Rehabilitating Blinds through Sports
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>View discussions about this entry Country: Nepal
Organization: Nepal Army / Cricket Association of the Blind, Nepal
Sport: Cricket
Year the initative began (yyyy) 2006
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? Uplifting the social status of blind through personal and social change via medium of sports.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? I consider that my ideas are uniqe than others in the sense that till now not any outdoor sports are introduce so far. I believe sports is the best way to catch others eyes towards the blinds and disable.
Presently cricket is the most popular game in the world. this game is economic and easy to teach and play for the blind. This is the only way to expose the blind to the outer world from the locked room. Something trying to teach directly may create burden in the blind. Through the sports we can indirectly teach the blinds sense of responsibilities , mobility , daily living skills and leadership in them. Organizing tournament and news on aired will help to bring other hidden blinds to the ground . It also brings blind contact with the sighted and create mutual relationship. Besides this , the parents taking their children as burden will start taking their children as a matter of pride What are the existing barriers, the biggest problem, your innovation is hoping to address/change? the most serious barriers are funding and the social credibility, lack of support from the public, question mark on the blind's capabilities, poor economic status of the blind etc. , are also creating hinderance in my innovations. I am also unable to get good response from those organization established to work for the blind and disable, government and public sectors. Due to not having a regular sponsorship from, corporate house, govrnment and national and international bodies its sustainability is impossible.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? the innovation will be implemented to the different part of the country and making cricket accessible to almost all the blind youth is in the topmost priority. conviencing parents bringing the blinds to the ground and ake them play will be the initial tasks. To organize all this blinds systematically different clubs will be formed in their own areas . different national and local tournament will be organized. launching press conferences , exposure to radio and television and make the players speak about blind cricket through media will help to add more new players. records of each pllayers before playing cricket and after playing cricket will be kept safely. involving the blinds in the social welfare campaign some initiatives to the player and begining the cricket schools and colleges will give the better result . the funds will be managed either through personal donations or through the paid sponsors in the begining later on the corporate house or the governent will be pressurized.
How do you plan to grow your innovation? My basic plans to grow my innovation are by taking this cricket to the remote part of the country, lunching social campaign, conducting press conferences and illustrating the importance of sports in a personal life. In order to attract the blinds towards the cricket, different motivating activities like scholarships to the students and allowances like travel fare and money for the Tiffin to the idle community will b provided. My main target areas are the blind school and colleges round the country .These community can easily be attracted towards the cricket by showing some incentives .After the craze of cricket develops in them then they will be organized in different parts of the country by forming clubs. Organizing tournaments in national and local levels will certainly help to grow my innovations.
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. Uplifting the social status of blind through personal and social change
This will helps to create sense of responsibilities, increases confidence, create will power to live and helps to maintain equal status in the society. What impact has your innovation had to date/or what is your intended impact? Exactly who are the beneficiaries? My main intended impact is to give the meaning to the life of the blinds .Generally in a under developed country’s like ours the status of blinds are very low. Among them also the status of blind woman is beyond the imagination. To bring them out from the darker room and expose them to the outer world is the most necessary task. the recent survey made by us has shown that the blinds playing cricket are found to be more happy ,active and alert , physically and mentally robust .They are found to score good marks in their study. Their status in the society has increased .This cricket has proven to be successful in answering the question raised on the blinds capacity. Government has shown interest in providing jobs opportunities to the good blind players. Creating solidarity it is also successful in consolidating all the blinds under one roof, Elimination of gender discrimination, blinds children being taken as the matter of pride to the school and families are also its positive impacts . The main beneficiaries are the blind youth of the school colleges and the jobless community having age group 10- 40 disregarding their sex, caste and religion
Please list any other measures reflective of the impact of your innovation? Because of this cricket the layman has started to take blinds with some meanings. It is successful in bringing happiness in their parents. Job opportunities, financial assistance to the needy blinds, different NGO’s and government showing their interest to help blinds and invitation from international level to play are the other impacts
What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact? The main barriers are the funding at first and cooperation from the society at the second. It is very hard to convince people that blinds can play. Though we have been recognized by the National sports council but we are not getting good support from them. Difficult terrains are also preventing us to make this cricket accessible to all. Lack of Grounds, volunteers, office and office equipments and device to monitor their activities are also the challenges for me.
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? Presently my innovation is running through the personal contributions made by me and my well-wisher friends. Some time but not often I was supported by some Ngo’s but in a very small amount. Innumerable of time I requested the corporate houses to help but I have always been turn down. Besides the local clubs are running their clubs by sailing tickets and begging donation. For the sustainability a regular funding either from the government or NGO’S is very necessary .I have a plan to approach A governmental sectors looking after the disables and seek some sponsors for the game .I will try my best to build networking with other country playing blind cricket.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization. No support from any national or international bodies.
What is the potential demand for your innovation? Financial support is the most potential demands for my innovation.Beside this support from the civil sighted society, help from organization working for the blind and disabled and international bodies are also important. Without having recognisation from government body its sustainability cant be imagined.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? Being the Organization of underdeveloped country , not getting sponsorship from national or the multinational houses and negative responses from National sports council are the main barriers of the financial sustainability. As we don’t produce and sail things, generating incomes is also impossible. Putting sports in a alternatives of educations the organization are not ready to help us directly.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. After loosing my vision on 2003, I spent my life ideally almost for one and half year. Then my family forced me to go and take computer classes in Nepal association of the blinds. Over there I saw many people blind like me but from their birth and some who have lost their vision in youth like mine. Financially and socially their status was very low. They were taking computer classes not to learn exactly but just to get thirty rupees daily allowances. Even in this deprivation they were laughing and enjoying their life. In the beginning I used to avoid them. As the time passed on I thing haunted in my mind, I found myself most luckiest and wealthy among all those blinds. I thought if not a person like me does some thing to them then who is to lift up their life. I started to create many ideas in my mind Accepting and rejecting the ideas continued for a long time but when the Pakistani introduced this blind cricket in 2006 then I thought this could be the best way to bring blinds to the outer world . As there were no any out door games for the blinds till that date, I thought to use this cricket as rehabilitating tools. This cricket is modified and made suitable to our society then the Pakistani taught.
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. am Captain Pawan Ghimire , age 29, sex male. Profession Army , graduate in science and social science, became blind four years back in a ambush blasted by Maoist terrorist ., still onjob.Serving blind cricket since2006 Aug 7th.President of cricket association of the blind ,Nepal.E- mail - peacepawan@hotmail.com, add- Thasikhel 14,Lalitpur, house no- 31/1376, Nepal, mobil no009779841245567 ,
Contact Information:
Pawan Ghimire
captain/ army Nepal Army / Cricket Association of the Blind, Nepal (NGO) peacepawan@hotmail.com thasikhel - 14 , Lalitpur house no: 31 / 1376 Nepal Tel: 00977-9841245567 Website: This field has not been completed Discussions about this entry |
Hi Captain Ghimire,
Many sports for people with a disability have begun due to the commitment and passion of individuals like you. It sounds like you have built up quite a good network for blind cricket in Nepal - Well done!
In Australia, there are sometimes games of cricket played with a team of blind cricketers against a team who is sighted. Have you tried these types of matches? It has helped to change the attitudes of other players and the community, which sounds like a big barrier for you in Nepal as well.
I assume there is also a cricket association in Nepal for people who are not blind. What type of relationships does your Cricket Association of the Blind have with cricket and other sport organisations in Nepal? Are you able to share resources such as coaches, volunteers, equipment and cricket grounds?
You mentioned that through cricket, some of your members have experienced many positive benefits in other areas of their of their lives. This is really important and I hope that you have continued success in providing opportunities for people to participate in sport in Nepal.
All the best,
Jackie
Jackie Lauff
Free University Berlin
University Challenge
Yours is a very inspirational story, Pawan, and you're to be applauded for insisting that the blind can master and enjoy sports, just as the sighted can. The fact that you're still in the military after suffering your disability is remarkable. Even more so is the fact that you're now working with others--including, if I understand correctly, someone formerly with the Maoist rebels who ambushed your unit, resulting in your injuries--to advance your mission of taking cricket to blind.
As a resident of the US, which gave birth to baseball but only with the inspiration of cricket, I'm grateful for your efforts to bring employment, educational, and social opportunities to the sightless through this sport.
Steve Byars
Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
There is an entry from Japan that I think you will find interesting. They have devised a certain type of tennis ball (though not like a cricket ball) that create extra loud sounds in order for the blind to be able to track it easily through the sound without sight. Also their goal of turning blind tennis into a paralympic sport could also be a strategy for you to market the sport and also to gain funding sources.
Tyler Ahn
Changemakers