At 24, Ashwini Angadi’s dream is very close to coming true. ‘Belaku Academy’, a residential school for visually challenged children managed by a trust in her name, will be started in the city’s Konanakunte area on June 6. The trust will also be launched on that day.
Ashwini, who was born visually impaired, was the Global Youth Ambassador and recipient of the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education’s Gordon Brown Youth Achiever’s Award. The award was given away in New York last year as part of the Malala Day celebrations.
The school, being started in a rented premise in Konanakunte, will initially accommodate 10 students.
Educationist and National Award recipient Radha Kulkarni will inaugurate the School, while Jnanapith Award recipient Chandrashekar Kambar will inaugurate the trust.
At a press conference here on Monday, Ashwini said that although visually challenged children were as competent as normal ones, they were unable to pursue their studies in science and technology.
“Owing to lack of laboratory facilities, we cannot study science. With the advancement in technology, why can’t separate laboratories be opened at schools and colleges for our benefit,” she said.
Expressing her happiness over starting a school, she said: “I had expressed my dream to start a school to Radha Kulkarni at a function in Bangalore. She extended the necessary help to this project.”
She feels there is a need to replace the regular English alphabets in education instead of the Braille script.
“Utilising present day technology, we aim to impart education to blind children on par with those availed by other children. I have faced severe hardships to owing inadequate study materials . My ambition is to eliminate these lapses and prove that visually challenged students are second to none,” she remarked.
The event will also see the launch of a website and the logo of the Ashwini Angadi Trust and the Belaku Academy.
