A get-together of our staff on the first day of every year is a usual and regular event at the Blind Relief Association, however, the masks and social distancing made it look quite different this year. The trainees and the staff gathered for a time of chat & chai with Mr. Pande, Hony. Executive Secretary, Dr. Swati Sanyal, Course Director- Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education and Mr. David Absalom, Dy. Executive Secretary (Operations). Mr. Pande thanked all the staff for their dedicated work in the year gone by and shared the new year greetings with everyone.
World Braille Day
Remembering Louis Braille on the World Braille Day, Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education (V.I.), along with the Blind Relief Association organized a webinar on Braille on 4 January 2021 at 11:30 am. The webinar was attended by around 70 persons.Read more
Another Feather in the Cap!
The Blind Relief Association, Delhi was awarded the Mahatma Award for Social Good for the year 2020.The award was received by Mr. C. P. Mohanan and Mr. Rajpal at the ceremony held at the India International Centre on 30 January 2021. The Chief Guest of the event was Mr. Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister - Delhi and the Guests of Honour (joining online) were Mrs. Rajashree Birla, Chairperson, Aditya Birla Group Speech, and Mrs. Radhika Bharat Ram Jt. Vice Chairperson, The Shri Ram Schools.
Mahatma Award recognizes and celebrates impact leaders and change-makers across the globe, who are making a social impact and leading the way to a sustainable future. The award was hosted by the Liveweek Group and supported by Aditya Birla Group & Eternal Gandhi Initiative.
Seminar on Financial Literacy
As a part of the Financial Literacy Week celebrated by the RBI every year to promote financial inclusion and education, a seminar was organized by RBI at The Blind Relief Association on 9 February 2021. The seminar was addressed by a team of senior officers from RBI and other bank officials and attended by the students, trainees, and staff of the Association.
Followed by the Opening Remarks by Mr. M. K. Gupta, Head (F&A), sessions on five different topics were taken by bank officers as given below:
1. Financial Literacy & Financial Competencies; Credit Discipline - Mr. Sada Shiv, Financial
Inclusion & Development Department
2. Digital Banking - Mr. Atikur Rahman, Canara Bank & Mrs. Sunil Tanwar, Dept. of Payment & Settlement Systems, RBI
3. Features of Banknotes - Mr. Jan Tapa, Issue Dept., RBI
4. Initiatives for MSME’s - Mr. M R Shri Kanth, Financial Inclusion & Development Department
5. PMSSS for Divyang Participants - Mrs. Anita Rehlan, Financial Literacy Counselor, New Delhi
It is noteworthy to mention that Mr. Atikur Rahman working in Canara Bank is an alumnus of JPM Senior Secondary School.
Remembering the Founders
The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others - Gordon B. Hinckley
Sri Umesh Anand Basrurker, the founder of the Blind Relief Association was one such happy person who lived his life for the empowerment of the visually challenged. To remember and pay homage to the noble soul on his 62nd death anniversary, a Havan Ceremony was held at the Blind Relief Association on 19 February 2021. Hony. General Secretary, Smt. Benu Nath; Hony. Executive Secretary, Sri K.C.Pande; and Sri Sansari Lal Sharma, an alumnus of the JPM School and Retired Principal (Govt. School), were present among others gathered at the ceremony.
Hearty Congratulations!
Mr K. C. Pande, Hony. Executive Secretary of the Blind Relief Association was conferred the Decoration of the Order of the Sacred Treasurer, Gold and Silver Ray's by the Government of Japan.
This Imperial honour was awarded in recognizing Mr Pande's long and significant years of service and devotion to duty, and his efficient and consistent management of the Japanese language course offered at the Japan Information Center of the Embassy.
The medal and certificate were handed over to Mr Pande on 16 February 2021 at his residence by Mr Naoshige Aoshima, Counsellor, Embassy of Japan.
Biding Adieu
We were not able to bid adieu to a few of our fellow colleagues who retired/ resigned/ transferred from their services at the Blind Relief Association during the lockdown period. Therefore, a staff get-together was held on 26 February to honour them for their dedication to the Association for many years.
1. Smt. Alice Mathew (07 January 1981 - 30 April 2020) 2. Sri Ramashray Ram Vishwakarma (03 July 1981 - 31 March 2020)
3. Sri Chander Bhan Mishra (01 March 1995 - 30 June 2020)
4. Sri Ek Bahadur (22 December 1978 - 31 March 2020)
5. Sri Abdul (01 April 1983 - 30 September 2020)
6. Sri Rampal Singh (01 December 2003 - 31 March 2020)
7. Sri Bachu Singh (02 September 1983 - 27 January 2020) - Resigned
8. Sri Prem Chand (18 June 1982 - 31 January 2021)
9. Sri Davender Singh (11 April 1994 - 31 January 2021) 10. Sri Keshav Kumar Sampath (06 November 1987 - 31 December 2019)
11. Sri Arun Kumar Mishra (08 January 1992 - 30 April 2020)
12. Sri Ravinder Partap (17 July 1996 - 31 December 201) - Transferred
The Association would like to thank the staff for their sincerity and significant years of contribution. To view images, click here.
Giriraj, the Entrepreneur
When Giriraj Kishore came to the Blind Relief Association in 2019 to be a part of the Multi-Skill Training programme, neither he nor we had any idea of the entrepreneurial endeavors he was about to undertake.
Hailing from a small village called Baarahsani (District - Budaun) in Uttar Pradesh, as one of
the four siblings with no parents and the only visually challenged person in the family, Giriraj had undergone no formal education/ training before he came to B.R.A. Thankfully, by choosing to be a Multi-Skill trainee, Giriraj learned many skills and was also able to complete his Class X as a private candidate through the coaching sessions provided by the Association.
Of all the skills he picked up at B.R.A., the one that interested him the most was Candle-Making. After passing out in 2020, amidst the pandemic and the national lockdown, Giriraj was not ready to while away his time by sitting idle. He put his mind and hands to work by setting up a small-scale industry right at his home. As a one-man army, he began making candles, packing and selling them in his village. He also gifted some of his products to his teachers and mentors at the Blind Relief Association. "Rarely when I need help at work, I ask my neighbor kids to help, but otherwise I can manage things myself", Giriraj says. Giriraj is now back at B.R.A. to learn a few more techniques of product-finishing before he can make better candles. Not to mention that Giriraj stays alone in his house at Baarahsani and cooks his own food.
If you would like to contribute towards visually challenged persons like Giriraj establish their businesses, please write to Mr. David on desoperations@blindrelief.org or call on 9953494419.
Sessions with Trainees
Former Relaxation Massage trainees of the Blind Relief Association Mr Pritinan Mukhia and Mr Birkha Bahadur Kami working as masseurs with SRF Limited since 2016 and 2019 respectively, visited the Association on 13 February 2021 for an interactive session with the present Multi-Skill & Relaxation Massage trainees. The trainees were benefitted by getting to know the career experience of their seniors.
A session on Banking & Financial Awareness was held by Mr. Ramdas Shivhare, Asst. Manager - SBI, for the vocational trainees on 13 March 2021. In this hour-long interactive session, Mr. Shivhare detailed basic banking operations, digital banking, and the rights of visually challenged persons in availing banking services. Mr. Shivhare is an alumnus of JPM Senior Secondary School for the Blind.
An Employment Registration Camp was held at the Blind Relief Association on 17 March 2021 for enrollment of the trainees with the Vocation Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped, Karkardooma. 31 vocational trainees of the Association participated in this camp.
Mr. Rakesh Aggarwal, Chief Manager (Project), National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation was invited to take a session on NHFDC's Schemes for Persons with Disabilities on 20 March 2021 for the trainees of the Association.
Updates
1. The Annual General Meeting preceded by the Trust Board Meeting of the Association was held via video conferencing on 13 February 2021. One of the main agendas of the Trust Board was the appointment of the Hony. Treasurer and nomination of five members to the Managing Committee. Mr. S. K. MIsra was re-appointed as the Hony. Treasurer for a term of three years. The Annual General Body elected the Office Bearers and Members of the Managing Committee and Two Trustees for the next term of three years. The Blind Relief Association warmly welcomes the New Team and looks forward to its significant contribution.
2. Mr. Manoj Kumar (Assistant Teacher) of J.P.M. Senior Secondary School was awarded Ph.D. degree in Hindi from Mewar University, Rajasthan for his research in 'Analytical study of Premchand's Dalit characters in the context of Dalit discourse'. 3. JPM students continue their classes on online platforms except for Classes IX - XII who began offline schooling in January 2021.
4. The new batch of Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education consisting of 33 trainees began classes on 8 December 2020. Since March 2021 offline classes are also conducted to cover the practical components of the curriculum.
4. Classes of the 7th batch of Diploma in Computer Education and 4th batch of Basic Computer & Office Operations began in January 2021.
5. Vocational trainings such as Multi-Skill Training and Relaxation Massage Training also began in January 2021.
6. Results – Diploma in Computer Education 2019-20
Webinars & Videos
1. Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education (V.I.), along with the Blind Relief Association in collaboration with Saksham organized a webinar on the Latest IT Solutions for Learners with Visual Impairment on 1 October 2020.
2. On the occasion of the 151 st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education and the Blind Relief Association organized a webinar – Inspirations of Gandhi on 8 October 2020.
3. Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education (V.I.), along with the Blind Relief Association organized a webinar on White Cane – My Independence, My identity on 15 October 2020.
4. The 10th CII Education Summit on NEP for A New Education Paradigm Towards Greater Industry – Institute Collaborations was held virtually on 10-11 December 2020. Mrs. Radhika Bharat Ram, Jt. Secretary - B.R.A. & Co-Chair of CII Education and Mr. K.C. Pande, Executive Secretary- B.R.A were among the panelists and spoke on 'Vocational Training for all.'
5. A recollection of Khushi Ek Ehsaas 6. Foot Over Bridge next to the Association re-opens
Buy your favourite candles & paper products from our online store open around the year!
The New Block of Building is approaching completion. Your contribution will help us get to that faster.
