<p>Sona Devi believes there is not much to gather from victory. But there is a lot to learn from defeat.</p>
<p>The homemaker from Mohani Tola is an unassuming yet straightforward character. In the 70 years of her life, she has seen a lot of ups and downs. Poverty remains one of the most debilitating factors in her life and illiteracy one of her greatest regrets.</p>
<p>Her sensibilities have reflected she is a woman of substance, somebody who is ahead of her time.</p>
<p>Despite being a housewife, she has never let anybody treat her like a doormat. She has defined empowerment in her way. She has always been keen to learn things. She has always questioned gender stereotypes. She has always believed in seeing things from a different perspective. She has always been strong-willed and levelheaded. She has always found in living life on the edge.</p>
<p>When she realised she was suffering from two types of impairment, she made a promise to herself. That, she would not let it impact her life and not allow it to hold her back.</p>
<p>The hearing problem persists for seven years. The partial blindness has been there for the last two years. The latter has been a little more ruthless because she hadn't seen her son's face in last 2 years. Terrible finances further worsen this. Age behaves relentlessly. Health is not her best friend either.</p>
<p>Luckily, the hearing or visual impairment hasn&rsquo;t kept Sona Devi from being hopeful.</p>
<p>She has shown immense strength in the face of adversity. She sees trouble as a tool for self-discovery.</p>
<p>She believes this phase has given her time to introspect. She practices resilience in daily life by not letting anything pull down her spirits.</p>
<p>And her strength and resilience have finally paid off. Although the hearing problem could not be fixed, her vision was restored. We did it at our Mastichak hospital in Saran. She was not aware of Akhand Jyoti before this. A chance advertisement helped her meet us and post which, she set her journey towards a &lsquo;brighter&rsquo; life and met our dedicated team who provided free of cost surgery to her.</p>
<p>All this while, she knew giving up was not an option. And this is what kept her going until she regained her sight.</p>
<p>Her family&rsquo;s support contributed to her recovery as well. They stood by her. They took good care of her. They ensured she had the proper rest so that she could recover at the earliest.</p>
<p>Now Sona Devi is stronger than ever, exhibiting exceptional courage.</p>
<p>She is immensely thankful to all those who have helped her to stand back on her feet.</p>
<p>She wants to help others to the best of her ability. She wants to do something that will benefit the people around her. She wants to spread life-promoting values to those who have given up on life.</p>
<p>This is how she thinks she can win the game of life before her time is up. She has also promised to come back to Akhand Jyoti to get her other eye operated to have clear sight from both her eyes.</p>