Visually-impaired Cub Scout loves sports, maths

Kiran Lall takes his oath as a Cub Scout very seriously.  -
Kiran Lall takes his oath as a Cub Scout very seriously. -

CHEQUANA WHEELER

Kiran Lall is not your average ten-year-old. In fact, he goes above and beyond in everything he does; the sky is definitely the limit for him!

Kiran is an active standard three student at Grant Memorial Presbyterian School in San Fernando. Being really friendly, he does not have a hard time making friends and he loves to help others.

Kiran was born with bilateral congenital cataract and involuntary eye movement. This makes his eyes look cloudy and he can’t see well through them. This makes it hard for the brain and eyes to work together to help him see properly and to control his eye movements.

But Kiran does not let this stop him from doing what he wants to do.

While he needs his notes to be in large print and he uses a magnifier to help him when he’s reading and writing, he’s always at the top of his class. His favourite subject is maths and he enjoys doing it.

When he’s not in school, he does many fun things, including swimming, hiking, playing goalball, and he’s even a Cub Scout. While he stopped swimming for a while, he’ll be back in the pool in August with St Anthony’s Fitness in Gasparillo.

But what exactly is goalball? Well, Kiran explained it as, “A sport designed for the blind and visually impaired. It is usually made up of two teams each consisting of three players. A ball with a bell in it is passed around to the players hand to hand and the task is to prevent the ball from getting in to the goal.”

Kiran Lall is proud of the badges he has earned as a Cub Scout. PHOTOS BY CHEQUANA WHEELER -

“Players are at a low level,” he said, “to control the ball better.”

“The bigger players can be a bit of an disadvantage, but it is still fun. Like for me, I can still see so I place a blindfold across my eyes.”

While he really likes golf ball, he loves the Cub Scouts. He’s been enrolled since 2017 with his school and has reached gold level. To get there he completed both bronze and silver level in the club where he learnt organisational skills, life and camping lessons and communication skills. He’s also made a lot of friends who help him navigate his surrounding if needed among other things.

What does he like about the club?

“I learn a lot of stuff about life and camping. I know now how to tie a knot and hike. I have been to Three Pool Waterfall because of the club and I look forward to many more (adventures).” He told us the Cub Scout motto: “A cub scout always does a good turn everyday.”

When Newsday Kids asked Kiran if he would encourage anyone to join the club, he said, “Well all my friends are in the club, but I will still tell others to join because it teaches good lessons and we get to go camping.”

He said the club teaches him many life lessons which he thinks will benefit others.

Kiran doesn’t know yet what his career would be but he he’s sure to be a success.

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