Hyderabad, March 2022……All India Confederation of the Blind (AICB) is a body of blind persons working for and with the blind community to open its South Indian headquarters at Hyderabad. AICB, the 42 years old body is made up of various state level associations / organizations, starting from the grass root level. It has 24 affiliates across the country.

A small new office is a rented office in Babukhan Estate, Basheerbagh. It will be formally inaugurated on 19th March Saturday.

Thaneer Sri Ranga Rao, Chairman, Electricity Regulatory Commission; Shri Thakellapally Ravindar Rao, MLC will grace the inaugural function.

On the day of the inauguration we would like to give pensions to a few visually challenged. This center will teach computers to the visually challenged. It will help them in filling some farms, applications etc. We will play a role of advocacy. We help the visually challenged to fight injustice. We help them file cases. When a visually challenged in Pondicherry was removed from job without valid reason, we fought the case on his behalf and got him reinstated. We will also have an exhibition of braille appliances such as holding sticks, basic writing instruments, calculators, braille displays, notetakers, and smart display devices and others. These will be sold on subsidised prices. This will be the first office in South India. So far we have done lot of work in the north. With this we will start our work in the south as well informed Mr.J.L. Kaul Secretary General, AICB.

The idea behind opening this new office is to reach out to visually challenged who can approach this office for any support, help, guidance be it personal, professional informed “Ponugoti Chokka Rao”, Secretary AICB.

Though there are plenty of braille text books, but not many leisure reading books in braille in Telugu. We would like to take up a project to bring out more leisure reading books such as story books, comics etc in braille in Telugu so that we can cultivate more reading habits, Mr. J.L. Kaul said. For this we need funds. We will also raise funds for the same, J.L. Kaul added.

Blind are Techy Savvy. They may be blind, but they don’t lag behind in adapting to new technologies such as Email, Smartphones, GPS Devices, . They use gadgets and gizmos with ease on par with the sighted. Blind must be trained in adapting modern technology and technological devices, gadgets and gizmos. This will increase their efficiency. By using this they will access the latest information. They will have access to material on the net. Otherwise they lag behind. Take for instance, some visually challenged read e newspapers with ease. They keep abreast with current affairs and knowledge related to their life and job, said J.L. Kaul and Ponugoti Chokka Rao. The new center at Babukhan Estate in Basheerbagh in Hyderabad will help the blind to embrace technology. Eric Alexander, a mountaineer being blind climbed Mount Everest. If you think you can do it. Adapting technology, being blind and becoming tech savvy is a simple thing but can make a huge difference in the lives of the blind they said. More and more must adapt to technology and must become tech savvy. By doing so they will be helping themselves a lot, they added.

Though there are 250 plus blind organisations, very few work for empowerment of the visually challenged. AICB is the most talked about and respected organisation. We have travelled a long distance, from a small rented office to our own premises in Delhi, housing a variety of services, from just one part-time employee to the present number of over 66 staff members, from a meagre fund of just a few hundred rupees to the present budget of few crores and from hardly any activity to over 20 projects and services now informed J.L. Kaul.

AICB has been adjudged the Best NGO in the disability sector by the Government of India and presented the corresponding National Award by the President of India. The Confederation’s Braille printing press was adjudged the best in the country and was awarded a Citation and Cash Award of Rs. One lakh in the year 2009 and 2012, J.L. Kaul explained. He will be in Hyderabad this Saturday for the inauguration of AICB South India Headquarters.

AICB has a clear mandate. It seeks to reach out into areas hitherto untraversed or neglected. Thus, visually impaired children, women and the elderly are our primary target groups. Opening up of new vistas of opportunities for the neglected segments of our blind population residing in rural areas is our major concern. On the other hand, facilitating access to information and harnessing appropriate technologies for improving the quality of life of our blind friends is a matter of faith with us.

The statistics reveal that as per the lost census, there are 50 lakh visually challenged in India. But, this number in reality is far more than what was stated. It will be well over 3 or 4 times more, he said.

Source: http://businessnewsthisweek.com/news/aicb-to-open-its-south-indian-headquarters-in-hyderabad/