The late Chander Abha worked as a social worker since 1979. One day she met a ten-year-old boy at a crèche centre. When she asked why an older child was still at the crèche, she was told that he could not attend school because he is blind. Thus, she was inspired to establish a branch of The National Association for the Blind, which was formed in 1997 in Himachal Pradesh, India.

The school started with four visually-impaired children, with minimum funds and very little space. Gradually, the organization and its activities have expanded. Presently there are more than a hundred students in the special school for visually-impaired and disabled children, as well as a home base project that provides therapeutic services in physiotherapy and speech therapy (The SSA Project).

The Chander Abha School provides free education to all students and free boarding to all visually-impaired students.

The Himalayan Sensation Homeopathic Seminar (HSHS) hosts cultural events throughout the seminar, the proceeds of which go to the blind school.

Himalayan Sensation 2010 fund-raising update
Thank you to the participants of HSHS 2010.

Shalini Sharma, niece of Chander Abha, and now director of the school, expressed to me her wish to wake up the children every morning and send them to sleep every night hearing Bhajans (spiritual music). Touched by her sincere wish, I realised that we have to make this happen, and thanks to all the participants of Himalayan Sensation, 2010, we were able to manifest her wish.

From your generous collection we were able to install a PA and sound system at the school. Now, in each dormitory, classroom and in the collective area, the teachers and attendants can make public announcements and the children can listen to music and audio books.

Many thanks to Mayank, who organised and oversaw the installation. With the keen help of some partially-sighted students, it took two days to install the whole system. When it was tested for the first time, it was so wonderful to see the children’s amazement and delight. Also, it was fun to watch the attendants testing the PA, knowing their relief that they now don’t need to run up and down the steps of a four-story building to deliver messages.

So again, many, many thanks to HSHS 2010 participants.

What is on the horizon?

A group of children from the school have a special gift –divine singing voices. They attend music classes three times a week where they learn classical raags, bhajans and Himachali folk songs. It is an extraordinary experience to hear them sing as they are tuned into the center of sound, free from pretence, they sing for the pure connection to the experience.

It is my wish to record their gift and share it with the world. Fundraising from HSHS 2012 will contribute towards this project.