PRESENTATION – PART 3 : REACHING THE BLIND

 

REACHING BOTH LITERACY & EDUCATION TO THE CHILD

THE LAST MILE OF PHYSICAL REACH 

                   

The main difficulty of vast numbers of blind children, specially  in the third world is that they are unable to reach schools by reason of distance, disability and poverty.

Our answer to this problem is :

 

Where children cannot come to school,

the school should go to them.

 

Our solution is the Mobile Blind School. This involves a teacher provided with a motor vehicle equipped with the UEK and provided with a stock of UBKs. The teacher will thus be able to visit villages on a regular basis to :

(a) distribute UBKs to the children and train them and  their  family  members at their homes on  

      using the UBKs; and

(b) impart education to groups of  children  through use of the UEK at or near their homes.

 

LET US LOOK AT A FEW WORKING MODELS OF THE MBS

 

 

 

THE MOBILE BLIND SCHOOL : THE ULTIMATE MODEL

 

This unit is at  the International Institute of Social Entrepreneurs,

established in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India  by

Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg

as a unit of Braille Without Borders of Germany

This organization trains blind trainees from Afro-Asian countries

to become Social Entrepreneurs, and the MBS unit is used to train them

 

ITS PRICE OF  INR 2.5 LAKHS OR US$ 5000 IS MET BY DONATIONS

                             FRONT VIEW        REAR  VIEW                   INSIDE VIEW                            

A Solar Module provides power  wherever local power is not available

 

 

THE MOBILE BLIND SCHOOL : THE TWO WHEELER MODEL IN AFRICA

 

These are our first  MBS units in Africa : in Liberia & Ghana

Less expensive but powerful motor cycles costing us$ 2500 are used here

as the regions have rugged hilly roads,

 

These units are run by graduates of the International Institute of Social Entrepreneurs Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India :

James Johnson, Johnson Kortue and Victor Gaigaie in Liberia 

Julius  Braimah and  Eric Ofori in Ghana  

 

 

 

THE MOBILE BLIND SCHOOL : AN UNUSUAL MODEL

 

An innovative approach : Three horses instead of a three wheeler motor vehicle

because of the needs of a mountainous region of Northern Nepal

This is perhaps the world’s first horse-based Mobile Blind School

It has two horses for use of  teachers and one to carry teaching equipment

which includes  a mobile solar module.

THE UNIT’S PRICE OF  INR 2.5 LAKHS OR US$ 5000 IS MET BY DONATIONS.

 

CHHITUP LAMA (ALSO FROM IISE) STARTING WORK ON THE PROJECT WITH A SURVEY OF BLIND CHILDREN  IN THE AREA

 CHHITUP SETTING OUT FOR THE DAY’S WORK  IN THE VILLAGES

                                     

 

OPEN AIR CLASS IN PROGRESS IN A LOCAL VILLAGE LOCATION WHILE THE HORSE MANAGES TO GET A SNACK

 

 

THIS IS SAPNA LEARNING WITH THE UBK UNDER A TREE WHICH SERVES AS THE LOCAL SCHOOL

 

 

 

 

THE MOBILE BLIND SCHOOL

A  FEW DISTRICT MODELS IN INDIA FOR THE UBK DISTRIBUTION

Vellore District –Tamilnadu State :

An inexpensive 3- wheeler is used

as  roads here are good

Tiruvallur District – Tamilnadu State  : A similar3-wheeler is used here as roads  here are good.See children here  who have received their UBKs

   

 Ranga Reddy District – Andhra State  A diesel 4-wheeler is provided for as a larger school unit is planned. The State Governor is seen flagging  it off and later sharing the floor with the blind children

 C:\MBS\NIKON D50\DSC_0405.JPGC:\MBS\NIKON D50\DSC_0411.JPG

 

Nashik District – Maharashtra State  : Reachng the UBK to Jyoti, a tribal child at  the very doorstep of her family hut in a remote village and then teaching her how to use it.

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO PROCEED TO PRESENTATION : PART - 4