Disabilities ‘can be surmounted,’ says blind preacher

Bahrain – Physical disability need not handicap anyone in serving the community, said Evangelist C J Manuel, a blind preacher who visited Bahrain recently.

Hailing from Kundara, Kerala, the evangelist, who was born blind, said that he was able to learn by heart hundreds of verses from the Bible and many other books, with the help of family members and friends.
“Now, I am conducting regular classes and preaching sessions in India and abroad,” he disclosed during a recent interview.

Mr. Manuel was in Bahrain at the invitation of the Church of God (Full Gospel).

Mr Manuel, who has a wife and three children, said that his disability was not a handicap for his self–development and his plans to serve the community.

“I want to tell the world that with strong faith in God, you can overcome all disabilities and integrate into the mainstream of the society,” he said.

“Though I am blind, I have been traveling in and outside India for several years,” he exclaimed.

“I think about the plight of other people who are going through the hardships of life and thank God for giving me the grace to reach out to people with good news.”

Mr. Manuel has set up the Calvary Bible Institute and a musical group called Voice of Grace in Kerala in 1981.