Aziz Jehan Begum Trust for the Blind was established in 1989 by Ms. Salma Kishwar Jan as a perpetual tribute to the life and memory of her mother, Aziz Jehan Begum, who suffered serious visual impairment due to “Retinitis Pigmentosa” at the age of forty and total loss of sight in the last four years of her life. It was Aziz Jehan Begum’s wish that a charity be established for the blind to lead a better life. The Trust is a realization of that wish. It is an enduring reminder of her bravery, determination, fortitude and faith to mark her life and inspiring manner in which she faced this great loss. It is a guide for those who cannot see and a tower of light for those who can.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The Aziz Jehan Begum Trust for the Blind aims to develop services which will:
- Supplement the existing facilities.
- Reach out to the large mass of the Visually handicapped who have remained outside the purview of existing facilities, especially the youth who are still in the educable age.
- Provide educational, vocational training and job placement support and to expand employment opportunities.
- Identify the job which the blind can do with the aid of special devices and those without such aids and thus widen the possibilities of their absorption into non- traditional areas.
- Develop recreational and positive leisure-time for all age groups which aim at ‘whole’ personality development.
- Create community awareness and motivations to organize community-based vocational and recreational programs for the visually handicapped in the community.
- Break down rigid societal attitudes, prejudices and perceptions towards visually handicapped persons, whether they are children. Adolescents, adults or senior citizens, male or female.
Mission
”Aziz Jehan Begum Trust for the Blind is committed to the noble cause of alleviating the sufferings of the blind and visually impaired by training, educating, rehabilitating and enabling them to live a life of honor dignity and self-respect with physical and financial independence.”
AJB PROJECTS
Kids Campus
A lower extension of the Institute is the Kids Campus Mainly to train toddlers under five and give counseling to their mothers who are always under stress especially when they have more than one Blind child. This will also provide Developmental Physiotherapy, medical aid, and a cafeteria for the staff.
Perkins Repair Center
In 2006, Mr. Jeddy our the CEO signed a contract with Howe press and obtained the permission to sell and repair Perkins Braillers in Pakistan. In 2007 three members of Trust team went to Katapadi Chennie India and were trained to repair these machines. Since then we are running this work shop and are repairing machines both for our own students but also from all over Pakistan. Trust also has the License to sell these machines and we have provided and trained to use whoever is interested. Mrs. Farhan Tariq is the Incharge of this workshop.
Brailler Transcription Center
Since 1989, the Trust has a workshop where all text books required by students and examination papers are transcribed in Braille.Mr. Shahid is trained in the Institute and is Incharge of this workshop.This help has also been provided to some banks which desired to convert their forums in Braille. The Trust has also trained some persons from other organizations to transcribe the books into Braille.
Recording Studio
In 1986, the Embassy of Japan helped the Trust to establish a state of Art recording studio to make Talking Book Mr. Asim Masood Butt is Incharge of this studio.
In 2007 he went to Malaysia and was trained in DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System Technology).
White Cane Manufacturing
Students had been supplied with imported white canes, which are extremely expensive. In 2017 the trust started a workshop where White Canes are manufactured. Mr. Muhammad Sajid is In charge of this workshop.
Some tools for this important work were provided by Shanzeh Mehreen Haider an eleven year 6th grade student of George Town City School (Washington DC). She had started an organization “White Cane Pals)”
Plastic & Other Equipment
The Trust intends to start making other tools for the Blind i.e. frames slates etc. This work will start Soon.
Miss Salma Kishwar Jan Auditorium
The 4th Building of the Trust is under construction