Home Facilities Rehabilitation CASBW & Utkarsh

Committee for Advancement of the Status of Blind Women (CASBW) & Utkarsh
Utkarsh | Operations | Incentive

Introduction
This cell is dedicated to address issues countered by blind women and refurbish their lives by teaching them special skills and helping them join the work force. The aim is not merely to train them in a particular skill, but also to inculcate a work culture, raise productivity levels and motivate them to become more enterprising; to help them develop self-confidence, an identity and existence of their own; and emerging respectable contributing members to their families and to society at large.

Services:
The committee strives to locate and register maximum number of blind women under its umbrella and provide rehabilitation. Typically it would assess their needs and then offer relevant counselling.

Utkarsh:
Since its inception the CASBW has directed special efforts to locate and register blind women, assess their needs, provide counseling services and financial assistance for educational, medical and marital purpose; arrange training and awareness programs in rural and urban areas and rehabilitate them through open or self-employment.

It was often observed that blind women, including those who had undergone training at specialized institutions, were finding it difficult to obtain and retain work. It was felt that vocational training or the learning of simple skills alone was not going to solve the problem of employment. The critical gap lay in their inability to obtain work and until this gap was bridged, the main objective of the rehabilitation could not really be achieved.

With a view to filling this gap, in July 1988, the Committee has set up Utkarsh Job Development Centre for Blind Women in NAB's Rustom Alpaiwala Complex at Reay Road, Mumbai.

The objective of the Centre is to rehabilitate visually handicapped Women by providing training and work opportunities on an "EARN WHILE YOU LEARN" basis.

The Centre acts as a catalyst in obtaining on-going work and provides infrastructure, support facilities, supervisory and co-ordinating staff to facilitate the training and earning programme.

Operations:

The unit functions as a Day Centre on a non-profit basis and is an experimental model from which appropriate extension could be made for setting up similar Centres in other parts of the country.

The number of trainees attending the Centre has gone up from 3 to 40 between July 1988 and July 2000. Currently, they are exposed to different activities, including simple sorting, packing and making decorative handicraft items. The Committee has appointed three staff to look after the training, workflow and quality control. Four sewing machines have been installed.

The trainees are paid a minimum stipend on a daily basis until such time as their actual production earnings (on a piece rate basis) cross this minimum. Thereafter, they are paid at actuals.

To supplement the income of the trainees and raise funds for their welfare, the Committee undertakes special projects at festival times; Raksha Bandhan, Diwali and Christmas when the women make rakhis, gift envelops, diya, torans, garlands, fashion jewellery and christmas decorations for sale.

Over the years, these projects have become a regular feature of the Centre activities. These activities are a very essential and critical source of raising the earnings and welfare benefits of the visually impaired girls and women at the Centre.

Awards:

The Neelum Kanga Memorial Fund was established in 1982-83 with an initial donation from Mr. & Mrs. N. A. Palkhiwala and friends, in memory of Mrs. Neelum Kanga an ardent and tireless fund-raiser for NAB. The fund today amounts to about Rs. 5 Lacs and the interest form it is utilized by the Committee to provide financial assistance towards medical, educational, rehabilitation and welfare needs of visually impaired women.

In the past we have honored women who have reached heights in academics, music, teaching blind welfare. In recent years we have noticed a very encouraging trend where blind women have entered new field like physiotherapy, homeopathy medicine, public service, poetry writing, physical fitness/Banking, Computers, Fund raising, Reiki, Law, Sports.

On 19th January, 2002 as part of the Foundation Day Celebrations of NAB, Neelum Kanga Prizes were presented by Chief Guest Dr. (Mrs.) Najma Heptulla, Justice P. N. Bhagwati, Mr. D. S. Bhalchandra for the following three outstanding blind women:

1. Ms. Durga Midya - Athlete - West Bengal
2. Ms. Vishakha More - Medical Transcriptionist - Mumbai
3. Dr. (Mrs.) Kalpana Kharade - Academician - Mumbai

People behind NAB-CASBW:

Management:

1. Dr. Rajendra T. Vyas, Hon. Secretary General, NAB-India

2. Mrs. Ela Mehta, Chairperson, NAB-CASBW

3. Ms. Vishakha Mehta, Acting Chairperson/Hon. Secretary, NAB-CASBW

4. Wg. Cdr. (Retd) C. M. Jaywant, Executive Director, NAB-India

5. Mrs. R. Vasumati, Director - Finance Raising Committee, NAB-FRC,

6. Dr. (Mrs.) Asha A. Bhende, Chairperson NAB-LBMRC

7. Mrs. Hansa Dalal, Convener

8. Ms. Nafisa Shikari, Hon. Secretary, NAB-CASBW

9. Mr. M. Raghuram, Chairman, Social Development Cell

10. Mrs. Preeti Shroff, Committee Member

11. Dr. Vandana Chakrabarti, Director, Continuing and Extension Education

12. Mrs. Kranti Macchi, Asst. Director, Special Employment Exchange for the Physically Handicapped

13. Mr. M.M. Gupta, Senior Superintendent, Vocational Rehabilitation Centre (VRC)

14. Mrs. Jyoti Naik, President, Mahila Gruh Udyog

15. Mrs. Shanta Narsian, Committee Member

16. Ms. Jyoti Chhasatia, Committee Member

17. Ms. Usha Iyer, Committee Member

Working Team:

1. Mrs. Prabha Mahesh, Deputy Director, NAB-CASBW
2. Mrs. Kalpana Samel, Welfare Officer, NAB-CASBW
3. Mrs. Chhaya Desai, Officer In-charge, NAB-CASBW-Utkarsh
4. Ms. Shilpa Deulkar, Computer Operator, NAB-CASBW
5. Mr. Ganesh Jadhav, Purchase Clerk, NAB-CASBW-Utkarsh
6. Mrs. Namrata Shinde, Instructor, NAB-CASBW-Utkarsh

Events and Projects:

Ongoing Projects:

1. In order to enhance the socio economic status of the rural blind women the CASBW has undertaken a project on rehabilitation of the visually impaired women in Raigad District.

2. The CASBW has been identified as a nodal agency and function in collaboration with NGO Forum, we organize Jagaran Workshops for developing the leadership quality and training of income generation activities for the rural and urban based visually impaired women of Western Region.

Future Plans:

1. To establish a vocational carrier guidance counseling cell for the blind girls and invite experts to provide continuous services on honorary capacity.

2. To prepare and submit a proposal to install a store for the sale of Utkarsh Products at the premises of NAB H.O.

3. Facilitate in setting up of similar committees for the other State Branches of NAB.

4. Restructuring of Utkarsh - Job Development Centre.