A forest of billboards, automobiles, manholes, holes, assistance that is constantly late, one bus card without an accompanying person, negligence and discrimination by the institutions are the everyday life of high school student and musician Viktor Toshevski, who was born with impaired vision.
With all the obstacles he comes across, he also faces the assistance of his mother, who is sacrificing her life in order to educate her two sons, who, unfortunately, share the same fate.
Music is Viktor’s life…
According to the words of his professor Damjan Temkov, Viktor is one of the best students in the class, who despite being different from the others, successfully achieves all the challenges and is making great progress.
“Everything can be achieved with practice and perseverance”, says Viktor, who in addition to playing the piano also plays percussion instruments.
Viktor has enormous support from his school, both from the professors and the students. But being a student with impaired vision demands much more.
His mother Lepa takes him to school, who has not been working for 13 years in order to enable her children everything the rest of the children are entitled to.
“Viktor received one bus card, like all the rest of the students. If they could only have given him one more for an accompanying person”, says Toshevska.
She says that even the assistance her son receives is not on time and is very small. “It has not been raised for a single denar for more than 15 years, and not to mention that it is always late”, says Toshevska revolted.
Toshevska as a mother is also revolted from the institutions and their attitude towards her and her son. A few months ago, in one of the banks, Viktor was no able to realize his right to own his own ATM card, because according to the employees there, he is illiterate.
“My son is blind, not illiterate! All those sitting in those chairs are illiterate!”, says Lepa distressed
Recently, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy announced personal assistants for persons like Viktor. But that does not solve this family’s problem. Toshevska, who has not been employed for more than 13 years, cannot be her son’s personal assistant. For that purpose, the state will engage a person who will be paid for the services, whereas she as a mother who has been performing the same duty for 13 years does not receive a single denar.
This post is also available in: Macedonian
