BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has decided in principle to open 137 more special schools for children with special needs.

Presiding over a high level meeting at the Secretariat here, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi on Monday directed the Department for Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disability to take steps for appointment of trained teachers for these schools.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will commence Seva Diwas by rendering service to the disabled children on September 17 on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday.

 Chouhan will visit leprosy aashram and go amidst the disabled children of Government vision and hearing impaired higher secondary school. Chouhan appealed to the people of the State to serve the needy people.

A 'Blind Walk', where people with sight will be blindfolded and led on a short walk by visually handicapped people, will be organised on World Sight Day on October 13 in Kochi. The walk is being organised by Bangalore-based NGO, The Project Vision, in association with Kerala Blood Donors Association. It will be carried out from St Teresa's College to Durbar Hall, which covers a distance of almost 1.5 kms, at 3 pm. Co-ordinator of The Project Vision Sibu Gerorge said they expect 500-odd persons to participate at the walk, who would be led by 100-odd visually handicapped persons.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will distribute aids and assistive devices to the disabled at the Samajik Adikarita Shivir organised by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and & Empowerment in Gujarat’s Navsari district on his birthday on September 17.

Gujarat Governor O.P. Kohli, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Minister for of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot and other dignitaries will also grace the occasion.

In soccer 5-a-side, each team competes with four blindfolded players and one goalie who is not visually impaired.

Born with glaucoma, Jeferson da Conceicao Goncalves, known as “Jefinho,” was completely blind by age 7, three years before he learned to play soccer. He had seen images of Pelş but never watched videos of the legendary Brazilian soccer player in action.

Yet Jefinho, who could win a third consecutive Paralympic gold medal with Brazil’s soccer 5-a-side team this week, has been dubbed the “Paralympic Pele” for his success and playing style.

Last month, the India Post of Sightsavers completed 50 years in the country, marking the occasion by releasing "Vision of Hope" – A special publication and unveiling the 50 Year History Wall. A global development organisation that operates across 30 countries and works towards eliminating avoidable blindness and support people with visual impairments, Sightsavers India was founded by Sir John Wilson.

Excerpts from an interview with R. N. Mohanty, CEO, Sightsavers India:

Tell us about the journey and the growth Sightsavers India has had so far.