Interview
with Mr Bhushan Punani - ED, Blind
Men's Association of Ahmedabad
Dr.
Bhushan Punani on their projects along
with their impacts
We have around 32 projects. Our major
projects include education. We have
school of physiotherapy. We have industrial
training institute (ITI), where we
give the vocational training. In education
we go up to vocational and professional
training. We don’t have the
highest-level of education for the
disabled children, but we have a teachers
training courses. These are courses
for the teachers of the various categories
of disability. We run courses for
all disability in the different mode
of education. For the visually impaired
we have regular college.
When it comes to support services
our projects include, projects of
providing CD to the blind.
We have shift to very large program,
community based rehabilitation. Here
we are going to cover the whole Gujarat,
with the support from the State Government
targeted with over 10, 50,000 people
with disability in rural areas. Then
we have special program for specially
aid children. We have projects and
early interventions for the deaf and
blind children, for children with
mental retardation, for children with
multiple disabilities. We have a whole
building dedicated to the project
and full time project manager. She
looks after all special aid projects.
Now we have gone for a new concept,
where we have group teaching. All
the classes of the teachers training,
there could be separate classes when
it is disability specific and when
it is a general class they could be
clubbed in to a general class. Then
we have very large program for the
mentally ill. There are district mental
health programs. BPA is the coordinator
for that. We are taken five districts
with the help of state government
for social communication in case of
mental illness.
Incase of impact we have been able
to create lot of awareness in the
state of Gujarat because we believe
in advocacy, social communication
and right ways approach. We try to
implement the policies of the state
government. We have gone for a very
effective implementation of the persons
with disability act with the involvement
and support of the government of Gujarat.
Because of which thousands of children
with disability are now visible. They
are going to the schools, colleges
like medical colleges, management
institutes, polytechnique, engineering
colleges, nursing courses, pharmacy
and architect. All of them have reservations
for disabled children. We are going
in a very big way. We create lot of
public awareness in a very big way.
There we involve the government for
taking their participation in all
the activities.
