Annual Rock climbing-Indoor wall climbing-high altitude trekking for the Blind youths in India-1989-2001 (25th year memories)-HMI, Darjeeling

Society for the Visually Handicapped (SVH) cherishes the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling conducted annual Mountaineering Special Course for Blind youths of India (1989-2001), under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, organized with enthusiastic support from individuals and Institutions. It was a two week course comprising rock-climbing, indoor wall climbing, Tiger Hill expedition and high altitude trekking upto Dzongri (13000 ft). To immortalize this pioneering project, in India and abroad, on 04 March 2000 SVH released a Special Cover to commemorate this event with the financial support from WBDPEP (Govt of West Bengal)-the theme "Inclusion". 2025 looks back into this project which empowered the trainees and the escorts body-confidence, mobility skill and the zeal to explore nature to facilitate mainstreaming and negotiate life!! Later SVH coordinated three more customized HMI short courses (2015-2017) on Adventure sports for Persons with Vision Impairment where a number of underprivileged Blind children & adolescents were included with the generous permission of the HMI authorities!