Name Mrs. Muktaben Dagli
Date of Birth 2nd July 1962
Place of Birth Nana Ankadia, Amreli, Gujarat
Maternal Family Patel
Unfortunate Event She caught Meningitis only at the age of seven and lost both her eyes.

Education:

  • Primary education at Bhavnagar "Udyog Shala for the Blind".
  • She then went to Ahmedabad for further education.
  • She also took her diploma for teacher's training for the blind in the first grade.
  • As an external student while she was in Amreli she took B.A. Degree with 62.5% marks.

Interests:

During the school education, her enormous interest and participation in various competitions like Braille reading, Braille writing, elocution, sports, self composed poetry, short stories fetched her first prizes many-a-times.


Co-curricular Activities:

Her vacations, as well, did not go idle. She received training in telephone operating, personality and leadership development, Handicraft, Right from the school age.


Awards in Young Age:

In 1980, she got Ideal Student Award looking to her many sided activities during her student life by "Blind Welfare Centre" and "Lions Club" of Ahmedabad.

Start in Career & Social Service:


She was eager to extend her help to the needy. She helped them monetarily, nursed them when they were sick. She donated blood 10-12 times.

Honorable Shri Babubhai A. Babvani, the Secretary of "The Andhjan Pragti Mandal" reared her cultural traits to a greater height.

She became Joint Secretary of a committee which was formed to present the problems of the blind to the Government. She rendered her honorary service to "The Andhjan Mandal", Amreli for about twelve years and played a significant role in the development of the Institute.

She travelled to many parts of the country and collected donations for the Institute. She not only started a Primary School for blind in Amreli but also inculcated amongst the - students of the Institute with the latest developments working day and night.

Blind girls were helped by her in an exemplary way. She helped them with their studies. After studies, she trained them for kitchen jobs. She sorted out proper life partners for them and set their life on a smooth pleasant level.

Knot of Relationship:



She found a lucky partner in "Shri. Pankajbhai Dagli" who could share her efforts to extend the services to the blind people and she married him in 1984, accepting challenges of the housewife with a happy heart.

Shri. Pankajbhai Dagli:



Muktaben's husband Shri. Pankajbhai Dagli who is an M.A., B.Ed. is the principal of the blind school in Amreli. His salary is 16,000 per month. They both have been living separately for the last 10 years and have been working for the handicapped society.

Amreli is 200 kms away from Surendranagar but Pankajbhai comes to Surendranagar on all Saturdays & Sundays, and works for the institution. Hence they don't live as husband and wife but as great friends. After seeing their lives we don't hesitate to say that great saints are working for the handicapped society in forms of Smt. Muktaben and Shri. Pankajbhai Dagli.

Motto of Mr. & Mrs. Dagli:



"Service to man is service to humanity" is their life motto. They are living example of selfless service to the blind and other disabled people.

Sacrifice:



Mr. & Mrs. Dagli took a very momentous decision in their early life that they would not have their own issues in life, but they would adopt thrown out blind girls and bring all happiness into their blind lives.

Active Invovement:



  • She has been doing a commendable job as an executive member of "Navchetan Andhjan Mandal, Bhachau (Kuttch-Bhuj)"
  • Joint Secretary of "Louis Braille Memorial Trust" Amreli, Member of Lioness club of Surendranagar, Trustee of "Ms. Vinoda K. Shah Andh Sahayak Trust"- Ahmedabad.
  • Joint Secretary of "Shri Pragna Chakshu Vichar Vimarsh Committee"-Amreli
  • Trustee of "Shri Bhikhabhai C. Shah Memorial Trust"-Ahmedabada
  • Member of "Gujarat State Cricket and Cultural Control Board for the Blind"-Ahmedabad.
  • Joint Secretary of "Shri Navjivan Andhjan Mandal", Vankaner.
  • Trustee of "Women Asscoation for the Blind"- Ahmedabad
  • Secretary of "Pragna Chakshu Mahila Seva Kunj"- Surendranagar.
  • Magazine(Editor): The first & only of its kind, a bimonthly Braille magazine "Didi" was started by her to deal with the problems and potentials of blind women.