[AI] Please read an article about an NGO in Pune.
Dear list members, humbley request you to take time and read this article on an NGO called Niwant in Pune. Chak De Niwant! In the past seventeen years I have travelled on a unique path. It is very difficult to express in words the intensity of my experiences. Hundreds of visually challenged students walked into my life and with the help of ‘Niwant’ they now settled in life. Everyone knows about a blind school, but ‘Niwant Andh Mukta Vikasalaya’ was established for students pursuing higher education, i.e. after Standard X. The journey of the making of Niwant was never a bed of roses. It was a war against negation, superstition and lack of faith in human abilities. A small but significant incident changed my whole perspective to life. In 1996, I visited a blind school in Pune to give a donation on the eve of my husband Anand’s birthday. There I saw a big line up of small helpless kids struggling to climb up the stairs and one of the homesick children hugged me because he thought I was his mother. Tears rolled down my eyes. I decided to give a slice of my life for the upliftment of these children and thought against the idea of taking up the job as an English teacher at the college level. The journey that followed saw the complete assimilation of ‘Meera Badve’, i.e. myself in the world of the specially sighted. The blind students had to discontinue their education after they completed their schooling. Not a single word was available in Braille beyond Standard X. Students with a rich family background could get support from their family members and continue education, but what about the others? They were children of rickshaw drivers, house helpers and farm workers. They came from strata of society that was beyond our definition of poverty and some were orphans. The syllabus for the blind students was the same as that for the sighted students and educational facilities were practically non-existent. “Is this social justice?” Niwant was like creating a universe out of void. On completion of the age of 18, the Social Welfare Department leaves differently-abled students to fend for themselves. Generally they are treated as non-productive elements by their family members who leave them in the school and sometimes they abandon them permanently. What could these children do? They were left on the street and used by society for malpractices; boys and girls for different reasons. Unfortunately these children had no sense of hygiene, culture and were struck by an inferiority complex as they thought that they could not cope with the challenges of the sighted world. They believed in charity and had not experienced the joy of earning money through self respect. They had no knowledge of the English language. Educational institutes had no faith in their potential. Eye-brows were raised and critical questions had to be answered. I had to sort out all these problems one by one. The students who walked into my life were directionless and confused about their future. They wanted to lead abetter life but did not know how to achieve their goals in life. In short, they needed a mother – teacher. I painstakingly had to give them lessons in culture, hygiene, which also included toilet training, cleanliness, feed them and academics followed later. Subject-based dictionaries with meanings in Marathi had to be created to encourage them to opt for English medium. Technology had to be brought in by replacing magnetic tapes by MP3 players, number of simple and less expensive educational tools had to be devised. Tonnes and tonnes ofcounseling went into helping them feel very positive about themselves and the world around them. Occasionally I had to use strict measures to discipline them.The social system had to be influenced to overlook superstitious beliefs that these children are the outcome of sins committed in a previous life. Educational institutes had to be convinced about giving them access to education and have faith in their abilities. Education is indeed the birth right of every child and as a society we have no right to give them begging bowls instead of Braille books. Publishers had to be convinced about making soft copies available for Braille conversion and copyright issues had to be tackled. It was a race against time. There were moments of retreat and defeat, but the willpower of my students gave me the strength to fight. A huge chain of selfless volunteers supported Niwant.Individual cause became the communal cause. Chak De Niwant! As a result, in the last seventeen years ‘Niwant’ tried to change the social picture including discarded and unwanted members of the society in the social fold. It has helped in a holistic development of the children, one of ‘body, mind and soul’,successfully channelized their energy through a Braille library which has over 3000 Braille books (curricular and extracurricular), 17 branches of ‘Vision Unlimited’ all over Maharashtra and core teaching of all subjects through both the mediums. There
Re: [AI] Please read an article about an NGO in Pune.
Dear friends, I have personally visited Nivant & have found it a great institution. I hope that it continues to grow & spread the light of education. Regards Mr. Sameer Latey Mumbai, India - Original Message - From: "Shivaji Londhe" To: "accessindia" Cc: Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 12:02 AM Subject: [AI] Please read an article about an NGO in Pune. Dear list members, humbley request you to take time and read this article on an NGO called Niwant in Pune. Chak De Niwant! In the past seventeen years I have travelled on a unique path. It is very difficult to express in words the intensity of my experiences. Hundreds of visually challenged students walked into my life and with the help of ‘Niwant’ they now settled in life. Everyone knows about a blind school, but ‘Niwant Andh Mukta Vikasalaya’ was established for students pursuing higher education, i.e. after Standard X. The journey of the making of Niwant was never a bed of roses. It was a war against negation, superstition and lack of faith in human abilities. A small but significant incident changed my whole perspective to life. In 1996, I visited a blind school in Pune to give a donation on the eve of my husband Anand’s birthday. There I saw a big line up of small helpless kids struggling to climb up the stairs and one of the homesick children hugged me because he thought I was his mother. Tears rolled down my eyes. I decided to give a slice of my life for the upliftment of these children and thought against the idea of taking up the job as an English teacher at the college level. The journey that followed saw the complete assimilation of ‘Meera Badve’, i.e. myself in the world of the specially sighted. The blind students had to discontinue their education after they completed their schooling. Not a single word was available in Braille beyond Standard X. Students with a rich family background could get support from their family members and continue education, but what about the others? They were children of rickshaw drivers, house helpers and farm workers. They came from strata of society that was beyond our definition of poverty and some were orphans. The syllabus for the blind students was the same as that for the sighted students and educational facilities were practically non-existent. “Is this social justice?” Niwant was like creating a universe out of void. On completion of the age of 18, the Social Welfare Department leaves differently-abled students to fend for themselves. Generally they are treated as non-productive elements by their family members who leave them in the school and sometimes they abandon them permanently. What could these children do? They were left on the street and used by society for malpractices; boys and girls for different reasons. Unfortunately these children had no sense of hygiene, culture and were struck by an inferiority complex as they thought that they could not cope with the challenges of the sighted world. They believed in charity and had not experienced the joy of earning money through self respect. They had no knowledge of the English language. Educational institutes had no faith in their potential. Eye-brows were raised and critical questions had to be answered. I had to sort out all these problems one by one. The students who walked into my life were directionless and confused about their future. They wanted to lead abetter life but did not know how to achieve their goals in life. In short, they needed a mother – teacher. I painstakingly had to give them lessons in culture, hygiene, which also included toilet training, cleanliness, feed them and academics followed later. Subject-based dictionaries with meanings in Marathi had to be created to encourage them to opt for English medium. Technology had to be brought in by replacing magnetic tapes by MP3 players, number of simple and less expensive educational tools had to be devised. Tonnes and tonnes ofcounseling went into helping them feel very positive about themselves and the world around them. Occasionally I had to use strict measures to discipline them.The social system had to be influenced to overlook superstitious beliefs that these children are the outcome of sins committed in a previous life. Educational institutes had to be convinced about giving them access to education and have faith in their abilities. Education is indeed the birth right of every child and as a society we have no right to give them begging bowls instead of Braille books. Publishers had to be convinced about making soft copies available for Braille conversion and copyright issues had to be tackled. It was a race against time. There were moments of retreat and defeat, but the willpower of my students gave me the strength to fight. A huge chain of selfless volunteers supported Niwant.Individual cause became the communal cause. Chak De Niwant! As a result, in the last seventeen years ‘Niwant’ tried to change the social picture incl
