Our objective is to assist visually handicapped students in India.
HELP THE BLIND FOUNDATION is registered as a charity under the Companies Ordinance in Hong Kong though we have been engaged in blind related activities since 2005.
Its principal objective is to assist visually handicapped students in India with necessary financial assistance to pursue their university studies.
WE SUPPORT INTEGRATED EDUCATION FOR THE BLIND
We believe that traditional vocational and handicraft related types of training are no longer suitable for the blind. These do not equip them for job opportunities. Our objective is to give the same opportunities to blind students as are given to normal students. We want them graduate from universities and enter the same job market like everyone else, say become teachers or work in commercial enterprises and call centers.
We also support sports activities – we are financing a Sports Center for the Blind at the Loyola college. Our students at St Louis at Chennai and IAB at Madurai play cricket and other outdoor games. They are experts at Chess – one of our young boys was invited to participate in an International competition at Stockholm.
ORIGIN
Our efforts to help the blind were initiated by an accidental visit of our Founder, Mr D K Patel to the St Louis Institute for the Deaf and the Blind in Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, Chennai, in South India. The Institute was established seven decades ago by a French mission, the Montford Brothers. The Mission currently runs about 300 educational institutions. The Institute in Adyar provides secondary school level education to 140 blind boys and 450 deaf and dumb students. The quality of education is so high that the school results for the final year (XIIth standard) have always been 100% in recent years.
The Patel family, like all overseas visitors to India, were deeply distressed by the ubiquitous presence of blind beggars all over the country. The real cause of the large number of the blind in India is poverty, and the reason why the blind do not make any progress in their life is the lack of educational opportunities. A number of NGO’s and state governments are trying to overcome this situation by providing primary and secondary school facilities; however, the Foundation believes there is a need to provide help at the post secondary level and to produce blind professionals, whose elevated economic status and presence in multiple facets of society will help improve the image of the blind community.
ABOUT TEAM HTBF
The Foundation is being managed by a team of experienced bankers, academics and professionals on a voluntary basis.IT is supported by 39 volunteers based all over india.
Mr. N. Sivaji Rao
Managing Trustee,B. Sc Madras University, CAIIB.
Worked for 20 years with State Bank of India in various capacities in the North East region, New Delhi and Hong Kong. He then worked for 18 years as CFO with H. Daya International Co. Ltd., Hong Kong which is one of the top 5 Indian Trading firms in Hong Kong
Mrs. Mallika Ravi
Trustee,Bsc, Madras University, FCA.
She did her graduation in Chemistry and then did Chartered Accountancy to become a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. After serving the private sector for a few years, she is now a self-employed woman. She is also a Director of Brookefields Estates Pvt. Ltd., Chennai.
Mr. J.V. Ramani
Trustee,Master’s in management science, University of Pune, B.E, NIT, Nagpur, CAIIB.
Worked for 20 years with Bank of India and 15 years with BNP Paribas, Hong Kong. He has held several positions in cultural and social service organizations. He was the President in Tamil Cultural Association, Hong Kong, Patron of Young Indian Federation Club, Chairman of Banking Advisory committee of Indian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
Mr. S. Narasimhan
Trustee,B.Sc., Bangalore University, CAIIB, ACIB London.
He has more than 35 years of experience having worked with Indian Overseas Bank in various capacities in India as well as in Hong Kong. He retired as the Deputy General Manager of Law & Recovery Department, Central Office, Chennai.
Mrs. Deepa Krishnamoorty
Trustee,B.E. Chemical Engineering, MS Energy Technology and a certified English Teacher
She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Energy Technology. She has worked several years in energy conservation. She also is a certified English teacher and has been involved in the foundation work for a long time
Ms. Kanti
Trustee,M Phil English
She is the first VI MPhil graduate in whole of Tamilnadu. She is formerly a professor of QMC. While in QMC, she was instrumental in starting BEC, Business English Course which is conducted by Cambridge University to train girl students in Business English. She is also co-ordinator for EMET program in Chennai
Mr. D. K Sharma
Trustee,M.Sc. Hons.,Punjab University, Chandigarh.
He has 38 years of experience in banking both in India and UK. He retired as General Manager of Bank of India
Mr. Nataraj Sankaran
Trustee,Master’s degree, Madurai Kamaraj University, B.com., Saraswathi Narayanan College, Madurai.
He is an experienced Management Executive with over 30 years of management experience for a broad spectrum of companies. He worked in India, USA and Netherlands. His scope of leadership responsibility included international assignments with an emphasis on sourcing operations in Asia, Middle East, India and Indian sub-continent region. He was VP & MD of Ralph Lauren in India. At present he is Managing Director for Vétement Consultancy, Bangalore.