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BLIND PEOPLE'S ASSOCIATION
Blind People’s Association(BPA) is an internationally renowned organisation for blind people as well as differently-abled people. It first emerged as Blind Men’s Association(BMA) in 1954, a club created by some efforts of blind people of Gujarat. It was started with the help of Mr. Jagdish Patel. Mr. Patel lost his vision to promptly in his childhood, as an after effect from claiming meningitis. However, he grew up to be a physiotherapist. He is also a leading philanthropist. The name-blind people's association was given in the year 1998 because the name-blind men's association suggests that the services are only for men. Blind people's association provides services irrespective of class, background, gender, and caste. The exact address is -IIM crossroads, 132 feet ring road, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad Gujarat 380015.

INTRODUCTION:
Blind People’s Association (BPA) is of five decades of its existence and has emerged as a globally prestigious voluntary organisation and is a nonprofit organisation situated in Ahmedabad, since 1984. It aims to provide services to people with disabilities and to provide them with enough resources and training so the differently-abled can stand on their own and make a good standard of living. They also believe in prioritising human rights for people suffering from disabilities. It also provides them with education, employment and training according to their interest which maybe stitching, teaching, handicrafts and computer studies. It has various imaginative projects, for example, schools, a national recovery engineering establishment, a computer training centre,  an electronics training centre, a bakery, and food products division for disabled women, and various professional courses. It likewise gives a work and arrangement administration, runs urban and community-based programs for rehabilitation of the aged and disabled, and provides parental counseling and training.

MISSION AND VISION:
By promoting comprehensive rehabilitation of persons with all categories of disabilities through education, training, employment, community-based rehabilitation, integrated education, research, human resource development, publications, and other innovative means.

All persons from all kinds of disabilities will get access to individual need-based services as a matter of right, will have a good quality life and will be an indivisible element of their Communities.

STAFFS AND MEMBERS:
The people working in Blind People’s Association(BPA) are philanthropists, social workers or are professionals. Below given is the list of members of Blind People’s Association:-

MEMBERS:

 * 1) Smt. Bhartiben D. Vyas
 * 2) Dakshaben M. Patel
 * 3) Smt. Karunaben A. Shah
 * 4) Shri Dharmendra D. Vyas
 * 5) Dr. Nitin Suman Shah
 * 6) Smt. Ushaben Atulkumar
 * 7) Smt. Jayshriben Lalbhai
 * 8) Smt. Mehroo J. Cama
 * 9) Shri Praful Vyas
 * 10) Shri Natubhai C. Shah
 * 11) Shri Manubhai Patel
 * 12) Shri Vithalbhai G. Patel
 * 13) Smt. Urmilaben D. Kalantry
 * 14) Shri Upendrabhai Shah
 * 15) Prof. Bhaskar Y. Mehta
 * 16) Shri I. L. Chitkara
 * 17) Shri Tarak K. Luhar
 * 18) Shri Jayvantsinh S. Zala
 * 19) Ku. Sudha Patel
 * 20) Shri Yahya Sapatwala
 * 21) Shri Chintan R. Vasawada
 * 22) Smt. Kanchan Patel
 * 23) Smt. Hetal Pandya

DEPARTMENTS AND ACTIVITIES :
BPA carries out many activities for the differently-abled people for their personal development as well as societies. The following are the activities and departments:

EDUCATION :
BPA has educated around 300 blind people adults till higher secondary level. There are secondary schools, higher secondary schools, technical schools and a school for physiotherapy. The first school was started in 1960. It has implemented integrated educational programs all over Gujarat so disabled students and multiple handicap students can study together with normal children. Lions Metropolitan Shakriben Mangaldas Music school provides training in music for the blind. Nandini Ramesh Gandhi school of Physiotherapy recognised under Ahmedabad University provides training in physiotherapy. There is also a school recognised under Kaushalya Vardhak Kendra that has a course of the three-month massage. In such schools, oral exams are taken instead of written and sometimes if a written exam is taken then more time is given to them. BPA also carries out distance education for blind people.

REHABILITATION AND INTERVENTION:
BPA's special programs provide services to children and adults who have mental retardation, blindness with additional disabilities, autism, cerebral palsy, deaf-blindness or other severe multiple disabilities. Chandrika ben Kinariwala mental hygiene clinic that provides care facilities to people with mental illness, there is also a centre that provides vocational training for persons with multiple disabilities, Jyotsna ben Dhirubhai talk centre has been started to provide physiotherapy to poor persons. It also has a low vision clinic and unit for the deaf-blind.

SKILLS:
BPA provides training in carpentry, printing, tailoring, fabrication in iron and steel, and also training for cooking that helps getting employment.

EMPLOYMENT AND PLACEMENT:
BPA's motto behind this program is that persons with disabilities should get equal opportunity to earn and also lead to living a respectful life. They have lots of skills which can be utilized by employers for the best output. The only thing they need to do is think out of the box and give responsibility to these people.

HEALTH:
BPA has its eye hospital, ENT hospital, an orthopedic hospital, physiotherapy, psychiatric intervention that takes care of the health of the disabled.

SUPPORT SERVICES:
BPA's supports, educational and rehabilitation services provided to people with disabilities. These are aimed to make material, information and the environment accessible to such persons.

Problems faced:
During its inception, BPA didn’t have sufficient resources. Some donations helped the organisation running but in low budget. As and when time passed professionals started joining the organisation which attracted many donations. This helped the organisation to grow. They also learned that for an organisation to run effectively participation of professionals is a must. Braille language is difficult to teach and to learn. They faced problems with this but with the passing time due to innovations the braille language was made easier to teach and to learn. In some conditions, they also faced a lack of coordination from two departments but this didn’t stop them from providing service

KEY FACTORS OF SUCCESS:

 * For the rehabilitation of disables, they are giving them prominent training for self-reliance by giving them financial independence.
 * Their sense of empowerment has increased by boosting their enthusiasm and including them in activities.
 * Some activities such as Information dissemination and awareness building are yet to reach remote areas but were considered useful in urban areas.
 * BPA supports different associations and groups in which the disabled can not only address their problems but also can put forth their requirements at a policymaking level.
 * By giving them aid and training they are able to boost their confidence by enabling them to control their affairs individually.

AWARDS :
BPA has received several awards for its service to help blind and mentally ill people. It includes organisational as well as individual awards. Organisational awards are for the organisation as a whole while individual awards are for contribution from one person who has helped the society.

ANNUAL REPORTS:
Blind People’s Association has helped thousands of people in getting employment, providing education in different departments, providing training, also helped out with medical issues by establishing hospitals, and also carried out various events throughout the year. NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES :

Inauguration and Launches
Following are the inauguration and launches by BPA:-

Computerized Braille Press:
Government of India decided to provide braille press that would help people to understand in a better manner. For that they provided one braille press in Gujarat and 18 all over India.The braille press printed about 1800 pages per hour and was bought from Norway.

Ultra-Modern Conference Room:
In the memory of their late parents Mr. Bharat bhai Patel and his wife donated 25 lakhs to build this ultramodern conference room. This conference room has the capacity to adjust 60 people at a time. It is also equipped with modern technology like LCD projectors, Smart TV and also Audio system.

Vikas Day Care Centre:
This centre was inaugurated at Deesa on 16th August 2016. The centre was made for disabled children to receive day care.Presently there are 2 trained teachers providing services among 22 children.

Inauguration Of Modular Orthopaedic Operation Theatre In area:
Shri. Rajendra bhai Patel and his wife gave Rs 1630000 for setting this activity theatre This  theatre was introduced on 8th April 2016.

New vehicles:
Mr. Arijit Basu and Mr. Anand Pejawar  gave a cheque of Rs 2,605,371 with a school bus to BPA. A 65 seater Tata bus was given by Nation insurance company Ltd.

Kalol Vision Centre:
Kalol vision centre was set up  on 12th November 2016 in a hospital that is run by Noor Mohomadi charitable trust.

Audio Recording Library At Sabarmati Jail:
In the sabarmati jail the audio recording library was inaugurated on  3rd October.In  such library the prisoners will record audio for the visually impaired.

The following events were conducted by blind people’s association:
All India flag day celebration, NSIC self-employment support, Car rally, Rojgar Mela, Live telecast on bisag, Leadership training for women with visual impairment, Workshop on leadership, Team building and conflict management. All these events are carried by BPA for the development of blind people so they can grow themselves.