The main objective is to impart education to visually impaired girls. They should develop into responsible citizens of India. They should also be given an opportunity to lead an independent life. With this in mind, our aims are:

To impart education – primary, secondary, higher secondary & University levels.

To train the girls in vocations that help them achieve self- reliance.

To develop their musical talents

To teach cooking & home – management.

To rehabilitate them in society.

To find for them suitable marriage partners. Once they attain marriageable age, it is our aim to find appropriate life partners for our girls with whom they can be reasonably assured of a happy, fulfilling and secure married life. The State Government’s sanction for such alliances which are fixed by the Institute is obtained and several such weddings are organized at the Institute premises every year, around January. At that time, sumptuous trousseaus are given to the brides to set them up in their new life, which are arranged through the benevolence of many generous donors.

Health and Hygiene:

In the hostel girls get following facilities -

Every room is well lighted and ventilated.
A bath-room with hot/cold water and a toilet is separately given to every room.
There is a huge dining hall. In the morning milk and snacks are served.
Lunch in the afternoon. Snacks in the evening. Dinner at night.
There is facility of R.O system for drinking water. There is a water-cooler too. [we have our own bore-well to facilitate the girls with 24 hrs water supply]
The diet-menu is as per well-graded hygienic standards.
The food that is prepared is cooked by ladies who put in the sweetness of a mother’s hand.
The grains etc… are stored in a neat and well-maintained store-room.
The girls below age of 10 are taken care of by nannies (aayas). These nannies (aayas) help them bathe, comb their hair, wash their clothes etc… they also help to feed them. [Just the way a mother does at home]
During any sickness the children are given the best care.
They are given soap for bathing, washing clothes, tooth-paste, hair-oil, shampoo etc…

Background:

Andh Kanya Prakash Gruh - the school cares for approximately 200 visually impaired girls. It offers lodging and boarding and in-house facilities in Braille education up to Class VII. For further studies up to Board level and for Bachelor and Masters degrees, girls attend local schools and colleges meant for sighted students.

The school has invested in a full fledged laboratory with models and charts used to explain principles of science &  the environment. Use of the Braille library is especially encouraged. It has a small open air stage where they have elocution competitions, enact skits and hold musical recitals. Music is an important part of the school curriculum. The students are trained both in vocal and instrumental music, helping them appear for the highest exams in music. Home science and Home management are given equal importance to develop a better understanding for managing their own homes and preparing simple home – cooked meals. Lessons of health and hygiene are also taught there.

Some students endeavour to pursue vocational courses available in local institutes where they can learn physiotherapy, beauty care, use of Braille computers and to become telephone operators.

The institution is fortunate to have open space around the school hostel building. It has a place of worship, a playground with a reasonable large lawn and a special park where the children can enjoy nature.

The ground is used for games, free hand exercises, yoga lessons and cultural activities. During public holidays and festivals, students enact Holi, Janmashtmi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Teachers Day, and also play garbas (Gujarati traditional dance) at Navratri. Flag hoisting takes place on Republic Day and Independence Day.

Overnight trips and full day picnics are a regular feature. The children enjoy visits to the circus, military parades, parks and neighbouring temples.

History:

The organization was started in June, 1954 in a rented house, in a small street within the city area with just four girl students. Shri Manibhadra Nilkanthrai Chatrapati, the laudable son of Dr. Nikanthrai Dahyabhai Chatrapati, who established the Gujarati Braille script, was inspired by his illustrious father to donate Rs 50,000 for the establishment of Andh Kanya Prakash Gruh. Even today patronage of the Chatrapati family continues with the assitance given by shri bijalbhai Chatrapati.

In 1966 through the good offices of the then Governor, Shri Mehdi Nawaz Jung, the Gujarat Government allotted a 10000 sq. Yard plot, in the Memnagar village, near Manav Mandir. This saw the birth of the:
“Kanchangauri Mangaldas Andhkanya Ashram and Kanchangauri Mangaldas Training Centre” run by the Andh kanya Prakash Gruh Trust. It was inaugurated by the venerable Shri Ravishankar Maharaj.

Today, with the blessings of such luminaries, it has grown into an Institution caring for 213 blind girls having ideal facilities for their schooling and a hostel for their lodging and boarding.

The main Building of the Institute has been designed by eminent French architect Mr. Bernard Kahn, who has kept in mind the needs of the visually impaired inmates. Each Dormitory accommodates 6 girls and has an attached toilet. A wide lobby runs through the building and a “chowk” between dormitories is also provided. The ambience is homely for the girls staying there.

Initially, for the first few years, members of the Mangaldas family had headed the Institute in its formative years. Later, under the Presidency of respected Shri Hiralal Bhagwati, the Institute became financially comfortable and after him, under the benevolent leadership of Shri Navnitbhai Choksi, the Institute became financially sound and got a complete face-lift. It now looks forward to the future with the aim of becoming ever more useful in training the girls under its care to handle life’s challenges with confidence, and lead useful lives.