Snehadeep, showing a path of hope for visually impaired, disabled

Snehadeep Trust, the not-for-profit which has been working with visually impaired and differently abled for a long time and providing them training, accommodation, education, and assistance with personal development, recently expanded its operations to include children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Trust, interestingly, is founded by three people who are visually impaired. The three graduates had a strong desire to help people with disabilities and to make them experience life to the fullest. The trust has a holistic approach to empowerment and advancement of challenged individuals. It believes that the information technology plays a crucial role in educating the differently abled and also finding employment for them on equal terms with others.

Paul Muddha, Managing Trustee, Snehadeep, said, "One of our major goals was to set up a residential computer training centre, and it was done. A large number of students have benefitted from this. We are assisting differently abled students from pursuing education and reaching their potential by providing them facilities like Braille books, e-text and hostel facilities. Apart from training them in computers, we also help them in getting certification from a recognised institution. We train and enable them to choose a career path after they complete their Senior Secondary Certificate course (Class 10th).

For this, we identify a minimum of 10 students and provide them in-house career guidance, personality development,counselling, motivational training, preparing them for further courses and placing them suitably."

The students are also trained in areas of motivation, personality development, confidence building and communication skills. Apart from offering regular courses, Snehadeep invites key personalities from different fields to provide special coaching to students.

"We are very happy to be associated with corporates, individuals, well-wishers and volunteers. Today, most of our activities are carried out with the support of volunteers who contribute their time and resources through different programmes. Snehadeep has empowered and placed more than 300 students in good jobs in a short span. They consider Snehadeep as their alma mater and elixir of life. After our seminar on mobility, beepers were installed at traffic signals across Bengaluru which help visually impaired cross the road easily," said K.G. Mohan, Trustee, Snehadeep Trust.

Snehadeep, which considers its moral responsibility to take care of differently abled, has conducted several seminars on issues faced by them. The latest seminar was on the Disability Act where it recommended 52 amendments to the act through the Governor.

Snehadeep conducts health camps, particularly eye check-up camps to help the visually impaired. This year alone it has funded 50 eye operations, in addition to providing corrective lenses and vision to six students.