Abu's visually challenged makes India proud

Way back in 1967 NAB P&N Merwanji Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind, was opened in Mount Abu to rehabilitate the visually challenged of the nation. The milk of kindness of the Late Khursheed Gardha donated her entire sprawling residence to NAB India.

The centre took off under the tutelage of the great Late Padma Shri Dr. Rajendra Vyas, Late Padma Shri Jagdish Patel et al who did a yeoman's service for rehabilitation of the visually challenged in India, more so of those, who lost their sight in the later part of their life.

With time, when the centre began to lose its bearings, a young man Dr. Vimal Dengla was shouldered with the responsibility of steering the premier rehabilitation centre from the rough sea. Did the young man rise to the aspiring aspirations of all concerned? Mercifully, not only he shouldered the responsibility with elan but turned it into a centre of excellence with his dogged dedication, and vision.

He not only restored the health of the threatened buildings but added more feathers to the glory of the centre, as the first in a few ways. Dr Dengla has the credit to build the first-ever digital learning and recording DAISY studio, and the first innovative dhaba training centre for the employment blind, the first of its kind with the CSR help from SAIL India, and the modern multipurpose hall.

While he was building the brick-and-mortar structures, he was systematically weaving up a social participation fabric of volunteers for the day-to-day needs of the fast-progressing facility, so much so that he roped in the CSR help from GAIL India, SBI and many other social institutions and families, with the innovative program of public-partnership for food and cloths requirements of the inmates. In the process, he introduced many innovative programs for the visibility of the visually challenge, like NAB Music Makers, NAB Publication, Agyat se Gyat Tak Walk with the visually challenge etc.

While improving a holistic lot of the centre, he looked after his personal growth meticulously. Before joining the centre's challenges as its principal, he already had MA, MCom, BEd under his belt. Special, and also B. Ed. general. Soon, he burnt the midnight oil to add earn a PhD.