Rabindranath Tagore’s DakGhar was staged by the sightless students and teachers of Helen Keller Smriti Vidyamandir at Viswa-Bharati (Shanti Niketan) on March 4, 2013. Blind Persons’ Association set up Helen Keller Smriti Vidyamandir in 1981 at Krishnanagar in the district of Nadia, West Bengal with a mission to spread education among the sightless children living far away from Kolkata. The small fledgling school of 1981 has now flourished into a full-fledged institution with facilities for both visually impaired and hearing and speech impaired. It offers hostel accommodation to visually impaired children who cannot attend the classes regularly on account of distance. The students are taught various skills for their all-round development.
The school has largely benefited from the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme to promote Voluntary Action for Persons with Disabilities, a scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice carried out throughout the country. Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) has been named after Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya (September 25, 1916 — February 11, 1968) who was a philosopher and economist, sociologist and political activist. Pt. Upadhyaya was a forward thinking individual who believed in integral humanism and upliftment of all sections of the society, especially the disadvantaged. DDRS Scheme is mainly concerned with Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), their empowerment and inclusion.
Under the Scheme, grant-in-aid is provided to non-governmental organisations for projects aimed at enabling persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal, physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or social and functional levels. The Scheme focuses on important projects related to early intervention, special schools, vocational training, manpower development and rehabilitation services children and Persons with Disabilities. Successful interaction between family members of PwDs, Civil Society Organisations, Central and State Government agencies and other stakeholders is showing positive results in facilitating integration of PwDs in the society.
You may check the list of beneficiaries under this scheme from Helen Keller Smriti Vidyamandir for last three years from the links provided below.
