ANNUAL REPORT 2013-14- THEME "SARGAM"

Swami Brahmanand Pratishthan set out on its journey in the year 1989 with three students on roll operating from rental premises. Presently the Trust has its own school building accommodating 118 students in the CBD Centre and 34 in the Uran unit. Dedicated service in the field of special education since inception has given the school a respectable position. From a single centre started at Shahbaz village the Organisation has the privilege of reaching out to the students of various nodes of Navi Mumbai through its three Units instilling in them a sense of discipline, determination and dedication to become contributing members of the society:

1. Disha Special School, CBD

In this unit there are 80 students divided in to nine different levels.

A curriculum is framed and an Individual Educational program is planned for every student. To enable the students with special needs face the rapid challenges in the society, the curriculum provides practical exposure with a holistic approach. The Objective of the training Program is to make every student independent to the maximum possible extent depending on their ability, instill in them a sense of confidence and make them responsible members of the community.

Along with special education other support services provided at this unit are:

- Occupational Therapy

- Counseling and Guidance

- Computer Training

- Art & Craft

- Music

- Dance /Drama

- Sports

- Yoga

- Various other Recreational activities for students, staff and parents

2. Falguni Vocational Centre, CBD

The students completing the age of 18 seek readmission depending on their degree of independence and ability level in to this section. There are 38 students placed here. The objective of this unit is to impart training in vocational skills that enable them to become economically self sufficient and contributing members of the society. The students here learn:

- House Keeping Skills

- Home Science Skills

- Painting

- Paper Bag

- Jewellery

- Food Products- chocolates, spices etc.

- Handicraft Items – door mats, torans, wall hanging etc

- Linen- Cushion covers, Bed spreads, Kitchen napkins.

- Seasonal Products- Diyas, candles, Rakhees etc.

Besides these students participate in various extra curricular activities.

As an extension of this unit our future plans are to develop a Sheltered Workshop cum Residential home.

3. Sweekar Special School, Uran- Rural Unit

Every child has a right to quality education. With this motive another centre was set up in the year 1999 at Uran to cater to the students of this rural section. This unit runs from a rental premise and caters to the needs of the Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities from the rural areas of Uran in the Raigad District.

There are 34 students grouped into three different levels managed by 8 staff members. Services provided at this unit are:

- Special Education

- Occupational Therapy

- Art & Craft

- Music

- Dance /Drama

- Sports

- Yoga

- Various other Recreational activities for students, staff and parents

The students participate in various extracurricular activities like Annual day, festival celebrations jointly with the students of the CBD centre.

4. Swami Brahmanand Parents Association

The parents of the Pratishthan have come together to form an association Swami Brahmanand Parents Association (SBPA). Various activities are conducted jointly with the School.

· Parents expressed their gratitude to the staff of the school by celebrating Teacher’s day and Care Givers day.

· Some parents also helped by sponsoring the education and medical expenses of the needy students.

· Parents volunteer their time in the school program and activities

· They took responsibilities as class representatives and coordinated with the Management, parents and the community.

· Food and game stalls were put up during the Diwali exhibition.

· Coordinated with other parents for Niramaya Health Policy and Legal Guardianship

· Participated and took a major role in the Food Fest organized by school

· Self Help Groups have been started by the SBPA-

1.Swayam, 2. Swabhiman, 3. Samarth

· Stalls were put up by the self help groups at various corporate and housing societies to market their products.

STAFF MEMBERS OF THE ORGANISATION

We have a dedicated and committed team of people that includes the Management, staff, students, parents and the community.

About our Management:

No.	NAME	POSITION
1.	Mrs. Shirish Govekar Poojary	Founder & Managing Trustee
2.	Dr. Mrs. Pratibha Moralwar	Trustee
3.	Mrs. Hansa Maru	Trustee
4.	Mrs. Charu Shah	Trustee
5.	Ms. Pushpa Moorjani	Trustee

Our Administration:

1. Mrs. Shirish Govekar Poojary – Director & Project Coordinator

2. Mrs. Charu Shah - Coordinator, Sweekar Centre

3. Ms. Pushpa Moorjani – Coordinator, (Funding & Finance)

4. Mrs. Sukanya Venkataraman – Principal

5. Ms. Chhaya Sawant – Office Coordinator

6. Mrs. Suneet Marwah – Vocational Coordinator

7. Mrs. Sujatha Bhaskar - Sweekar Administration (Ex Trustee)

Our Staff & Students

Disha Special School: 80 students

Sr. No.	Class	No. Of students	Class Teacher
1.	Play Group	10	Ms. Grace Rekha Simoes
2.	Pre-Primary- I	10	Ms. Leonara Payyapilly
3.	Pre-Primary – II	10	Ms. Sarika Sakpal
4.	Primary – I	10	Ms. Shobha Phadtare
5.	Primary –II	11	Ms. Vidya Avasak
6.	Secondary	10	Ms. Smita Waghmare
7.	Pre-Vocational I	09	Ms. Bhima Dhandekar
8.	Pre Vocational II	10	Ms. Rupali Dhandore

Falguni Vocational Training Centre: 38 students

1. Ms. Sheetal Panchal – Special educator cum Craft teacher

2. Ms. Aditi Kadam - Vocational Instructor

3. Ms. Nidhi Katare - Special Educator

4. Ms. Maya Kolhe - Class room Assistant

5. Ms. Nishigandha Sawant - Class room Assistant

Sweekar Centre, Uran: 34 students

Office Supervisor- Mrs. Madhuri Upadhye

Head Teacher- Mrs. Pallavi Pardesi

Sr. No.	Class	No. Of students	Class Teacher
9.	Pre-Primary	08	Ms. Pallavi Pardesi
10.	Primary	08	Ms. Surekha Bhojane
11.	Pre-Vocational and Vocational	18	Mr. Rakesh Mhatre
12.	Attendant	-	Mrs. Sumati Thakur
13.	Attendant	-	Mrs. Snehal Rane
14.	Driver	-	Mr. Prashant Kadam
15.	Cleaner	-	Mr. Ganesh Jadhav

OTHER PROFESSIONALS AT CBD CENTRE

1. Ms. Charusheela Nikose – Occupational Therapist

2. Mrs. Anita Punj - Computer Instructor

3. Ms. Madhukanta Shah - Drawing Teacher

4. Mr. Sarang Rathod - Sports Instructor

5. Mr. Dnyaneshwar Bhosale- Special Educator

6. Mrs. Kavita Bhave - Accountant

Our Support Staff:

1. Mr. Shashikant Bandekar – Driver

2. Mr. Laxman Mhatre - Peon

3. Mr. Santosh Yadav - Cleaner

4. Mrs. Anita Mankame - Attendant

5. Mrs. Kasturi Bhojane - Attendant

6. Mrs. Sunanda Shivsharan – Attendant

7. Mrs. Geetha Sidhu - Attendant

Our Ex Students Employed

1. Mr. Sujit Phadnis - Office Assistant

2. Mr.Vinod Munde - Attendant

3. Mr. Ravinder Pal Walia- Attendant

Our Volunteer

1. Mrs. Nirmala Ramdas

The distribution of staff according to salary levels and gender break up.

Slab of gross salary per month (in Rs) plus benefits paid to staff	Male staff	Female staff	Total staff
Less than 5000	5	06	11
5,000 – 10,000	3	11	14
10,000 – 25,000	2	5	07
25,000 – 50,000	1	10	11

A Review of progress and results achieved in the Academic year

2013-14

School reopened on 7th June for staff and 10th June for students. 11 new students were admitted to the School. Three new special educators were appointed this year. Various changes were introduced for good administration.

New initiatives taken-

· An Annual Planning workshop was held in the month of April wherein all the staff members of the Institution along with the Management planned the entire year’s activity. The theme selected for the year was “SARGAM” –the culmination of seven notes that symbolizes togetherness, equilibrium and connectivity.

· Calendars /ID cards were distributed to the students and staff.

· Parent representatives were selected from each class to coordinate between the school and the other parents of the class. .

· Special activities were planned for the Parents which helped in bridging the gap between the Home and the school.

· CCTV camera were fixed in the school premises at the initiative of Parents

· Workshops were conducted for training the staff and improve their assessment, planning and documentation by an educational consultant

· 3 Classrooms were renovated with the help of donors and well wishers.

· Conducted Community Coaches Training Program for 50 participants on behalf of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India & Special Olympics Bharat on 1^st and 2^nd of March.

· The School was given the responsibility of coordinating with the special schools of Thane, Ratnagiri, Sindudurg and Raigad Districts for the Ability Mela organized by Social Welfare Department Maharashtra and International Association of Lions Clubs on 5^th of October.

· The School was a part of the Centenary celebration of Swami Vivekananda and participated in the yatra on 12^th January 2013 and other events organized by them

· Fashion show was organized for the students of SBP for the first time

· Mrs. Vijaya Balaji Director of Tool Box connected us to volunteers who were experts in their field with the objective of upgrading the working style of our NGO. Mr. Devidasan a volunteer of Tool Box shared his time and expertise and helped the institution in designing the admission process chart, post admission procedure, promotion chart and the organisation structure. He also helped us to improve on our planning. An initial workshop was also held for the staff on goal setting for professional development by Ms. Anuradha of Tool Box.

· Students of Falguni Vocational Centre participated in a Cookery contest organised by AWMH at Rizvi College on 20^th of February.

ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2013-14

SPORTS

· Four students participated in the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games held in Newcastle Australia from 1st to 7th December. Lakshmi Shetty won 2 gold medals in the Table Tennis mixed doubles event while Mst. Yash Mhaske won a silver medal in the 4 kg shot put throw and Ms. Disha Maru won 2 bronze medals in the 100m freestyle and 25m swimming relay race. Mst. Shrilak Bhoir a student of our Uran centre also won a silver medal in the cricket match.

· They attended two Coaching Camps one at Chennai and other at Rajasthan for Asia Pacific Games in July and September.

· TT comp at Goregaon- AWMH & Phoenix Sports Matunga on 21st and 22nd of September attended by Gurpreet, Adnan, Madhur, Devang , Pratik Tayde.

· SOB aquatics at Kolhapur on 24th September attended by Disha, Kareena, Sushil and Sneha and the National Aquatic meet was held at Monda Karnataka on 1st of October attended by Ms. Disha and Ms. Sneha.

· Roller skating state games at Pune attended by Rahul, Sushil, Khalid, Saqlain & Saurav Nambiyar and the National Championship at Bareiley-UP was attended by Rahul Daware from 4th to 11th January 2014 winning 1 gold in relay-4X100, 1 silver (100m) and 1 bronze (300m).

· 29 students participated in the sports organized by Samannay on 1st of December 2013.

· 18 students Participated in the District Sports at Thane organized by Social welfare Department on 3rd December 2013 winning 3 Gold, 5-Silver and 3 Bronze medals.

· School sports organized for all the students on 23rd January 2014 at Bharat Ratna Late Shri.Rajiv Gandhi Kridangan, CBD, Navi Mumbai.

· 25 students participated in the sports organized by Sanjeevandeep Paraplegic Foundation on 30th January winning 3 Gold, 3 silver and 3 Bronze medals.

· National Cricket Coaching camp at Kolhapur by SOB from 19th to 21st December was attended by Pronnoy/Pratik/Mahendra.

· Students participated in the Cricket tournament organized by AWMH on 8th and 9th February. Mst. Pratik Tayde won the Best bowler award.

· Students participated and won 1st prize in the cricket competition organized by Phoenix on 22nd February 2014.

· State Athletic meet by SOB at Kandivli was attended by 21 students on 25th February 2014.

Cultural

· 10 students participated in the drama workshop organized by Natyashala from 22nd November to 3rd December.

· Dance Competition- School level –sponsored by Amway for children’s day on 20th November.

· Students participated in the Dance Competition organized by Inner Wheel Clubs of Zone IV, Mumbai on 17th January.

· Students participated in the cultural program organized by Lion’s International, Kopar kahirane.

ART & CRAFT COMPETITIONS

· Participation in Ability Competition organized by Skills and Ability School between 11th to 13th Dec winning prizes.

· Drawing Competitions organized by Navneet on 7th and 8th August

· Students participated in the Ability Mela organized by the Social Welfare Department, Government of Maharashtra and International Association of Lions clubs winning many prizes. The school won the 1st Prize in Thane District

FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS

· The year’s celebrations began with Swamiji’s Punyatithi on 15th June and two new renovated class rooms were inaugurated.

· The birthdays of all the students and staff members were celebrated on the last day of every month. In line with the Theme Sargam musical notes and instruments were introduced. The activities planned helped children learn more about music and musical instruments.

· All festivals in the School were celebrated in a unique manner so that students gain more knowledge about our tradition and culture.

· Parents and Grand parents Day was celebrated on 20th July by the staff members of the Organization giving the Parents a day to enjoy themselves without having to worry about their wards who were well taken care of by the School staff. This improved the rapport between the staff and the parents.

· Fashion show was organized by Amway opportunities and 30 students walked the ramp surprising the audience.

· Teacher’s Day was also celebrated on 5th September by the Management and the Parents Association.

· Dandiya program was organized for the students and parents on 11th October.

· Inauguration of another class room renovated by Amway Opportunities Foundation & celebration of Children’s day with a dance competition for the students.

· Fun fair was organized on the occasion of Disability day for the students on 6th of December.

· On 13th March Food Fest was organized at school and students brought variety of dishes from home.

· Care givers day was organized on 28th March and the care givers were felicitated by Swami Brahmanand Parents Association and the Management.

SALES & EXHIBITIONS

The students of Falguni Vocational Centre have kept themselves busy throughout the year by making products for various exhibitions. The Annual School Exhibition was held on 19^th October- Inaugurated by Mr. Mangilal Jain and Mr. Rama Krishnan. Besides regular school exhibitions, stalls were put up at various locations like Raghunath Vihar Society, Government Law College companies like Albatross Shipping Ltd., Govandi and DAKC Kopar Khairane.

MEETINGS

From time to time, meetings were held for the Teaching and Non-teaching Staff. Meetings were also called for Parents to acquaint them with the program planned by the Class Teacher and also to get feedback on the progress and follow up of activities carried out at home by them.

OPEN DAY

The 1^st Term Report was given to parents on 26^th October. The performance of students was shared by the Teachers with the parents. Parents too gave a feed back on the same.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES:

To improve the standard of education the staff members are provided continuous professional development programs. To equip the professionals with skills to improve their teaching strategies and expose them to the latest development in the field of special education some of the workshops conducted were:

· Micro teaching workshop at Skills and ability, Nerul by UFSE team.

· Workshop on IEP by Kala Sundervedha followed by four follow up sessions.

· Workshop on goal setting for staff members by Tool Box Volunteers.

Additionally, these teachers also participated in CRE programs and workshops organized by other Institutions.

OUTING:

Students were taken for a one day picnic to R. K. Farms, Khopoli on 20^th of December. The event was sponsored by the Vaghani Family from CBD.

PLACEMENT OF STUDENTS:

· Students of NIMH , RC Navi Mumbai and Helen Keller Teacher Training Institute were placed in the School for their Practical’s.

· Interns of Terna Physiotherapy college were placed at the centre all year round

· 5 Students of SIES college of Management Studies were placed at the centre and carried out case studies of students passed out of school and also made a soft copy of General Register.

· Mr. Ajay Patil student of NMIMS was placed at the Centre from 3rd February to 23rd February. He studied the impact of the organizations training program on the development of the students and the awareness in the society regarding the special needs children.

NUTRITION & HEALTH:

Nutrition program for the students of Sweekar Uran sponsored by Ms. Uma Deepak, Ms. Seema Mansukhani, Mr. Tony Khemlani, Mr. Mangilal Jain : milk, biscuits, fruits, lunch etc was given during the year. Medical expenses of 3 students are being sponsored by our well wishers: Mr. Vishwanathan, Mrs Devyani Swamy and Satya Sai Trust.

AWARDS:

· On 8th of March Mrs. Shirish Poojary was felicitated by Jyeshta Nagrik Sangh, Nerul and International Lions Club of Kopar Khairane on the occasion of International women’s day.

CSR & OTHER ACTIVITIES:

An NGO is always in need of community support and we are happy to have a partnership with various organisations.

· Two classrooms were inaugurated in the month of March with the support of well wishers and donors:

1. Sir Vithaldas Damodar Thackersey Charitable Trust

2. St Mary's High School (SSC) Mazagaon. (class of ‘78 & ‘79)

3. Mr. Kapil Sen

4. Late Mrs. Mahalakshmi Hariharan

5. Late Dr. Waryam Singh

6. Late Mrs. Narmada Krishnamoorthy

· Amway Opportunities Foundation has renovated one classroom and also made a contribution of Rs. 1,10,000/-. The members visited and conducted medical check up camps and organized fashion show and dance competition for the students. The salary of one staff member Ms. Aditi Kadam is being sponsored by Amway.

· Mr. K. Satish of B.G. India ran the Half Marathon in the Mumbai Marathon on 19^th January and raised a fund of Rs. 1,10,800/- for the Institution with the support of his colleagues.

· CCTV cameras were fit in the school premises at the initiative of parents keeping in mind the safety and security of the students attending the centre. Mr. Suneel Rajput made a partial contribution towards the same.

· Rotary Club of New Bombay Hillside and Inner wheel club of New Bombay Hillside sponsored Medals for sports

· Mrs. Shirish Poojary and Mrs. Sukanya Venkataraman were invited as Honoured Guests at the World’s Women’s Day Program “Audacious 2014”organized by ITM Executive Education Centre, Kharghar. An amount of Rs.22,430/- Was contributed by the students and staff members of ITM.

Government Grant: The school continues to receive Government grant for 50 students and this includes the salaries of 17 staff members. An Amount of Rupees forty one lakhs (Rs. 41,00,000/-) was received.

SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM:

Deserving and needy students of the three units have been sponsored by our friends and well wishers under the Project: “Walk Beside me and be my friend”. Without their support many of the activities would not have been possible. We thank each and every one of them without whose support it would have been impossible to carry on the activities.

The centre is visited by many friends and well-wishers.

Our heartfelt gratitude to all for supporting us in our mission of creating a better life for Persons with special needs.