrived at the eye specialist in Miami and was examined the specialist informed the family that 80% of the retina was damaged, however they still went ahead to try another surgery to see if they would have any success. At the end of this third surgery, Shavane was informed once again that it was not successful.

By age fourteen Shavane was totally blind. His mother and family friends tried a lot but none was successful. Shavane was angry, depressed, discouraged and most of all withdrew himself from everything and everyone around him. But as the years increased he built himself with the help of reality as his motivator. By age fifteen he started to do his own self-evaluation and suggest to his mother that he would love to complete school and see what he can make of himself amidst the odds. She was skeptical of this idea, however she saw what he realized of himself and she sent him to continue his studies at the Salvation Army School for the Blind.

At school, Shavane’s grades were exceptional and with the necessary hard work needed such as striking STRAIGHT A’s in his eight subjects, he was granted the opportunity to be transferred to the Jamaica College secondary school. At Jamaica College Shavane got better and better, academically and psychologically. He was deemed top performer for specific subjects on numerous occasions in his class and a few times he was deemed top performer for a particular for the entire grade.

Shavane’s work of excellence was present straight up to university and today he stands with a Bachelors degree in Psychology and Entertainment and Cultural Enterprise Management and a Master of arts degree in Cultural Studies. Since his graduation he has been battling with the curse of discrimination against his blindness which has resulted in him being unemployed.

Nevertheless Shavane strive for excellence, his dream is to operate his own business. Since June 2013 he has been the creator and host or his radio program the ‘Entertainment Trail Show’ that is aired on Jamaican radio station Newstalk 93fm. Though it has been almost four years now it is a volunteer opportunity, however he is grateful for the opportunity, which helps him to remain sane seeing employment is so hard to get.

I would love to reach out to all his family, friends, well wishers and all our brothers and sisters across the world, because when you see someone as this given in his situation, yet he is choosing to rise above it all, we should see the need to respect him and support him.

Shavane has a business plan with the hope when successfully executed he will be able to provide income for himself, his mother who dedicate 29 years of her own life to support him, and other persons with disabilities who are jobless and on the verge of giving up. Please take a look at his business proposal below and help me support this cause.

“Company Overview

Vision Statement

Creating opportunities for persons in the entertainment, arts and cultural industry to be treated fairly and their craft valued, monetized and marketed to full capacity while we aim to be recognized as the most reputable Cultural Enterprise and Artist Management Company.

Mission Statement

To harness the power of creativity to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of our clients’ sales and marketing objectives.

Motto:

Together, we will achieve the goal you seek.

Company Description

Our business focuses primarily on the Entertainment and Media industry, however to launch the business to the public we would like to focus on a area that is critical to the success of Caribbean authors to have their books in audio format. This would cater mainly for blind and visual impaired readers, those who are not able to read and those avid readers who do not have the time to take up the hard copy will now have access to an audio copy that they can listen to while on the go.

We will be working with experienced actors and media personalities who are versed in the area of voice presentation as well as speaking in various dialect to create that Caribbean cultural experience.

Areas of focus

Working along with the Ministry of Education in CARICOM we are looking to creating an online academy audio library for the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) and Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examination (CAPE) which would give blind and visual impaired students a greater chance to matriculate to university. These persons will gain a bit more independence from the need to have someone read to them, as they will now be able to do this at their own time and more frequently by the click of a button.

We are looking to provide audio versions of both fiction and nonfiction novels from Caribbean authors to suit children, teenagers and adults and for those who have great affinity for our Caribbean work.

Shavane is soliciting your assistant to raise 30,000 USD to help as start-up capital. He is hoping to lease or rent a building and use the remaining balance to cover expenses such as studio equipment and promotion of the business. Every dollar counts, thus, I implore you to donate whatever you are able to give and share this cause with your family and friends so that together we can make a big difference for persons with disabilities in Jamaica.