We regularly receive warm letters requesting and acknowledging the templates we send out.   I am publishing one such letter from a lady from Mumbai.  It is so encouraging to have so many other centered people who get in touch with us!

06Feb2017

Hi Paul,
Hope you are doing well!
First  of all, I would really like to appreciate you for your efforts on a  great invention - Tiffy template which is very helpful to so many.  Applaud!

To give some context - My name is  Radhika.  I have an upcoming occasion in the next week and on that  day, I would like to do something for others. I am planning to make a  donation along with some useful gifts for kids at a blind school in  Mumbai. I came across your invention while searching for the gift ideas  and was moved and decided to have this arranged for all 180 girls in  this school.

I found your details on this link:http://www.thebetterindia.com/60927/paul-dsouza-tiffany-brar-tiffy-template-blind-currency/
I  wanted to check with you, whether this template has been modified based  on the new notes (500 and 2000 Indian rupees) available in the Indian  market post demonetisation - Dec'16?
Also, if this can be arranged for these kids - Quantity 200 templates - by the end of this week?  It will be a great help. I am happy to pay for them.

Our Reply: Dear Radhika,Thanks for the enquiry. Yes, we will surely  be able to ship you Tiffy Templates!  Our only doubt is whether they  will reach you at short notice.  I will try. We have to make a new  batch.  Please mail me your address and I will send them to you.  They  are absolutely free and meant for free distribution.  We are more than  happy that you are making  the effort and  would be very willing to help  you in any way possible.

(11Feb2017 -it reached in time!)    And Finally: Hi Paul,  I have received the parcel. I am short of words to thank you enough. Appreciate all help your here.
Keep spreading smiles!
Good day!

Today, 12Feb2017, The Divya Hastha Charitible Trust, Whitefield celebrated Louis Braille Day and World Disability Day on a suitable day!  There was a large group blind students, well wishers and friends.  Mr and Mrs Richard taught at the blind school in Whitefield for over 25 years.

Mr Satish Pillai (ex Tata Steel), an athlete now working with disability sports addressed the audience. Seated (left of the banner is Mr V B Richard, founder of the Divya Hastha Charitible Trust. To the right is John Zachariah (consultant Unilever, Cap Gemini etc. etc..! ), founder trustee of The Masters Touch Trust.  Mr. V B Richard and his wife Vinodha are both blind and are activey involved in helping with the Braille Display testing. We also distributed Tiffy Templates at the function and many asked for extras to give their friends!

Mr John Zachariah and Mr V V Richard. Vinodha Richard in blue Sari behind the girl in the front row.One of the recipients of the Tiffy Templates proudly leaves with a batch for him and his friends.

Mr Ratnakar from Hyderabad sent us some pictures of a campaign to distribute Tiffy Templates at the government home for the blind , Salar Jung colony.

Mohamed Farhan Firaq is a friend who is doing some interesting research and development for people with visual impairments.  He, and his team from college have developed an electronic Braille tutor.  Interestingly,  he took some Tiffy Templates to Tumkur and in the pic below he is seen demonstrating its use to a blind teacher from one of the the Siddaganga institutions!   The little pink device in front of the lady is his Braille tutor...  

Our friends Latha, Pushpa , Chandana and Harsha went to JSB Free Residential School for the Blind, Ramanagaram, Near Janapadaloka, Bangalore.

Tiffy Templates’’  were distributed to staff and students and the ladies had some fun too! 

The lady in the middle is a teacher from the school -very proudly holding some templates in her hand!

Latha, extreme left, Chandana(red Tee shirt) and Pushpa(brown sari) with students and staff from the residential school.

7 Last year ended with a request from Hydersbad from Mr. Ratnakumar who has been very active in distribution of the "Tiffy templates ''  .  And 2017 began with a request from Andhra! A lot of activity in that part of our country!

Every now and then we get a note from someone who is excited about  what they are doing and who gives us an opportunity to be a part of  their efforts.  The 'Tiffy template' has been the catalyst in bringing  so many of us together.  One request that we received yesterday came  from a lady from Narsapur in the West Godavari district of Andhra.  I am  reproducing her message below.  Its these little notes that tell us  just how many wonderful people exist who have time for those who  are in need of a little assistance. Its these contacts that have helped  build up a network of volunteers/helpers who are taking these templates  to the needy.  Keep up the good work Jaya Deepika!

  Hi Paul, I read about your Tiffy template which is useful for currency  identification.In our town approximately 50 students are studying in  blind school.would you help us to give them Tiffy.

We also post updates on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/Paul-DSouza-468823206656819/

 My friend Tom Tillo  raised an important point. Would 'the 'Tiffy Template' be affected by  the changes made to our currency?  That raised an important issue as we  had just begun to send out Templates in bulk.  Some quick analysis of  the new currency notes revealed that the template can still be used  without any changes.  We sent out a list of changes to all who had  requested templates and instructions on how to adapt to the new  currency.  In a nutshell, the new 2000 ( with tactile markings) measures  up to the old 500., and the new 500 is the same as the existing 20.   Tactile markings on the new 500 distinguish it from the 20!  Now we need  to wait for a new 1000 to be introduced!

We sent out this note (reproduced below),  2 days ago to everyone who had received  templates from us:

Dear Friends,
just a short note and a word of caution regarding the new currency notes being issued by our government:

1)  The new Rs2000/- note is almost identical in size to the old Rs500/-  notes and has tactile markings along its shorter edges.  The old Rs500/-  notes minted in the last 2 years  were issued with tactile markings.   There might be some unscrupulous people who might try and pass off these  Rs 500/- notes as Rs2000/- to our visually impaired friends. Reasons  might be given like "Don't carry so many notes ..Here I will give you  one Rs2000/- rupee note that you can keep safe.  " . "Feel the markings,  ..its genuine" ..etc.  Please avoid accepting even the new Rs2000/-  notes for a few months tilll all the old notes are pulled out of  circulation.

2)The new Rs500/- note is the same size as our  existing Rs20/- note but has tactile markings along on the shorter  edges. The only word of caution is that you need to be sure that you are  not being given a Rs20/- instead of a Rs500/- note.  If you need to  accept Rs500 notes, please try and ensure that you are familiar with the  tactile markings before accepting these notes.  You also need to be  careful about giving a new Rs500/- instead of a Rs20/- to some  unscrupulous person.

We would advise NOT to use or  accept the newly  minted Rs500/- and Rs2000/- notes until a safe period  of a few months has passed to ensure that the old currency can be  completely withdrawn.  The use of the 'Tiffy  template' remains un-changed for denominations up to Rs100/- and the  altered usage is as explained in our earlier note reproduced below.


Dear Friends,
the government of India has of   8 Nov 2016 withdrawn the current notes of Rs500/- and Rs1000/-  denominations.  New currency notes of Rs500/- and Rs2000/- are expected  to be released shortly.
We imagine that there might be concerns  about the 'Tiffy Template' and how  these changes will affect its  usage.  A small explanation  will hopefully help clarify these issues.

1)The  Template can be used as normal for  denominations 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100  as before, and also for the new as explained below.  

2)  the new Rs2000/- note will be almost identical to the old Rs 500/- note  -just very slightly narrower.  The length is important. It must cover  the template to the top step. It also has tactile features that can be  felt the two edges near the step. The new Rs2000/- has tactile features  that can be felt near the shorter edges.

3)The new Rs500/-  note is where confusion is likely to occur,  as it is expected to be   identical in size to the current Rs20/-  .The new Rs500 has  tactile  feature at the two shorter edges.  So what measures up to 20 but has  ridges or lines that can be felt is a new Rs500/- note. If there are no  tactile features, it is a Rs20/- note.

So the steps on the template are

step 1   10 (narrow),          
step 2   20(narrow)   ,50(broad)  and 500(narrow with tactile markings)  ,  
step 3  100 (broad)  ,
step 4   2000 ( with tactile markings) .  

We  would advise you to use extra care initially when trying to identify  the new Rs500/- and Rs2000/- rupee denominations and take the advice of a  trusted friend.  It would be preferable not to transact with  denominations above Rs100/-,  until familiar with the new currency when  it becomes available.  Please do not hesitate to write to us for further clarifications or explanations.

Regards,
John Zachariah,  Raghunandan T R,    &   Paul D'Souza
(Founder Trustees)

Our most regular requests for 'Tiffy Templates comes from a gentleman in Hyderabad - Mr. Ratnakar.  He has been faithful in lodging requests via email and then giving us acknowledgements and reports of how he distributes the templates.  He has a 'Tiffy Template'  group and is gathering contact details and phone numbers of all recepients and interested persons.

His  most recent mail from  a few hours ago is reproduced here with pictures attached.  

The above images distribution of tipsy templet to visully persons govt home for salarjung colony Hyderabad on 21.10.2016 158 persons visully

I have copied Mr Ratnakar's post and description exactly as sent to us!   It just goes to show how one man who has decided to devote his  retirement years can do so much. We admire his spirit and dedication. 

Tiffy herself put Mr. Ratnakar in touch with me and I have been  Madam  Paul D garu ever since!!!   I think he assumes I am Tiffy's sister!!..... and he is partially correct.  !!!  I'm her  brother!

Had a call from Mr Shiva Prasad today who wanted to express his happiness that one of his contacts  (Nivedita Venkatesh who works for an NGO called Youth for Seva)  received the batches of templates that they had asked for.  He informed me that some had even reached Bagalkot!  

Mr Shiva Prasad first contacted me on Jul 8th, and waited patiently until we started production.

Some more encouraging positive feedback from Srinivasan P. S. from Vellore district.  I am pasting his letter below.   

dear sir,
i have started using the template. its wonderful! i always consider     any device that reduces our dependence as a boon. it is very easy to     learn and convenient to use. identifying currency has always proved     to be a challenge and there is  light at the end of the tunnel. may     the divine grace continue to be showered upon you as you progress in     your efforts to help the blind through your inventions. i assure you     that i shall see to it that the templates reach the deserving hands.

I have a friend working in Hyderabad who got details about our trust work from Tiffy herself.  But he insists on calling me Paul D Madam garu!

I have actually spoken to him on the phone but I am convinced he thinks I am madam garu's PA!   So be it.   Mr Ratnakumar is working with visually impaired people and he will be receiving another batch of 200 templates this coming  week.  That will take his reach to 500   templates distributed amongst his associates and contacts.  But that is small considering we have close to 150, 000 blind in Bangalore alone by some estimates,.

A few days ago I had a request for 'Tiffy Templates' from a visually impaired gentleman ( Srinivasan P.S. ) .from a town near Vellore.  I asked him how he got to know know about this device and I thought this conversation is worth passing on to all interested folk!  ....

Hello Srinivasan,

I am curious to know where you heard about the Tiffy  Template INr currency identifier and how you got our contact details!  I  am not aware of any publicity in your part of TN. 

Remember to write to tmttblr@ Gmail.com for all trust related activities.

Regards,
Paul DSouza

dear sir,

         you are indeed justified in seeking to know about the source of information about tiffy templates. i subscribe to 3 national -level braille magazines in English. one of them is Braille Digest-a bi-monthly magazine. the latest issue of the magazine carried an article about your invention and about Master's Touch Trust. but your mail-id has been erroneously printed. so i had a tough time trying to contact you. but i think it is the grace of God that enabled me to get your mail-id. i would request you to disseminate information about your work  by reporting to braille magazines being published in various languages in india. you may also pass on such information to mailing groups of and for the blind. i am a member of Inaiyathendral-a tamil mailing group and BSFTB-an English mailing group. i shall be obliged to answer any query you have in this regard.

To date we have sent out around 2000 Tiffy Templates.  Most requests have been between 50 and 100.  Larger requests have come from social workers, volunteers and organisations.  If you know any blind persons who would benefit from having these templates, please lodge a request with your name and address and the quantity requested at  tmttblr@gmail.com   These templates are for free distrubition.  The stamping of these templates is done on a manual press and we can make around 500pcs a day. 

This is a link to a video interview of Tiffany Brar and some friends talking about the   Tiffy Template.

https://www.facebook.com/radiomirchimalayalam/videos/1222937471084249/

I had delivered some batches of templates to Mahantesh (founder trustee) of  The Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled and also to  Ms. Madhu Singhal,

Managing Trustee-Mitra Jyothi.  I had some unusual feedback from both!  Ms. Singhal preferred the thin narrow signature window and those from Samarthanam liked the larger window!  Ms. Singhal even asked if I had consulted any blind person before making the signature window!  I did...and strangely, Tiffy , who was the inspiration for this has been blind from birth!  

It then occurred to me that those who have been trained to sign with the narrow slot find the change difficult.  Those who like to sign large - especially the late blind prefer the bigger window!  In the final analysis I decided to retain the larger signature window as the majority preferred it. Since the signature window was just an addition to the main feature of currency identification,  it is a point of personal preferance to use it or not!  

Another  interesting development was that I had a letter from a person in Delhi who has a design patent on something similar!  I initially considered withdrawing the template and asking FAD to re-imburse all the donors! I then discovered that that the design patent was taken out in early 2015, and I had designed and had been freely distributing these templates since 2013 - the year Tiffy was doing her leadership training course at Kanthari!  Since the Tiffy template was in existence and in the public domain since 2013 - I had nothing to worry about!  So I wrote and informed the other gentleman of these facts and also that our desire  to help the visually impaired are not at cross purposes!  

Packager Received and acknowledged!  

A  set of packages of Tiffy Template requests being dispatched!  We are really delighted with the response to this campaign and also to the follow up that has happened post campaign!  A lot of this has taken place by word of mouth and we are grateful to everyone who is creating and spreading this awareness!  At the time of this post I received an acknowledgement of receipt of one ofe these parcels that was sent to Hyderabad! (second pic). India post can be quick!

Yesterday I handed over a batch of 150   Tiffy Templates  to be given to Tiffany Brar in Trivandrum!   Tiffany Brar was the inspiration behind this device and it is fitting that she gets the templates from  the first mass production test run!  There have been a few test samples that were distributed to persons who made small requests .... but  this is the first bulk shipment!

Today, 01,  June  2016, is very significant as we have shipped our first batch of 

 ''Tiffy Templates'' to individuals who lodged requests via email at tmttblr@gmail.com.  These were the test samples made from our new punching tool.  At the end of the campaign, we will mass produce Templates and start shipping and distributing them to those who have made bulk requests!   Please inform any friends or organisations working with the blind to lodge requests via email giving us their contact details and quantity of templates required.  Thank you - everyone of you who have encouraged us along the way!

This morning I had a call from a friend who has chosen to remain anonymous.  She donated the last major chunk and along with two other decent souls -  we crossed our target!  This campaign was designed to make a simple product available to our blind friends.  In reality, it has gone a long way to help restore our faith in humanity!   Thank you - every one of you for sharing our dream and helping to make it a reality. Unfortunately, we will never be able to measure the impact each contribution will make on every blind friend who receives a 'Tiffy Template' ...but in the words of Bessie Anderson Stanley " ...............To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded  "  ..  

We have finished making the stamping tool to punch out the  ''Tiffy templates''   There are some minor  enhancements that need to be made to make it easy on the operator....The tool is about 25kgs!! The embossing tool to add Braille markings  is being completed at the moment.  

We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and spontaneity of the supporters of this campaign!  Another  anonymous donor has contributed a lakh!   We have almost reached our target amount for our campaign!  Thank you so much - every one of our donors and well wishers.

Thank you again and again for your generosity!  

Hours after the last update there has been a fresh round of donations that have surpassed all our expectations! 

We are overwhelmed with the response and generosity of every one of our donors.  

I am overwhelmed with the spontaneous and generous response of so many people! It's only been a week and we're already at 35% funding!

Thank you all for your warmth and support! 

Best Regards, 

Paul 

Happy to share Tiffy Template article in Bangalore citizen matters.in. Please do click on the link below to read.

http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/whitefielder-s-invention-helps-the-blind-identify-rupee-notes