Take a sneak peek into the days of September at BRA.
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Felicitation ceremony for the champion! 27 Sept, 2018
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The Arjuna awardee Ankur Dhama was the star of the day, surrounded with bouquets of roses and flashes of camera lights. 27 September was a day of celebration as Ankur was being felicitated by IBSA and USHA.
Ankur Dhama along with the squad of the visually impaired athletes participating in the Asian Para Games, Jakarta received kits sponsored by USHA International at the Felicitation Ceremony held at the Blind Relief Association.
Ankur Dhama, an alumnus of JPM Senior Secondary School belonging to the 2013 batch, was nurtured by IBSA since his school days. Ankur was the first totally blind (B1) para-athlete to represent India at the Rio Paralympics in 2016. On 25 September, Ankur Dhama
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was honoured with the Arjuna Award by the President of India, Shri. Ram Nath Govind at Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
Ms. Radhika Bharat Ram, Chairperson of IBSA, along with Ms. Benu Nath, Mr. KC Pande and Ms. Komal Mehra, USHA International presented the 8 athletes, the guide runners and the coach Dr. Satyapal Singh with sports kits.
Along with Ankur Dhama, the seven athletes are Ramkaran Singh, Anvil Kumar, Ramanjee, Munna Kumar, Sumit Kumar, Sonu Singh and the lone female athlete Nidhi Mishra. Mr. Dilip Singh, Project Officer (Teams), Sports Authority of India and Mr. Giriraj Singh, Chairman Para-athletics, Paralympic Committee of India graced the occasion.
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Mentoring meets the vocational trainees at BRA Sept 1, 2018
HSBC Mentorship Program
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Seated inside the Gandhi Hall at BRA, the volunteer-mentors from HSBC experienced an eye-opening day as they met and interacted with their mentees from BRA’s vocational training center. It was the launching of HSBC mentorship program held on September 1, 2018.
In the first of its kind, the HSBC mentorship program was initiated by Youth4Jobs and BRA with HSBC as a partner. The program is a pilot initiative to mentor the trainees at BRA’s vocational training center in six one-to-one interactions spread over a course of three months.
At the inaugural ceremony, the gathering consisted of 35 volunteers from HSBC, equivalent number of trainees from the vocational training center at BRA and representatives from HSBC, Youth4Jobs and BRA.
As a part of the orientation programme, Mr. David Absalom, Dy. Executive Secretary (Operations) introduced the mentors to a thought-provoking exercise. The mentors were blindfolded and asked
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to find their way to the doors of the hall and back. With fear in every step and arms spread straight, the mentors crisscrossed across the hall. In the second half of the exercise, the blindfolded mentors were led by the visually impaired trainees this time, to different destinations within the campus. In sharing their experiences, Mr. Deepak Kumar, a mentor from HSBC said, “I am really surprised by the whole thing. I couldn’t match to Praveen’s (his mentee) energy. I can’t believe the level of confidence and speed found in these people.”
The next hour was spent on a one-to-one session by the mentor-mentee. After the session the mentors joined the mentees for lunch at BRA’s dining hall. Describing his first such experience, trainee Deepak Meena said, “It was a useful session. My mentor gave many suggestions on developing my career goal. He was very friendly, we exchanged numbers and he said that I can call him anytime.”
The second and third session of the mentoring program was held on 15 & 29 September respectively.
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Janmashtami Celebrations or Alumni Reunion? 2 & 3 Sept, 2018
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The chants of the Ramcharitmanas started sounding from the Gandhi Hall in BRA at 8.30 PM on 2 September and it didn’t end until the clock could strike 12 the next night.
It was the Janmashtami Celebrations at BRA and if one would walk into the campus on these two days, there are high chances you mistake the celebrations to be an alumni reunion.
Readers in groups took turns in reading the Manas enthusiastically from their Braille copies. The prasad was prepared and packed by the students and distributed to all. The former students of JPM Senior Secondary School, trainees from the vocational training centre, few
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with their families visited the school despite the rains to meet their old friends and batch-mates like they gather every year and exchanged love & greetings on Janmashtami.
Groups circled up in each corner of the hall, classrooms and the dining hall, chatting and enjoying every moment of their visit. The old students also played cricket with the current boys of JPM School.
“Generally there is a lot of hustle, bustle in other events and we do not get the chance to chat leisurely unlike this day and that’s why this day is very special to us,” said Rajesh Kumar, a former student belonging to the 2005 batch.
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On your computers, get set, go! 4 Sept, 2018
New batch - Diploma in Computer Education
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Designed as a pilot project in 2014-15, the Computer Training Center at BRA has seen its 5th batch in Diploma in Computer Education (V.I), this year. The new batch consisting of 20 trainees, including 9 sighted started their academic year on 4 September, 2018. After a brief introduction about the association and its activities by Mr. K.C. Pande, Hony. Executive Secretary, the new students interacted with the officials and geared up for the new year ahead.
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The admission process included an online aptitude test conducted by Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). Interestingly, this batch consists of the largest number of sighted trainees so far, while the previous batch (2017-18) contained no sighted trainees at all. In addition to the computer training provided, the trainees also learn the basics of Braille and special education. The 11 visually impaired trainees are provided boarding facilities in BRA.
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To every Annie Sullivan of today 5 Sept, 2018
Teachers' Day
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It’s hard to imagine, and seems almost impossible to make a deaf and blind girl understand how the world looked like and how words sounded like. But a teacher's perseverance knew no bounds. It took Helen Keller, a miracle worker - Annie Sullivan to make her realize and show the world what she was capable of.
In honoring every teacher, trainer and coach, Teachers’ Day was a daylong celebration at BRA. The students of JPM Senior Secondary School, trainees from the vocational training center and the students of Durgabai Deskmukh College of Special Education organized celebrations for their respective teachers and trainers.
At JPM Senior Secondary School, students of class IX, X, XI, XII played teachers in the morning hours. The students prepared
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lessons for the junior classes and took the role of a teacher. In the afternoon, a cultural program was arranged for the teachers where the students performed songs with musical instruments and delivered speeches. A former student of the student, Mr. Inder Singh was invited as the chief guest of the occasion.
While the kids were celebrating, the vocational trainees organized a celebration for their trainers with music performances and a cake. They also presented a wall clock for the center. Students of Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education also arranged a celebration and expressed their gratitude towards the teachers.
With lot of love from all the students, it was a memorable day for the teachers.
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Digital Literacy Workshop. 6 Sept, 2018
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The Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education hosted a digital literacy workshop on using mobile apps for persons with visual impairment conducted by the National Association for the Blind on 6 September in BRA. Mr. R. M. Sanjeevi, Executive Director NAB, Mrs. Sangeeta Asst. Manager, Technology
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Development, NAB along with their technical team was present at the one-day workshop.
Usage of mobile apps such as Eye-D, Daisy Book, Uber-Aid, BHIM app, Money app, PayTM were explained to the teacher trainees. “Many of us in the class found the workshop useful. Though few of us are familiar with the apps, it was a first time experience for many new users,” said Shyam Kishore, a trainee who attended the workshop.
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Delhi, Go Greener! 8 Sept, 2018
Mega Tree Plantation Drive
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As Delhi tries to get greener and save itself from the chocking pollution, a mega plantation drive was launched in Delhi on 8 September by the Delhi government. BRA joined the drive by planting saplings within its campus at Lal Bahadur Shashtri Marg, New Delhi.
As different units within the same premises, the students of JPM Senior Secondary School planted saplings with the principal Mr. KJ Kuriyan. The trainees from the vocational training center didn’t miss out on the plantation drive either.
A CSR team from Ernst & Young, Gurgaon also planted a tree in the campus along
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with the trainees. The team consisting of 25 members visited BRA and spent the day working at the vocational training center. The colleagues enjoyed learning to make candles, paper bags and diya decorations.
The team also interacted with the trainees and extended their hands in serving lunch for the students and trainees in BRA’s dining hall. Recording their experience, one of the team members Mr. Ram Sachdeva said, “It is indeed a very good experience to visit the Blind Relief Association and all the volunteers are happy to be associated with such a good initiative.”
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Vision 2020 10-15 Sept, 2018
USHA Northern Region Coaching Camp for Female Athletes
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The tireless efforts of Indian Blind Sports Association has resulted in another big event, this time for the blind female athletes. In an attempt to encourage the participation of blind female athletes in national and international events, IBSA & USHA jointly launched ‘Vision 2020’, a campaign to attract and train a large number of female athletes in sports.
As a part of this campaign, IBSA organized ‘Northern Region Coaching Camp for Female Athletes’ in Delhi from 10 – 15 September 2018. 24 athletes from the northern region including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and J&K participated in the
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camp. The camp was held from 06.30 A.M. to 09.30 A.M. at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and from 04.30 P.M. to 06.30 P.M. at BRA. The morning session was conducted by Dr. Satyapal Singh (Dronacharya Awardee) and the evening session by Mr. G. Krishnan (Level II Official IPC).
On 14 September, the athletes met with Ms. Radhika Bharat Ram, the Chairperson of IBSA and shared their experiences at the coaching camp.
The athletes were provided food and accommodation free of charge at the Blind Relief Association.
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Anubhuti is Back! 13 Sept, 2018
JPM School Magazine Release
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The annual school magazine of JPM Senior Secondary School ‘Anubhuti’ for the academic year 2017-18 was released on 13 September by the Hony. Executive Secretary, BRA Mr. KC Pande in the school assembly. The magazine is available here
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Jingle Bells Ringing 15 Sept, 2018
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The JPM School boys couldn't help but dance! The Saturday afternoon at the Gandhi Hall was lit up by Jingle Bells, a musical troupe from Delhi. The volunteers performed for the JPM school students, trainees and staff of BRA. The school boys sang few numbers as well.
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