The Ida Rieu Welfare Association
(IRWA) established in 1922, runs the oldest educational facility for the Blind
and Deaf in Pakistan. In the year 2022 we will be celebrating one hundred years
of our dedicated services to people with visual and hearing impairment. Lady
Ida Augusta Rieu was the wife of Mr. J L Rieu Commissioner in Sindh of the
British Raj who was appointed here in 1919. She devoted her life to the service
of the poor and the deprived. Ida Rieu actively provided care and comfort to
the blind, deaf and homeless people. Upon her passing away in 1921 the civic
leaders of Sindh resolved to honour her memory by setting up an association in
her name ensuring the continuation of good works she had initiated.
Over the last one hundred years,
thousands of Blind and Deaf students have completed their education at Ida Rieu
and greatly improved the quality of their lives and their social interactions.
There are many Ida Rieu graduates successfully engaged in teaching, computer
operations, music, sports, dressmaking, painting, industrial plant operations
and many other respectable professions. IRWA Centenary is a tribute to all
those who made it possible to empower our blind and deaf children and played a
role in securing a better future for them.
What is Blindness?
Complete blindness is the
inability to see anything including light while partial blindness may be a
condition of cloudy vision, an inability to see shapes, seeing shadows only or
having a tunnel vision. Extent of blindness varies from person to person.
Common causes of blindness are birth defects and eye injuries while diseases
like glaucoma, cataracts, optic neuritis, retinitis pigmentosa and tumors can
also cause blindness.
What Is Deafness?
Profound deafness is the
inability to hear anything even when sound is amplified. There are four levels
of hearing loss: mild, moderate, severe and profound. Sensorineural deafness is
a nerve damage due to which the cochlea does not work and Conductive deafness
means that sound does not pass through the outer and middle ear into the inner
ear. Common causes of deafness are hereditary or genetic disorders, trauma and
diseases like mumps, cytomegalovirus, chickenpox, meningitis and Meniere's
disease. Hearing loss hinders development of speech and language and in turn
language deficit causes learning problems.
Our academic program ranges from
Montessori up to Masters level. We are affiliated with the University of
Karachi for our graduate and post graduate studies. On skill development we
provide Auto Cad, Dressmaking, Needlework, Painting, Book Binding, Music and
similar trainings. In the area of Sports we encourage our students to fully
participate in all forms of sporting events. Ida Rieu's Blind
Cricket Team is well known in
Pakistan for its outstanding performance over decades. Our students perform
well in Martial arts such as Judo and Karate and have earned many Gold Medals.
They participate with great enthusiasm in Scouting camps and annual Jamborees.
Responding to the growing need
for providing education to children with visual impairment in interior Sindh
Ida Rieu started a School for the Blind at Rashidabad near Tando Allah Yar in
2015. This spacious purpose-built school provides free education, boarding and
lodging to children with visual impairment from all over Sindh.
To Celebrate 100 years of Ida Rieu for service Schools for the Blind & Deaf Children (1922-2022), Pakistan Post is issuing a Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs.20 denomination on 23rd November, 2022.
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