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March - April 2022

Spring Bazaar

The ‘Blind School Diwali Mela’ has been a well-known and established event in the fraternity of Delhi shoppers. As a new initiative, this year, the Association organized a Spring Bazaar from 11-13 March. In welcoming the pleasant weather and celebrating the spring season with a shopping and cultural event, the three-day bazaar was organized just the weekend before Holi.

In addition to showcasing the products made by the visually impaired trainees and workers of the Association such as colorful candles and diyas, scented candles, a range of paper products including bags, envelopes, papier-mache plates & cups and cloth products including sling bags, potli bags, pouches, purses, the Bazaar also had a range of stalls with vendors from across the country selling eye-catching designer wear, jewelry, footwear, home décor, traditional crafts, gift items, gardening materials, herbal products etc.

To spread awareness, Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education set up a stall where the trainees shared many interesting facts about the lives of the visually impaired through games and activities.

Our professionally trained masseurs offered relaxing head, foot, neck, or shoulder massages at a nominal price.

Open Mic evenings saw the students and trainees perform songs, dance, mimicry, and yoga. The female trainees also ramp walked on the evenings of the second and third day of the bazaar. Vivaan Creations sponsored the outfits for the female trainees' Fashion Show on the second day.

SSB Wives Welfare Association Visit

SANDIKSHA, the SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) Wives Welfare Association visited the Association on 9 March. They went around the different units and interacted with the vocational trainees and also gifted goodies. The team comprised Smt. Jaswinder Bhumbla, Hony Secretary; Smt. Seema Singh, Hony Jt. Secretary, Smt. Monika Jaswal, Hony. Treasurer, Smt. Richa Bisht, Smt. Rani Verma and Smt. Seema Gautam.

Exposure Visit

An exposure visit was paid by the SPD Ladakh and officials of the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education to observe the residential facility of the Blind Relief Association's JPM Senior Secondary School on 10 March.

The team comprising Ms. Rinchen Dolma, Ms. Nahida Bani from Ladakh accompanied by Ms. Sonal Sankhla and Mr. Devendra Chaudhury from Ministry of Education, GOI went around the Association's facilities such as the resource room, sports area, residential spaces, kitchen & dining hall and interacted with the students.

Laptop for Toppers

Thanks to the goodwill of Smt. Prabhjot Menon who keeps her promise year after year in gifting the topper of the Diploma in Computer Education batch with a laptop, in memory of her late mother.

The pandemic having hindered her annual visits, Smt. Menon accompanied by her sister visited the Association after two years on 16 March to meet with the trainees of batch 2019-20 and 2020-21 and present gifts to the toppers. Ankur Kumar, the topper of 2019-20 is presently pursuing B. Ed from NIEPVD and Umar Siddique, topper of 2020-21 is taking a short-term course in web accessibility.

Canes from Torchit

The team from Torchit along with the Blind People's Association India supported the visually impaired students and trainees of the Blind Relief Association with smart canes in a CSR distribution event supported by ONGC and held on 23 March.

The assistive aid named "Saarthi" is an innovative product attached to the white cane by which the visually impaired user can sense obstacles through feedback in the form of a buzz sound and vibrating sensations.

Farewell to Mr. C.B. Dubey

Having rendered 32 years of dedicated service as a teacher in the JPM Senior Secondary for the Blind, Shri C.B. Dubey retired on 31 March as the TGT Social Studies. His teacher colleagues from the school as well as staff from all the other units were there to bid him a warm farewell. Shri Dubey's family including his parents graced the occasion.

Mr. David Felicitated

At the celebration of its Raising Day “UPAAN”, the Police Families Welfare Society felicitated Mr. David, Dy. Executive Secretary (Ops) on 9 April, for his long association with them. The memento was handed over to Shri David by the President of PFWS, Smt. Anu Asthana.

Inclusive Football

An inclusive football game was organized by the Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education on 29 April at the Association's new football field. The sighted and visually impaired students of the College played together blindfolded. Though the friendly match ended in a draw, the students played with great vigour and love for the game.

Mahashivratri

After a gap of two years, the Mahashivratri was celebrated on campus and organized with devotion and fervor by the Class XI students of the JPM School. The students recited Shiv Chalisa and sang bhajans together.

Holi Celebrations

Holi was celebrated with nothing less than pomp and zeal at the Blind Relief Association’s campus. For it’s not so much about the colors, but much more about the joy brought by the company. The festival and its vibrancy are accessible to the visually impaired as much as it is made to be.

Baking Classes

Tanvi Gupta, Baker Chef from Pladis Global has been assisting in the Baking classes of our vocational trainees every week since 2 March.

JPM's Teacher cum Author

On March 26, Shri Manoj Kumar's new novel 'Ghaati Ko Grahan' ‘घाटी को ग्रहण’ on Kashmir turmoil, published by reputed publishers Atmaram & Sons, was released by eminent linguist Professor Dilip Singh (Director, Center for Endangered Languages, IGNTU, Amarkantak) at the international seminar organized under the joint aegis of Central Hindi Directorate, Ministry of Education, GOI and Rajendra Prasad Academy.

KARM Fellowship

The Blind Relief Association was happy to have KARM Fellowship launch its social pillar with us. Hosting these bright, energetic, and dedicated fellows every week has been nothing less than absolute joy!

Plantation Drive

A big thanks to The Good Deed Relief Foundation for donating saplings to the Association and having our vocational trainees involved in the plantation drive. The donated saplings included those of Royal Palm, Fishtail Palm, Harsingar, Frangipani, Jacaranda, etc.

Dental Camp

SGT Univerisity organized an oral health awareness, check-up, and treatment camp at the Association on 9 April using their recently acquired mobile dental van. The Department of Public Health Dentistry of the University has been instrumental in setting up a dental clinic on the Association's premises and providing dental care services to the inmates including school children, trainees, and staff since 2009.

EPIC Foundation Inauguration Ceremony

Mr. Mohanan, Dy. Executive Secretary (Admin); Mrs. Neelu Suneja, HEAD - IT; and Mr. Rajpal, IT Instructor graced the occasion of the inauguration ceremony of EPIC Foundation held on 13 April at India Habitat Center. EPIC Foundation seeks to promote the creation of Indian brands in the field of electronics and IT. The Foundation also aims to create equitable

access for all citizens including differently-abled fellow citizens. EPIC Foundation has committed to providing special tablets being developed by it for the Association's students and trainees.

Donation of Tactile Books

200+ tactile books were donated to the JPM School by Raised Lines Foundation, a not-for-profit incubated out of IIT Delhi. The team from Raised Lines Foundation and Vehant Technologies (Funding Partner) visited the Association and interacted with the school staff and students before donating the books on 30 April.

Other Updates

1. The group of vocational trainees being trained by music teachers sent regularly by Sant Nirankari Charitable Trust and Manzil Mystics gave public performances on 2 & 24 April. The performance on 2 April was at the inauguration of SNCF's school building and the one on 24 April was at Gandhi Smriti in the closing session of the Manzil Mystics partnership programme.
2. On the 213th birth anniversary of Louis Braille in celebrating World Braille Day (4 January), the Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education organized a webinar with Prof. S.R. Mittal, an eminent educationist and expert in the field of special education for visual impairment, as the chief guest of the event. Besides the college trainees, the well-attended webinar also had a good audience from outside keen to listen to the talk by Prof. Mittal.

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