Divine Fellowship - Blind School Project
Divine Fellowship - Blind School Project
Project Brief: The Divine Fellowship (D.F). Blind School is located in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. The School's purpose is to educate, rehabilitate, and integrate blind students into their original communities.
Project Type: Residential School (description)
Primary Focus: children with disabilities (description)
Supporting Chapter Contact: Hartford
Project Type: Residential School (description)
Primary Focus: children with disabilities (description)
Secondary Focus: orphans
Area: UrbanSupporting Chapter Contact:
Status: completed - requirements ended
Project Steward: Sridhar Lomite
Project Partner(s): Jabesh Dutt
Other Contacts: Paul Semanski
Project Address: , 104, Mahatma Gandhi Road,R. C. THAKURANI, JOKA,Kolkata,
West Bengal 700014
Tel: +91 9830028007
Stewarding Chapter: Hartford
Project Steward: Sridhar Lomite
Project Partner(s): Jabesh Dutt
Other Contacts: Paul Semanski
Project Address: , 104, Mahatma Gandhi Road,R. C. THAKURANI, JOKA,Kolkata,
West Bengal 700014
Tel: +91 9830028007
Stewarding Chapter: Hartford
| Dec 2012 | Hartford | USD 15000 |
Total = $15000
The D.F. Blind School is located in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, and was founded in 1988. The School�s purpose is to educate, rehabilitate, and integrate blind students into their original communities. It currently serves around 130 blind and visually impaired students, ranging from ages 2 through high school. The children stay at the School during the academic year. All costs, including the students boarding, health care needs, the teacher salaries, are taken care of by the generosity of donors. There is no charge to the students� families to attend the School. Most of the children come from families, who live in the rural areas of the West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Bihar provinces of India. Some of these children have no family or have been abandoned. Of the nearly 130 students, about half are boys and half are girls.
The students attend school on a full-time basis during the academic year, learning math,
reading, geography, music, dance, Hindi, English, and Bengali (the native language for most
of them). Of course, they also read and write in Braille. And, they also get practical training on
life skills, such as seam stressing, poetry, gardening, tailoring etc. The students actively participate in sports such as cricket etc. The School also believes it is important for the children to understand and maintain their cultural heritage. Visitors to the School are typically welcomed by student dancers and musicians dressed in traditional Indian garb, and treated to performances reflective of the students' cultural traditions. There is a free medical checkup conducted once a week for the students by a visiting doctor.
The students attend school on a full-time basis during the academic year, learning math,
reading, geography, music, dance, Hindi, English, and Bengali (the native language for most
of them). Of course, they also read and write in Braille. And, they also get practical training on
life skills, such as seam stressing, poetry, gardening, tailoring etc. The students actively participate in sports such as cricket etc. The School also believes it is important for the children to understand and maintain their cultural heritage. Visitors to the School are typically welcomed by student dancers and musicians dressed in traditional Indian garb, and treated to performances reflective of the students' cultural traditions. There is a free medical checkup conducted once a week for the students by a visiting doctor.
The biggest need at this point is to build a new dormitory building for the girls. The plan is to build a 130-student facility � which would double the size of the School and also make it the largest School for Blind Children in India. In addition, the children need a playground designed for their very special needs. Asha-Hartford and Starfish Childrens Fund hope to provide support to fulfill the above needs of the school.
The Starfish Children�s Fund is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Its federal Tax ID# is: 651273020. The Starfish Children's Fund is non-sectarian, and its main goal is to aid the neediest children regardless of
race, religion or nationality. Two Officers of Starfish Childrens Fund organization are on the Board of Directors of the D.F. Blind School
race, religion or nationality. Two Officers of Starfish Childrens Fund organization are on the Board of Directors of the D.F. Blind School
Contact Email Address: jabesh.dutt@gmail.com
Jan 2012 Funding Approval Mins 2012
Dec 2011 Proposal 2012
Dec 2011 Construction quote 2012
Dec 2011 Playscape proposal
Feb 2011 Site Visit 2011
Apr 2009 Site Visit April 2009
Dec 2011 Proposal 2012
Dec 2011 Construction quote 2012
Dec 2011 Playscape proposal
Feb 2011 Site Visit 2011
Apr 2009 Site Visit April 2009