the goan I network
OLD GOA
As a prelude to the upcoming Muzzganchem Fest, the National Association for the Blind (NAB) at Santa Cruz was all decked up as the centre was thrown open for various workshops till February 1.
The NAB will be hosting the Muzzganchem Fest on February 2 with over 50 musicians from all over Goa participating in the event. The inauguration of the pre-fest activities was done in the presence of NAB President Rozendo Mendonca, vice presidents Usha Kamat, Poornima Priolkar and Joe, treasurer Deepak Prabhudessai, promoter of the fest Marius Fernandes, senior journalist Prakash Kamat, NAB students, staff and many others.
Speaking at the inaugural, senior journalist Kamat stated the festival is not restricted to NAB alone but to entire Santa Cruz village and entire Goa.
“It is an inclusion fest which will go global through the use of social media,” he stated.
“Many people are not aware of disability apart from those families who have a physically challenged person in their homes,” Kamat informed, while adding that with some push they can excel in life. “We should provide them with opportunities, with facilities and they will excel in life. Their skills will grow, only it needs sharpening,” he further stated and opined that we should show empathy towards them.
“If people with disability are empowered, the society is empowered,” he said. Some workshops conducted included a football workshop by Fabian D’Souza, pottery by Navso Parvar, chess by Sandeep Heble, coconut climbing by Samson D’Costa, painting by Harshada Kerkar, singing and dancing by Dr Glenis Mendonca and others.
Need to have bigger premises, says NAB president
OLD GOA: Stating that there are around 4,500 visually impaired persons in Goa, National Association for the Blind (NAB) Goa Branch President Rozendo Mendonca said the need of the hour is to have a bigger premise to take care of their needs. Speaking exclusively to ‘The Goan’, Mendonca informed that its branch in Santa Cruz has only 30 students staying.
“Here, only 30 students stay and around 100 other students come here on daily basis,” he informed.
“The need of the hour is to have a bigger building, bigger premises to accommodate more children. Right now, we are taking care of only children, we also want to take care of the older blind persons who do not have anyone to take care of them,” Mendonca said. “We want to give them a decent place to stay, simple food and they will be happy, live longer if they have some company,” he stated, while opining that loneliness is the worst disease on earth. “They will have somebody to talk to, make fun of, timely food, timely sleep, and they will have entertainment too,” Mendonca informed, while revealing plans of a bigger centre.
“We are looking for a place to build a centre for the blind, it’s our dream project and we applied for a piece of land with Chorao Communidade and they passed a resolution to give the land to us. But there are hurdles we are going through which we are hoping to overcome in realizing our dream,” he stated. Stating that though the centre will not cater to entire Goa, Mendonca said that it will have over 100 inmates where all facilities will be under one roof like playground, swimming pool, theatre, music room, yoga, bigger computer room, etc.
When questioned about the funding for the building as and when they get the land, Mendonca informed that they will turn to the generous people.
