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The Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organization

3/1, Road # 11, Rupnagar, Section # 5, Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Tel : 0088-02- 8060703          0088-02- 9009451 Res:  0088-02- 8058317 Fax : 0088-02-9003786 Email BERDO

• Mission
• Advocacy
• Social Change
• Information/ News from BERDO
  • Press Releases
  • Blogs
  • Photographs
• Dissemination
  • AdvocacyNet
  • In the Media Highlights
• Networking
• ICT
  • Website

Mission

The mission of the Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organization (BERDO) is to empower people with disabilities through income generation, leadership development, education, training and treatment facilities to become full members of their community with access to the social mainstream. They also aim to increase public awareness about disability issues, to facilitate partnership between disabled and non-disabled members of the community and to prevent disability through medical treatment.

Advocacy

• BERDO has a talking library that produces and disseminates “talking books” for students and individuals with visual impairment.

• The organization's medical center provides accessible medical services to prevent disability.

• BERDO awards scholarships to support the educational endeavors of students with disabilities.

• Job placement, another one of BERDO's activities, generates jobs for workers with disabilities.

• BERDO provides Braille education to visually impaired children through their School of Happy World .

• They help in the development of computer skills for visually impaired persons through their School of Information and Technology for the Visually Impaired.

• BERDO's Rehabilitation Program for the Disabled facilitates community dialogue between individuals with disabilities and non-disabled persons and provides training to people with disabilities, family members, teachers, and community leaders to further understanding of disability issues among community members, while also facilitating income generating opportunities.

• In addition, BERDO hopes to expand their activities to the printing of Braille books upon the availability of support.

• BERDO runs a microcredit program with the loans ranging between $50 and $200 and are usually invested in "planting vegetable gardens, purchasing a rickshaw, (or) buying small stocks of cloth." The repayment rate of disabled borrowers is 100 percent.

Social Change

• Legal Action: Bangladesh signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007 and passed the Bangladesh Persons with Disability Welfare Act in 2001.

• Government Support: Ministry officials have supported BERDO's work through financial contributions over the past three years (see below for BERDO's partner list)

Information/ News from BERDO

• Press Releases
  

On August 16, 2007 BERDO sent out its first e-newsletter with commentary, news articles and a profile of a scholarship recipient.

December 10, 2003
Programme Experiences: Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organisation (BERDO) - Bangladesh
Md. Saidul Huq, Executive Director

December 2001
Disability development in education in the urban community: A study in education for children with disability
Md. Saidul Huq, Executive Director

• Blogs

AP Peace Fellow, Caitlin Burnett worked with BERDO during the summer of 2007. Read Caitlin’s blog.

• Photographs

Income Generating Tea Stall.

Mizanur Rahman receiving a scholarship from BERDO.

Group Meeting in Barisal.

Discussion Meeting.

Dissemination

• AdvocacyNet

July 20, 2007
Advocates for the Blind Bring Vision to Impoverished Bangladesh

June 7, 2007
31 Peace Fellows Deploy to 18 Countries

• In the Media Highlights

February 21, 2007
Japan grants Tk 60 lakh for the disabled 
New Age Metro, Dhaka, Bangladesh

November 28, 2006
BERDO held a discussion and stipend-giving function at its office on Saturday to mark the International day of disability
The Daily Bangladesh Observer   

October 20, 2006
BERDO observe white cane safety day
The Daily Ittefaq 

March 31, 2006
A cultural function arrange by BERDO to observe day of freedom
The Daily Prothom-Alo

December 8, 2005
Awake and to Awake others
The Daily Samakal

December 3, 2005
Today is international day of disability
The Daily Sangbad

October 20, 2005
Please give your hand
The Daily Samakal

October 15, 2005
Today is world White Cane Safety day
The Daily Naya Diganta

May 22, 2005
A good initiative for education and employment of the disable persons
The Daily Ittefaq

July 14, 2004
Library for the Blind
Independent

Networking

Outreach Partners

In recent years, BERDO has received the financial support of a number of international entities, including:

• The Canada Fund
• The Royal Netherlands Embassy
• The Royal Danish Embassy
• The Embassy of Japan
• The German Embassy
• Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Japan
• Nova Consultancy Bangladesh (NCB)
• Cord aid Netherlands
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
• Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC)
• Zonta International Club (III) -Dhaka-Bangladesh
• USC Canada-Bangladesh
• Rabobank Foundation-Netherlands
• World Bank Office - Dhaka
• OPEC-Austria
• National Foundation for the Development of the Disabled Person (NFDDP)

In addition, BERDO has enjoyed the support of a number of corporations working in Bangladesh, including:

• The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC)
• Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd.

The government of Bangladesh has also supported the work of BERDO, through the following ministries:

• The Ministry of Social Welfare
• The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
• The Ministry of Cultural Affairs

Other organizations have provided in kind support, including training and computer donations:

• Relief International
• Schools Online of USA
• Save the Children Fund Australia of Bangladesh
• CARE Bangladesh
• Ashoka Innovators for the Public of Bangladesh
• Asian Health Institute of Japan
• Disabled Peoples International of Bangladesh
• Center for Disability in Development (CDD) of Bangladesh
• South Asia Partnership-Bangladesh
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) –Japan

For more information about networking with Berdo, email Md. Saidul Huq, Executive Director.

ICT

• Website

BERDO launched its first website in 2007.

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