Rajgarh farmer independently sets up school for the visually challenged

They say when all the doors are closed, there creeps in a ray of light which is sufficient to kindle the flames of hope and change lives. A farmer in a small village of Chhattisgarh's Rajgarh district has become the unlikely ray of hope for 30 visually-challenged children. Barun Kumar Pradhan, 56, runs Netrahin Bal Vidya Mandir (NBVM) a free residential school located in Amlidih village, around 27 kms away from district headquarters.

The school has already brought a transformation in the lives of children, mostly belonging to poor families, who beside their daily lessons and sports, also receive vocational training.

"I don't want any blind children to beg on the streets and get exploited. I want to make them self-reliant and have a bright future," Pradhan said. The school, which started in 2014, will already see its wards double in number this year.

"We are expecting the strength to reach 60 in this new academic session as we are being approached by many people in and around the region," he said. The school, which offers education till class VI, also has 5 visually impaired teachers, including a married couple -Jaidev Sahu, 28, and Kiran Sahu, 26.

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Himani, 19-year-old daughter of Pradhan, is the headmaster of the school. Though NBVM doesn’t receive any official financial aid from the government, it is kept afloat by some like-minded people. "NBVM educates the children through Braille and also helps them develop various life skills that can make them self-dependent," said Himani.

Recalling her father's initial efforts to set up the school, she said, it was her visually impaired cousin who became a source of inspiration for him to take a pledge to work for such children.

Image Courtesy: timesofindia

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