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MODALITIES OF CBR PROJECT:

CBR Project is rehabilitation of the blind in the community and by the community. The blind person, his/her family, the community are mobilised by the CBR worker to rehabilitate the disabled persons.

A taluk is selected taking into account factors like incidence of blindness covering all taluks of a district, or on the basis of other factors like the choice of funding agency. After signing the MoU with the funding agency, the field staff are selected by calling in applications from persons in the taluk through advertisement in local news papers. The field staff is essentially from the taluk where the project is implemented as he will be familiar with the local customs, traditions and can build rapport with the target group and also with Government Agencies. The applications are scrutinised and those who satisfy our criteria of age and educational qualifications are called for interview. On the basis of the interview, 10 candidates are selected for the project. ( 8 field workers, project supervisor and one candidate extra in case of any resignation).

The selected project staffs are given 6 weeks intensive training at our Training Centre in Bangalore. The training is based on the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) approved syllabus. The syllabus has both theory and practical component. After the training, the field staff start the rehabilitation work in the taluk.

For implementing the project, a taluk is divided into 8-9 blocks of villages. A block comprises of 3 to 4 panchayats and 45 to 50 villages. A house to house survey is conducted in the blocks. On the basis of the survey, the visually
impaired are identified and the more information on the cause and nature of blindness, family data, educational and economic data of the blind persons family are collected. List of all those who have any eye problem is also prepared.
Next, an eye screening camp is organised. The incurable blind persons are issued medical certificates of blindness by the Government hospital doctor, who examines the people with eye ailments. The curable blind persons are medically treated or referred to cataract operation camps or to the nearest Government hospital. Severe cases are helped to get treatment at Bangalore Government eye hospital (Minto Hospital). CBR target group comprises of incurable blind persons.

The rehabilitation work starts with counselling of the blind person and his/her family members. In many cases, the blind person and his/her family members are resigned to their fate. Such fatalism leads to rejection of training. Through counselling, they are made to appreciate the need for training and accept training.

The first component of training is daily living skills and personal grooming. The second component is Orientation and Mobility. This is the first step towards independence and self- reliance. The client is taught to move by using white cane. White cane is virtually his/her vision. By using white cane, he/she is able to walk safely avoiding all hurdles and pitfalls on the road. There are scientific techniques of mobility which are taught to the blind persons. Training in orientation teaches the blind person to know the direction, land marks, etc., thus enabling him to reach his/her destination. The first and second components of training lead to social rehabilitation. They are socially accepted and the blind person gains self-confidence. He/She joins the main stream of life.  These components of training take six weeks.

After social rehabilitation, training for economic rehabilitation starts. The vocation is selected on the basis of the ability, aptitude and liking of the blind persons and local viability. It is based on local skills, resources and demand.
Hence, the problem of marketing the product produced by the rehabilitated person does not arise. While imparting skill for example silk worm rearing, silk reeling, beedi rollling, rope making, basket weaving, mat weaving, broom
making, flower stringing , cleaning grains, hen keeping, cow and buffalo tending, etc., the assistance of family members or the community members who are engaged in these activities is taken. The client is taught from where to get raw materials, recognize currency notes and coins and other related skills.  During social rehabilitation training, the clients are trained to board a bus or train and travel to neighbouring town or village. Because of this mobility, the blind person is able to go to hotels to deliver milk, sell flowers and fruits, go to village market to sell ropes, mats, baskets, etc.

The economic rehabilitation takes 6 weeks. Thus the period taken for total rehabilitation is 12 weeks, i.e., 3 months.

During this 3 months period, the field staff liaise with Government officials to make the blind person beneficiary of various Government schemes, like physical disability pension, free house site, Government loans, free electric connection, free bus pass and railway concession.

Each field worker who is the trainer has 5 to 6 clients in each batch (generally in each block, about 35 to 45 blind persons are identified and each field worker has under him/her 5 to 6 blind trainees). In 4 months (1 month survey and counselling and 3 months of socio economic and rehabilitation training), 8 field workers together rehabilitate 35 to 45 blind persons. Generally, in a taluk there are 250 to 300 blind persons. Hence, it takes 2 to 2 ½ years to complete the project in a taluk.

MONITORING:

The project supervisor convenes a meeting of the field workers every Saturday. In the meeting, he discusses the progress of the work, the field workers discuss their cases, get guidance from the Supervisor, plan the work for following week and the eye screening programmes, etc. The project supervisor also makes field visits, observes the work of field workers, guides and assists them when required.

The Project Co-ordinator (stationed at Bangalore) – under whom there are 4 to 5 projects – visits the project once a month, convenes a meeting of the field workers and supervisors, makes field visits, goes through the work record, accounts register and discusses the work with the field staff and gives guidance where required. He will also liaise with District Collector, Director of Women and Child Welfare Department, Thasildar and District Hospital Doctors. The Project Co-ordinator makes a report of his visit to the Director of the project who is an office bearer and discusses the progress of the project with him.  The Project Supervisor visits the Central Office once in a month, with the monthly report, discusses the project progress with the Project Director and the Project Co-ordinator.

The Project Director visits the project once in 6 months, makes field visits, gives guidance on the spot, holds meeting with the field staff and discusses the progress of the project.

RECORDING:

The field workers maintain a daily work record. The Project Supervisor prepares a monthly report consolidating the 8 field workers’ daily record. The monthly report is presented to the Project Director at the Central Office.

After the completion of training of one batch, a batch completion report ( 4 monthly report) is prepared and presented to the Project Director at the Central Office. This batch completion report is sent to the funding agency.

After the completion of the project, a project completion report is prepared with case studies and submitted to the funding agency.

THE FINANCIAL PROFILE OF THE PROJECT:

The items on which expenses are incurred for implementing the project are:

  i) The salaries of Project Co-ordinator, Project Supervisor, field workers & a Clerk/Typist.

  ii) Rent of the Office-cum-supervisor’s residence accommodation.

  iii) Office furniture such as chairs, tables, cupboards, typing machine etc.,

  iv) A two wheeler for the Supervisor and bicycles for the field workers.  Bicycles are very essential for the field workers as they have to move from village to village and the Project Supervisor has also to travel quite a lot.

  v) Conveyance Allowance – petrol cost for the two wheeler and bus fare where the villages are very far off for the Field Workers and Project Supervisor.

  vi) Travel and daily allowance of the Project Co-ordinator for his visits to the project.

 vii) Travel and daily allowance of the Project Director and conveyance for visiting the project and clients (cases) in the village.

viii) Administration cost like printing, stationery, postage, telephone, cleaning etc.,

  ix) Expenses for the 6 week field staff training course.

  x) White canes and cost of training material, i.e., raw material required for imparting vocational training like one or two goats or sheep, coir for rope making, raw material for broom or mat making, 4 to 5 hens for poultry, etc.

It is observed that the expense on salaries, TA/DA is the major component of the total project expenditure. It needs to be emphasised that training is imparting skill. Rehabilitation services are rendered at the door step of the visually
impaired. In any training course, the important service is instructors service. The salary component is for the production and delivery of services which totally transforms a blind person from a totally dependent person to a self-confident independent citizen. Here, service is a commodity produced and transferred to the client. Hence, this expenditure item is bound to be a major component of the total expenditure.

The expenditure on raw material is for purchase of raw material required for training and helping the client to become self-employed. It is like seed money for the trade.

By spending about Rs.10 lakhs on a CBR project in a taluk, about 300 persons are rehabilitated and seventy per cent of these 300 start earning 10 to 15 rupees a day, sometimes nearly 25 rupees a day, which works out to about Rs.3,600 to 5,000 a year. The average cost of rehabilitating a person works out to about Rs.3,500/-. That means, on an investment of Rs.3,500/-, there is a perpetual return of at least Rs.3,600/- per annum. The rate of return on investment is indeed very high.

The remaining 30 per cent of the blind persons are given social rehabilitation training as they are very old and very young. The children, i.e., the very young ones are given pre-school training and admitted to special schools or schools for normal children. All of them are made beneficiaries of Government schemes for which they are eligible.

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