The Hindu : German body offers scholarship for visually impaired girls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 02, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

German body offers scholarship for visually impaired girls

By Sahana Charan

BANGALORE, APRIL 1. Fate may have conspired against them. But for these children of a lesser God, hope is just around the corner. Visually impaired girls, who want to pursue higher studies but are not able to do so because of paucity of funds, can look forward to better days.

Christoffel-Blindenmission (CBM) International, an international voluntary organisation and funding agency based in Bensheim, Germany, working for the welfare of persons with disabilities, is offering the Dr. Shulze Scholarship to visually impaired girls from South India to take up degree courses in select higher education institutions in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The organisation has identified nodal agencies in the States - the National Association for the Blind (NAB) in Bangalore, Karnataka, and the Avinashi Lingam Women's College in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. They will spread the word about the scholarship and provide counselling to the applying students for admission for 2004-05, Gordon Faife, Chief Executive Officer, NAB, told The Hindu.

"Visually impaired girls who have completed Pre-University course or Plus Two from a recognised institution and who are well-versed in Braille (grade 2) are eligible to apply. The girls should have good mobility," Mr. Faife said. A committee consisting of experts has been formed to scrutinise the applications and call the students for preliminary counselling, he said.

The Dr. Shulze Scholarship is named after a professor from Germany who is himself visually impaired. The idea behind offering the scholarship is to create women leaders who are independent from among these visually impaired girls, Gunavathi Fernandes, Assistant Regional Representative, CBM International, said. Six girls each from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will be selected for the scholarships and called for an interview in Bangalore some time between May 10 and 15. The college fees and hostel fees, if any, and other incidentals will be taken care of through this scholarship, she said.

Eligible candidates could send their applications with details such as name, age, educational qualification and college of preference along with a photograph to CBM International, South Asia Regional Office (South), 4, 1st Cross, 2nd Stage, 1st Block, Raja Mahal Vilas Extension, Ashwath Nagar, Bangalore - 560094 on or before April 20.

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