New Project Proposal: National Initiative for the Blind by Vidya Vrikshah and IIT Madras

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New Project ProposalNational Initiative for the
Blindby Vidya Vrikshah and IIT Madras

• Projects Meeting
• Asha for Education, Arizona
• August 7, 2004
• Nirmal Govind

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Vidya Vrikshah (VV)

• Started in 1998
• Key People
• N. Krishnaswamy (Retd. IG of Police)
• R. Kalyanakrishnan (IIT Madras CS Professor)
• 150 volunteers
• Activities
• Electronic Archiving
• Disability Research, Development and Training
• Partners with IIT Madras for software
• NIB launched in Chennai in Dec. 2003

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National Initiative for the Blind

• Jointly conceived by IIT Madras and VV
• Methodology
• Involve mothers of visually handicapped children
• Provide second level kit to the children
• Read real-life braille embossed on paper
• Software component
• Easy use of computers in all Indian languages and
  English
• Voice and braille computer output in all these
  languages
• National Award for outstanding contributions to
  the welfare of the disabled

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Previous AfE Involvement

• AfE Seattle funded Braille Embosser
• Drushti braille magazine in Tamil being sent out
  to schools in Tamil Nadu
• AfE Colorado
• Trained two instructors of the Jawaharlal Nehru
  Memorial Institute for the Handicapped in Sikkim
• Individuals
• DP
• Prof. Vileen Shah from Salt Lake City
  (asha-special)
• Recent site visits Bash (Seattle), DP, Lakshmi
  (Seattle)

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Proposal for Funding

• Universal Braille Kit
• Vasantha Cube to learn to read letters in
  braille
• Natesan Block to learn to read words in
  braille
• Braille Slate Stylus to learn to write in
  braille
• Alphabet Block to learn hand-writing in normal
  letters
• Abacus to learn to count and calculate
• Geometry Box and drawing wheel to learn to draw
  and measure
• White Cane to learn mobility skills
• A simple Instructors Manual (in any desired
  language) To enable any literate person to teach
  the use of the above devices.

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Proposal (contd.)

• Kit manufactured by Worth Trust (Katpadi, Tamil
  Nadu)
• Employs disabled
• Subsidized cost
• Funding Requested
• 1000 kits 1000 x Rs. 300 7000
• To be sent to 500 schools and training
  institutions
• Target date for distribution Nov. 2004

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Why should Asha AZ fund?

• Statistics
• 4 Million Blind in India ( 10 are kids)
• lt 1 literacy rate among blind
• No national initiative in India
• Sarva Shiksha Abhyan is the closest
• Unique methodology
• Reaching out to the mother
• Simple and inexpensive tools
• Software component accelerates learning
• Aligns with AfEs missions/objectives
• Mainstream disabled socio-economic change!
• Support a relatively small effort that has
  potential
• Not too many projects for disabled
• Possible governmental support

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References/Links

• www.vidyavrikshah.org
• http//acharya.iitm.ac.in

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Cube and Block
Vasantha Cube
Natesan Block
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Award Ceremony