ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2015-16

SWAMI BRAHMANAND PRATISHTHAN

ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR

2015-16

Theme:

“MANGAL”

“Persons of special need to be nurtured and empowered with skill and tender care”

Regd No.E12466  Dtd : 09.11.89

Address: “Nav-Shanti “, Plot No.7, Sector 8A,CBD, Navi Mumbai – 400614.

Tel: 022 27570389

Email ID :shirishv12@gmail.com,

Blog Spot : www.sbp-pushpa.blogspot.com; www.sbp2.org 

VISION

To empower the mentally challenged with skills that will enable them to lead a life of dignity and respect.

MISSION

To develop services and programs for empowering persons with special needs and their families.

PROFILE OF SWAMI BRAHMANAND PRATISHTHAN

Swami Brahmanand Pratishthan is a Voluntary Organisation working for the upliftment of children with mental retardation. The trust was founded in the year 1989 by Mrs. Shirish Poojary, a professional in the field of Special Education with the objective of providing services to persons with special needs in areas where needed. After conducting a survey in the villages of Belapur, Agroli, Shahabaz & Diwala of Navi Mumbai, Mrs. Poojary started her first Project at Shahabaz with just three students on 7^th July 1990. Today the Trust carries out its activities from two Centres one at CBD, Navi Mumbai and the other at Uran. There are 165 students in both the centres.

Information on the objectives of the organization, and a description of the main activities

The training programme planned provides opportunities to carry out and face real-life situations and challenges. The type of training the child needs will depend on the severity of the disability, the intellectual level and the presence of associated disabilities. The team approach which includes the child with special needs, the school, the parents, professionals and the community is vital. A special school curriculum is adapted according to the needs of every child. Multi-sensory teaching learning strategies along with real life experiences enable the child to develop the full potential of the students.

The school curriculum is holistic in nature, providing training in areas such as personal skills, speech and language, motor skills, social skills and community orientation, functional academics, and various co-curricular activities like art and craft, music, dance, dramatics, sports, yoga etc.  Every opportunity is given to the child with disability to participate in school programs to build a sense of belonging, self esteem and confidence.  It is the responsibility of the head of the organization to make education a meaningful and engaging experience for children, teachers and parents.

At our centre the students are classified into different levels, namely the pre-primary section, primary, secondary, pre-vocational, and vocational. The students are grouped on the basis of their ability, need, their chronological age and IQ.  Every class has 8 to 10 students under a trained special educator.

Besides special education the students are exposed to various co-curricular activities. To inculcate good discipline, team work and an attitude to help others students, parents and staff conduct activities together.

The main activities of the organisation are training, education and rehabilitation of special children.  There are three units:

OUR UNITS

Disha Special School, CBD Belapur

In this unit there are 81 students divided in to 9 different levels. 11 students were given admission at the beginning of this academic year. 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 extent possible depending on their ability, instill in them a sense of confidence and make them responsible members of the community. 

Falguni Vocational Centre, CBD Belapur

There are 44 students in the age range of 18 to 45 placed in three different levels in this unit. The students learn vocational skills that enable them to become partially economically self sufficient and contributing members of the society. They also participate in extra curricular activities, which helps boost their confidence. The students are trained in various skills:

1.                  House Keeping  & Home Sciences

2.                  Arts & craft

3.                  Product making (eg: Fancy envelopes/ Paper Bags)

4.                  Jewelry making

5.                  Making food products (eg: chocolates, spices, etc.)

6.                  Making handicraft Items (eg: door mats, torans, wall hangings, etc.)

7.                  Making linen cushion covers, bed spreads, kitchen napkins.

8.                  Making seasonal products (eg: diyas, candles, rakhees, etc.)

Sweekar Special School, Uran

This unit runs from rental premises and caters to the needs of the Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (“PWIDDs”) from the rural areas of Uran in the Raigad District, Maharashtra. There are 39 students grouped into four different levels managed by 10 staff members. 9 new students were admitted to the school this academic year and one student discontinued. The students participate in various extracurricular activities like Annual day, festival celebrations jointly with the students of the CBD centre.

Along with special education and  Vocational training  other support services provided are:

1.                  Occupational Therapy

2.                  Counseling and Guidance

3.                  Computer Skills

4.                  Art & Craft

5.                  Music

6.                  Dance / Drama

7.                  Sports

8.                  Yoga

9.                  Various other recreational activities for students, staff and parents

Swayam: A self help group of parents and adult PWIDDs has 15 members actively involved in the food and spices unit. Stalls are put up at corporate offices and residential colonies for sale of products.

LIST OF BOARD MEMBERS OF SWAMI BRAHMANAND PRATISHTHAN

Founder Trustees

Mrs. Shubhangi Govekar

Mrs. Shirish Govekar Poojary

Mrs. Nirmala Namjoshi

About Our Present Management

Sr. 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:

Mrs. Shirish Govekar Poojary – Director & Project Coordinator-

Mrs. Charu Shah - Coordinator, Sweekar Centre

Ms. Pushpa Moorjani –Coordinator (Funding & Finance)

Dr. Mrs. Pratibha Moralwar- Nutrition & Health

Mrs. Hansa Maru – Coordinator of Swayam (self help group of Parents)

Mrs. Sukanya Venkataraman – Principal

Mrs. Suneet Marwah – Vocational Coordinator of Falguni Vocational Unit

Mrs. Madhuri Upadhye- Supervisor of Sweekar centre, Uran

Mrs. Sujatha Bhaskar- Administration, Sweekar Centre, Uran

Ms. Pallavi Pardesi- Head Teacher, Sweekar Centre, Uran

Ms. ChhayaSawant – Office Coordinator

Ms. Kavita Bhave – Accounts

Special Educators

Ms. Grace Rekha Simoes

Ms. Rupali Dhandore

Ms. Sarika Sakpal

Ms. Shobha Phadtare

Ms. Vidya Avasak

Ms. Smita Waghmare

Ms. Bhima Dhandekar

Mr. Laxman More

Ms. Nidhi Katare     

Ms. Pallavi Pardesi

Ms. Snehal Gawand

Mr. Dhananjay Pathare                      

Vocational Instructors

Ms. Aditi Kadam     

Ms. Maya Kolhe                

Ms. Surekha Bhojane                        

Mr.  Rakesh Mhatre

Ms. Sunita Kadam

Occupational Therapist

Ms. Charushila Nikose          

Sports Instructor

Mr. Sarang Rathod  (CBD)

Mr. Gopal Mhatre (Part Time-Uran)   

Art & Craft Teacher:

Ms. Smita Vartak

Ms. Madhukanta Shah (part time)

Computer Instructor

Mrs. Anita Punj (Part Time)

Accountant

Ms. Kavita Bhave            

Our Support Staff

Class room Assistants

Ms. Nishigandha Sawant    

Drivers

Mr. Shashikant Bandekar

Mr. Prashant Kadam

Peon

Mr. Laxman Mhatre          

Attendants:

Mrs. Anita Mankame         

Mrs. Kasturi Bhojane        

Mrs. Sunanda Shivsharan   

Mrs. Sumati Thakur

Mrs. Snehal Rane

Mr. Santosh Yadav            

Mr. Ganesh Jadhav

Ms. Monica Britto                                                           

Our Ex Students Employed

Mr. Sujit Phadnis    

Mr.Vinod Munde  

Mr. Ravinder Pal Walia

HONORARY CONSULTANTS

Dr. Prashant Moralwar

Tool Box- Mrs. Vijaya Balaji & Team

Mrs. Pranita Madkaikar

Ms. Kala Sundervedha

Dr. Mrs. Thankam Ghule

NEW INITIATIVES

Wall painting project by our students of Pearl Academy, Marol on the theme “Rainbow Fantasy” on 14^th October.

Music Therapy: Under the guidance of Mr. Pravin Shevade, we undertook Music Therapy sessions for our students. To expose the teachers to the concept of music as a therapy, Mr. Rajam Shankar, a renowned music therapist conducted a half day workshop at our school.

Seva Samiti: Our staff members came together to extend support and volunteer their time and services to the needy section of the community. The members of the Samiti extended their voluntary services to Mangalam Charitable Trust to conduct programs for the cancer affected children at Tata memorial Hospital, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai.

Goal Setting for the Staff: Ms. Swati Mathur (former Vice President, Human Resources, Edelweiss) conducted goal setting workshop for the staff members, on behalf of Tool Box, to enable personal and professional growth.

District Sports Meet: The school organized the district sports meet on 3^rd December, 2015 at the Bharat Ratna Rajeev Gandhi stadium where 25 schools and 424 students participated.

New School Building: A plot measuring 1800 Sq. ft was purchased for the school building at Uran. The construction work of this building is in progress.

Healthy Athlete Opening Eyes- on 2^nd March an eye check up camp was organized by the School on behalf of Special Olympics Bharat Maharashtra and Lotus college of Optometry at Kairali Hall next to the School. 135 special children of Navi Mumbai and Raigad district were screened and a thorough eye check up was done by 27 doctors of Lotus clinic of which 11 doctors were from a French delegation. 35 spectacles were given free of cost by SOB, Maharashtra and Essilor Vision Foundation.

ACHIEVEMENTS  & PARTICIPATION

Sports :

1.                  25^th July to 2^nd August, 2015: Ms. Disha Maru and Ms. Sneha Verma participated in the Special Olympics World Summer Games at Los Angeles, USA from 25^th July, 2015 to 2^nd August, 2015, and were victorious in the swimming event. We are proud to say that

Disha won: 1 silver in 25m breaststroke

Sneha won : 1 gold in 50m freestyle

2.                  12^th December, 2015: 27 students participated in the sports organized by Samanay

3.                  15^th December, 2015: 24 students participated  in the sports organized by Narsee Monjee School, Mumbai

4.                  Students at the Sweekar Centre, Uran also participated in various sports events: on 3^rd December, 2015, a district sports meet was organized by the social welfare department Alibaug along with Aai Day Care Special School. On 19^th December, 2015 sports was organized by Daatar School at Kasalkhand, Panvel.

5.                  28^th January, 2016: Students of both, the CBD Belapur and Uran units participated in the cricket tournament organized by Save the Children Special School.

6.                  7^th February, 2016: four students participated in the cyclothon organized by Nerul Gymkhana

7.                  10^th to 12^th February, 2016: two students participated in the State games organized by the Social Welfare department, Nagpur

Cultural

1.                  16^th August, 2015: Students presented a dance performance in the Talent of Navi Mumbai Program at Vashi.

2.                  11^th December, 2015: 50 students participated and performed  at a program organized by Senior Citizens Club at B. P. Marine, CBD, Navi Mumbai

3.                  6^th February, 2016: 26^th Annual Day celebration at Adhya Vasudev Balwant Phadke Auditorium, Panvel. Sri Avinash lad Dy. Mayor of NMMC, Navi Mumbai was the Chief Guest. Sri. Sunil Bazare senior Police Inspector, Panvel City and Sri. Raju Soni, Corporator, Panvel Municipal Council were the honoured guests.

4.                  15^th February, 2016: on the occasion of National Cancer Day students performed a group dance at Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel

5.                  15^th March, 2016: students performed a folk dance in the Women achievers award function organized by Evolve Business School, Vashi

Art & Craft

1.                  Students participated in the Navneet drawing competition held at School

2.                  7 Students participated in the drawing competition organized by Ashray Special School on 3^rd October, 2015

3.                  Students participated in the drawing competition organized at School on behalf of Navi Mumbai Environment Protection society on the topic ‘importance of Mangroves’ on 14^th December, 2015

Self Advocacy program:

1.                  Student of Sweekar Centre, Uran, Ms. Purva Nagri along with teacher Mr. Dhananjay Pathare attended the National Self Advocacy meet held from 25^th November, 2015 to 29^th November, 2015 at Udaipur, Rajasthan

EVENTS

25^th July, 2015: Parents and Grand Parents Day

12^th September, 2015: Teacher’s day program at school with lunch for staff members

17^th October, 2015: Dandiya program for students and parents at Mangal Sabagruha. Mrs. Lakshmi Patro of Inner Wheel Club of New Bombay Hillside judged the dance performance. The event was sponsored by Mr. Nikhil Jasuja.

21^st June, 2015:  Participated in the International Yog Din at CIDCO Exhibition Centre

23^rd December, 2015: Christmas party was sponsored by Mr. Sunil Govekar and Catholic Gymkhana, Mumbai.

2^nd April 2015: Care givers Day celebrated by the Parents Association

The birthdays of students and staff members are celebrated on the last working day of every month. This year during the birthday celebrations keeping in line with the theme Mangal cultures, dress, and popular food items of both Maharashtra and West Bengal were introduced to the students. Skits, quiz programs, power point presentations were made by the staff members. All festivals are celebrated in the school.

Sale & exhibition

15^th & 16^th August, 2015: sale of Rakhi at Raghunath vihar

23^rd August, 2015: Sale at sector 15, CBD, Navi Mumbai :Talent on display: Alexander Martin

24^th October, 2015: Exhibition at School. Chief Guest for Exhibition Mr. Nitin Shah, MD of Total Sports& Fitness. The exhibition was kept open for one week.

Stalls were put up at Albatross Shipping Co., Chembur on 28^th October, 2015, Edelweiss house on 10^th November, 2015 and Larsen & Toubro Communications, Mhape on 23^rd December, 2015

Sweekar Centre also put up stalls at Bhagubai School and JNPT school, Uran.

Staff Development

1^st August, 2015: Workshop on Goal setting by Tool Box volunteer Ms. Swati Mathur (Vice President, Human Resources, Edelweiss.)

26^th September, 2015: Presentations made by staff members on topics of their choice

5^th September, 2015: A talk on "Secret of Success" by Sri. Yogeshji Balgi a disciple of Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati was organised on the occasion of Teacher's Day in the School.

9^th October, 2015: Workshop on Music therapy by Music Therapist  Mrs. Rajam Shankar

Mr. Dhananjay Pathare staff member at Sweekar attended the coaches training camp organized by Special Olympics Bharat at Gwalior from 7^th to 13^th February 2016.

5^th March, 2016:” Quality Circle”: workshop for staff by Intern of NMIMS Ms. Archana Rao

OUTING

The younger students were taken to Mango Garden, CBD, Navi Mumbai on 20^th January, 2015 and the older students to Monteria Resort, Panvel on 22^nd January, 2015 for a one day picnic.

Students of Sweekar Centre were taken for a picnic to Imagica on 23^rd September, 2015 which was sponsored by Kumbhar / Vada Ganesh Mandal.

On 30^th January on the occasion of National Wetland day ten students and two staff members attended a seminar organized by Navi Mumbal Environment Protection Society.

31^st January: Ten students attended a workshop orgnaised by Samannay, Thane accompanied by parents and two staff members.

PLACEMENTS

Pranav Soman student from The Millenium School,Dubai studying in grade 8 was placed in the school as a volunteer.

Ten interns of ITM Management placed at the Belapur centre for two weeks.

Three interns of NMIMS, Vile Parle were placed in the Belapur centre for a month.

Teacher trainees of Helen Keller Institute for deaf & Deaf Blind Teacher Training Centre and NIMH, RC Navi Mumbai are placed in the School for observation and practical lessons.    

COMMUNITY & CORPORATE SUPPORT                                    

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our donors, well wishers and friends for supporting us in our mission of creating a better life for Persons with special needs

Construction of Sweekar School building at Uran has been possible due to the support extended by many well wishers and friends who donated towards the project.

1.                  Mr. Shankar Mahadevan donated 10,000 US $ (Rs.6,31,900/-)

2.                  The Mirpuri family has extended financial support towards this project

3.                  Mr. Nimesh Vora helped in the construction of Uran school building by providing free labour

4.                  Architect Chintamani Purandhare and Structural Engineer Mr. Samarth Agarwal provided honorary services

5.                  Mr. Rohit Patil oversees the building costruction work at Uran

6.                  Dr. Prashant and Pratibha Moralwar contributed towards Electrical fittings and material

7.                  Orange donated educational equipments, air cooler and  cupboard to Sweekar Centre, Uran

8.                  AMWAY Contributed Rs. 3 lakhs under Project Sunrise to the CBD centre

9.                  TOOLBOX:  Mrs. Vijaya Balaji and her team members along with volunteers  provide expert advise from time to time  for the  growth and development of the organization

10.              Mr. K. Satish completed the 21Km run in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon on 17^th January and collected Rs. 1,05,000/- for the Organization.

11.              The Social Welfare Department, Jilla Parishad Thane provided two computers with printers and a projector to the CBD centre

12.              National Institute of Mentally Handicapped, RC Navi Mumbai provided three laptops and two science kits for the students of the CBD Centre.

13.              State Bank of India, Konkan Bhavan Branch sanctioned a 17 seater school bus to the CBD centre.

Various donors and well wishers visited both the centres and donated towards sponsorship program, building construction, events and various other activities.

Health & Nutrition

14.              Deepak and Uma from USA and Mrs. Seema Mansukani sponsored the nutrition expenses of the students at Uran.

15.              Mst. Sachin Jagtap who suffered from severe health issues recovered due to the support extended by Mr. Vinod Mirpuri.

Other community support

Government Grant: The school continues to receive a government grant for 50 students and this includes the salaries of 16 staff members. An amount of Rs. 46,85,894/- has been received as salary grant from the government, till date.

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”. We thank each and every one of them without whose support it would have been impossible to carry on the activities.

AWARDS/FELICITATIONS

Felicitations

1.                  Our students Ms. Sneha Verma and Ms. Disha Maru were felicitated by Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Social Welfare department, Konkan Bhavan, Navi Mumbai and various other NGOs

2.                  Mrs. Shirish Poojary was felicitated by IMC, Navi Mumbai in a program - Women Achievers of Navi Mumbai, on 23^rd December, 2015

3.                  Mrs. Sukanya Venkataraman was felicitated by Andhra Association School, Kolkata on 10^th October, 2015

4.                  6^th February: Following awards were presented to the students of the school in the 26^th Annual day

Late Mahalakshmi Hariharan Award 2015-16 (initiated by Mr. Dharmesh Kumar in memory of his wife Ms. Mahalakshmi Hariharan) was presented to Ms. Sneha Verma and Ms. Disha Maru for their outstanding achievement in the Special Olympics World Summer games 2015, Los Angeles, USA

Late Mukul Jain Award 2015-16 (initiated by parents of our student late  Mukul Jain) was presented to Mst. Vinit Bhoir of Sweekar centre and Mst. Pratik Tayde of Falguni Unit for their outstanding performance during the academic year.

Vidya Award 2015-16 (initiated by Dr. Mrs. Thankam Ghule) was presented to Ms. Ashika Nair of Disha Unit for her outstanding performance this year.

5.      Ms. Sneha Verma and Ms. Disha Maru gold and silver medalist in the Special Olympics World Summer Games received an award money of Rs. 5 lakhs and Rs.3 lakhs respectively from the Ministry of Sports. Both the girls were featured on the front page of Times Of India. They also received the Women Achievers Award 2016 at the hands of Dr. Kiran Bedi in a program organized by Evolve Business School, Vashi. The Principal was also felicitated in the event

The school was visited by may well wishers and donors. We thank each and every one for extending their support.

May the blessings of Param Pujya Swami Brahmanand always with all of us.

Thank you

Mrs. Shirish Govekar Poojary                                    Mrs. Sukanya Venkataraman

Founder & Managing Trustee                                  Principal