February 23rd, 2019: Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan (MBCN), one of India’s largest school for specially-abled, celebrated its 20th Annual Day today. The school has been enabling the ‘children with special needs’ from last 20 years. The school MBCN works under the aegis of The Ponty Chadha Foundation that works towards the social and economic development of the society.
The specially-abled children presented a theatre show Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window. The play is an autobiographical memoir penned by Japanese television personality and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Tetsuko Kuroyanagi.
On this momentous occasion, the school released self-instructional training modules to enable the trainers/caretakers of specially-abled children in promoting the development of young children with developmental delays in a home setting.
With this module, the school aims to reach out to parents who either cannot afford to avail educational training services for their specially-abled child or such services are not available in their areas because of remote and underdeveloped location. Some of the topics covered in the handbook are developmental milestone checklist, activities for stimulating cognitive, motor, language and social development. In addition to this, another manual on menstrual hygiene management for special needs adolescent was also released.
During the event, Manpreet Singh Chadha, Vice-Chairman, Wave Group expressed his condolences towards the martyrs of the Pulwama attack and requested the gathering to observe one minute silence.
Talking about the annual day he said, “This year the enthusiasm at MBCN has multiplied manifolds. Receiving the ‘National Award’ for ‘Best Institution working for the Cause of Persons with Disabilities’ has uplifted our commitment and zeal. I am thrilled that with each passing year we are expanding our horizons and touching lives of more and more specially-abled children. Working on my father’s philosophy and vision, we are determined to work towards creating a better society for the specially-abled. I am thankful for the recognition by the Government of India and all the support received from the Principal, teachers, parents and well-wishers who are working tirelessly towards the betterment of this segment.”
Speaking on the occasion, Vandana Sharma, Director and Principal, Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan said, “The ‘Centre for Research, Innovation and Technology for Disability’ at the school has been doing a lot of innovative work. Sensing a need for providing assistance to caregivers in remote or underdeveloped areas of our country, our research centre has developed these handbooks. With this initiative we can, not only create awareness of the developmental skills for children who are regularly coming to the school, but can also make an impact on the lives of other specially abled children who cannot afford such services. In the next phase, we will release demo videos for every activity mentioned in the handbook on the mobile-based application.”
With a vision to enable the differently-abled, The Ponty Chadha Foundation established Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan (MBCN). An initiative of late Ponty Chadha, the institution was established in 1999 with a special endeavour to not only educate but also equip special-children to live within the community.
MBCN was established with intent to form a ground where the children with special needs could grow without any realisation of the barriers. Spread on 1 acre of land, MBCN is one of the largest rehabilitation, charitable institution in India. The school provides free of cost rehabilitation services in a friendly and empathetic environment to over 800 beneficiaries.
An integral belief of the Wave Group is to give back and empower communities that it serves through its CSR arm The Ponty Chadha Foundation (PCF). The foundation has been initiated by Jatinder Kaur Chadha, in the memory of her late husband, the erstwhile visionary chairman of the WAVE Group, Ponty Chadha. At present, the CSR activities address education, hunger and food security, community health and imparting skills and training for disadvantaged youth.
In order to boost the potential of disadvantaged youths, PCF enables requisite skills training and employment through Sardar Kulwant Singh Chadha Skills Academy. The institute has received affiliations and recognitions from PMKVY, Security Sector Skill Development Council (SSSDC), FICCI, National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC), Uttar Pradesh Private Security Act Regulatory Authority (UPPSARA) for training.
The foundation also runs Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan (MBCN) with a vision to enable the specially-abled children. In addition to this, PCF also undertakes preventive and curative primary health care services for communities in the villages in and around Wave City in Ghaziabad.
