President Of India Awards CBM-Partner As Best Disability NGO in 2006
Jawahar Lal Kaul Of The All India Confederation Of The Blind Honoured
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- Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (left), President of India, hands the award over to Jawahar Lal Kaul, Secretary General of the All India Confederation of the Blind.
A CBM-supported project located in India’s capital Delhi, has received an award as best not-for profit organisation in the disability field for the year 2006 by India's President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3.
In a ceremony on Sunday, the President of India presented the award to J. L. Kaul, Secretary General of the All India Confederation of the Blind (AICB). The award consists of 100,000 rupees and a certificate. Kaul said: "This is not our achievement alone, but this is the achievement of all our friends and well wishers who have shaped our organization in such a way that today we can feel proud of it."
In a ceremony on Sunday, the President of India presented the award to J. L. Kaul, Secretary General of the All India Confederation of the Blind (AICB). The award consists of 100,000 rupees and a certificate. Kaul said: "This is not our achievement alone, but this is the achievement of all our friends and well wishers who have shaped our organization in such a way that today we can feel proud of it."
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The blind young woman (left) learns how to write in braille, guided by her teacher at a school run by the All India Association of the Blind.
Among the many activities of AICB under Kaul’s guidance, the Confederation runs a co-ed school for the blind in a typically rural environment, in the small village of Behrampur, district Gurgaon, Haryana State, in Northern India.
One of the very few schools for the blind in a rural setting in the country, the institution provides need-based educational opportunities for young blind girls in such varied activities as independent living skills, dramatics, dance, yoga, and self-defence techniques, along with modern subjects like Science, Mathematics, Geography, and computer skills.
After 8 years of initial schooling in a residential set-up, the female students are provided opportunities for studying with their sighted counterparts in regular schools for secondary and senior secondary stages of education. © CBM
School education and women empowerment
AICB’s activities focus on the development and empowerment of visually impaired children, adults and the elderly, both men and women residing in urban and rural areas. These activities include school education, equipment adaptation, need-based training, including vocational courses, rural rehabilitation, women empowerment, and support for the elderly.
Within the range of its partner’s activities, CBM supports training classes in Hindi/English stenography, training in orientation and mobility, eye-care service and Braille production of its bi-monthly magazines, and a free hostel for blind young women going to college. These services are located in its partner’s headquarter in Rohini, Delhi. In addition, scholarships are granted for blind women studying at the postgraduate level and integrated education classes for blind girls are financed.
The central government of India and voluntary national and international organisations, contribute to the overall activities of AICB in the fields of comprehensive education, training, and rehabilitation services for blind and low vision persons in urban and rural areas.
Within the range of its partner’s activities, CBM supports training classes in Hindi/English stenography, training in orientation and mobility, eye-care service and Braille production of its bi-monthly magazines, and a free hostel for blind young women going to college. These services are located in its partner’s headquarter in Rohini, Delhi. In addition, scholarships are granted for blind women studying at the postgraduate level and integrated education classes for blind girls are financed.
The central government of India and voluntary national and international organisations, contribute to the overall activities of AICB in the fields of comprehensive education, training, and rehabilitation services for blind and low vision persons in urban and rural areas.
CBM congratulates the All India Confederation of the Blind on the award
CBM’s Continental Director Asia, Rolf Müggenburg: "Since the start of the partnership between the All India Confederation of the Blind and CBM in 1984, we have been impressed by the good work and continuous development, this partner has made. AICB shows a strong commitment to assist students with visual impairments in and around Delhi, with effects on the whole of India - and particularly with respect to the empowerment of women with disabilities. CBM congratulates the Secretary General J. L. Kaul and his staff to this great honour. We are lucky to have such able partners as the All India Confederation of the Blind."
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Jawahar Lal Kaul has been striving towards raising the educational and socio-economic status of blind girls and women. His untiring efforts in this regard aim to change the meaning of blindness for them from one of ostracism to inclusion, from deprivation to productivity, from isolation to maximum participation.
Already in May 2006, J.L. Kaul received the first Marga Schulze Award-2006 at the 12th International Conference of Blind Educators at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia for his voluntary service for the empowerment of visually impaired women in the country and abroad. The German based Marga-Schulze Foundation supports the programme of CBM's partner, the All India Confederation of the Blind.
Awareness raising via mass media campaigns and petitions
AICB is widely recognised at the national and international levels as a premier national self-help organisation of the blind. It has 22 affiliates spread all over the country. The Confederation is accredited as a national affiliate to the World Blind Union, the sole apex representative body of the blind worldwide. It is also a member of the Asian Blind Union.
Jawahar Lal Kaul says: "AICB believes in self-help for the blind, and undertakes intensive efforts through mass media, seminars, conferences and regular petitions to ensure the protection of rights and dignity of persons with visual impairment. Our aim is to ensure that the local public is convinced and mobilised for rendering rehabilitation services to persons with visual impairment."
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Jawahar Lal Kaul says: "AICB believes in self-help for the blind, and undertakes intensive efforts through mass media, seminars, conferences and regular petitions to ensure the protection of rights and dignity of persons with visual impairment. Our aim is to ensure that the local public is convinced and mobilised for rendering rehabilitation services to persons with visual impairment."
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