India

Badhte Kadam 2010

A major awareness campaign has been undertaken by the National Trust for the Welfare Of Persons With Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation And Multiple Disabilities to raise awareness about the Disability Sector and the National Trust. The Campaign “BADHTE KADAM 2010” will be providing information on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) to which India is a signatory. It also want to provide understanding of National Trust Programmes & Schemes. The BADHTE KADAM Campaign celebrates diversity and puts focus on what is called ‘ Discoverabilities’ rather than 'Disabilities'.

Badhte Kadam 2009 met with an overwhelming success. Bahdte Kadam 2010, is being conducted throughout the country from November 16-30, 2010. Thirty States have signed on to each conduct eight events (Melas) throughout their respective regions. Each State/Union Territory (UT) will have six volunteers travelling to the Melas with different route partner organizations.

From November 20-27 local team would be traveling throughout their State/UT to spread the ‘Badhte Kadam’ messages. On November 30 at 3 PM, at the Constitution Club, there an all India Flag-In Ceremony will take place. On December 4, The items collected from each local Mela will be displayed in Delhi on 4th of December.

‘Badhte Kadam 2010’ is a huge undertaking to bring awareness about persons with disabilities and their right to lives of fulfillment.

For further information, Mike Rosenkrantz at mike@thenationaltrust.in or Kapil Khubchandani at Kapil@thenationaltrust.in can be contacted.

Source: Press Information Bureau

Census 2011 to mark people with multiple disability

For the first time in India, people with multiple disability will form a part of Census 2011. The census will include the number of people in each disabled category and also take into account diseases like dyslexia and autism as forms of disability.

Census of 2001 took into account the disability in vision, speech, audio, movement and mental. Census 2011 will include people with two or more disabilities — speech and audio; vision and audio; impairments like movement will be combined with vision or audio or speech or others; mental retardation or illness with vision or audio or others; or difficulty in movement, speech, audio or loss of memory due to old age. Along with recognising a person with multiple disorders, the enumeration will also be done to mark the type of disabilities the person is facing.

Assam hosts career fair for 'disabled'

A career fair is held for the disabled in Guwahati as an initiative to generate employment among disabled.It was inaugurated by the Assam Chief Minister.

Career access has brought together 25 companies representing Telecommunications, Insurance, Retail, Manufacturing, Consultancy Firms, IT and ITES, Cosmetics and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

352 qualified candidates have from 11 States.267 are men and the rest are women.

This type of job fair is the first of its kind to be organised in northeastern India.It is a unique fair in the region.

"We are holding this job fair exclusively for persons with disabilities, and it is the first ever job fair for people with disabilities in north east. We are holding this in association with Ability Foundation Chennai, which has the experience of holding such fairs for persons with disabilities for the last six years," said Chaudhary.

The fair is also supported by the Department of Social Welfare and Directorate of Social Welfare, Government of Assam; Federation of Industries and Commerce of North Eastern Region; Employment Generation Mission, Government of Assam; Director of Employment and Craftsmen Training, Government of Assam and the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre.

Source:(ANI)

Wheelchair-bound officer promoted to Maj-Gen

History was created in the Army on Wednesday when a wheelchair-bound officer was promoted to the rank of a Major General.

Belonging to the elite Parachute regiment, Maj Gen S K Razdan picked up his two-star rank and is posted at the headquarters, integrated defence staff, Army officials said here. The 52-year-old para commando was left paralysed below his waist after a spinal injury 15 years ago during a gunfight in Kashmir, an effort which had won him a Kirti Chakra, the country's second highest peace-time gallantry award.

In a daring effort in 1995, Razdan had taken on terrorists and saved the lives of 14 women in a 16-hour operation in Damal Kunzipur on October 8, which also happens to be his birthday.

The officer was shifted to the Army's Base Hospital in the national capital, where he was treated for his injuries. The Army has in the past promoted amputee officers to General-officer rank, but this would be the first time a wheelchair-bound officer has become a Major General, the officers added.

Source: Times of India

BSNL to recruit physically challenged people

By PTI Friday, 08 October 2010, 06:37 IST New Delhi: State-run BSNL today said it has initiated a special recruitment drive for differently-abled persons for the post of Junior Telecom Officer (JTOs).

Telecom PSU plans to fill up 213 vacancies in different streams like telecom, civil and electrical, BSNL said in a press statement.

The recruitment would be through an open competitive examination. BSNL comprises of 27 recruitment circles and these circles are in the process of filling up of backlog vacancies reserved for PWD.

Taking this initiative BSNL promotes itself as an "equal opportunity" employer, it said.

Job fair for persons with disability held

As a step towards improving the job prospects for persons with disability in the private sector, the Chennai district administration and the District Differently Abled Welfare Office organised a job fair here on Monday.

A total of 198 persons attended the job fair. Nine of them received job orders, while 26 others were shortlisted. Companies engaged in various areas, including apparel and beverages from Chennai and Tirupur participated in the fair.

Distributing the job orders to the nine participants, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment D. Napoleon said “As per the 2001 Census, we have over 2.19 crore persons with disability in the country. It has been the challenge for both the Central and State governments to draw up welfare schemes to reach out to all of them.” Urging private firms to provide a three per cent reservation in the jobs for the physically challenged, he said jobs in large companies would provide economic independence for persons with disability. Mr. Napoleon added that a similar camp was conducted in Tirunelveli, in which 164 participants were offered jobs by the Tirupur garment industry. “This is the pilot camp to be conducted in Chennai district and many more would be organised in a phased manner,” he said.

Officials of the District Differently Abled Welfare Office said that a database based on the information provided by the participants at such fairs would be prepared. It would serve as a comprehensive directory for the office to inform persons with disability about the job opportunities in the private sector. Mayor M. Subramanian and District Collector V. Shobana participated.

Source: The Hindu

National Cerebral Palsy Day Observed

With cerebral palsy, a brain disorder, becoming the commonest cause of childhood disability in India, Sunday, October 3, was observed as the first National Cerebral Palsy Day by city-based Indian Academy of Cerebral Palsy (IACP). Themed demystifying cerebral palsy by action through awareness and advocacy, neurologists raised an alarm that the disability is not decreasing due to lack of awareness among parents even though several interventions are available to improve the quality of life of patients.

This relatively lesser known but highly prevalent disorder, doctors say, is not a single problem but a result of various conditions. Mainly occurring due to interference in brain development either in the womb or during birth, it causes difficulty in movement, speech and sometimes learning of the children.

Babies born prematurely (less than seven months of gestation) and underweight (less than 1.5 kgs) are at high risk of acquiring it. Due to the above factors, the white deep matter of the brain gets affected resulting in various manifestations commonest of which is stiffness of legs, says Dr Vemula Srikanth, neurologist, Mediciti Hospital.

According to Dr B Anand Prasad, consultant paediatric neurologist, Lotus Hospital, the incidence of cerebral palsy is one in 400 live births. Expecting prompt results, parents are busy doctor shopping. But if the detection is early, say at about six-months of age, intervention can help them lead a near normal life, says Dr Anand.

Unfortunately, in a fast developing metro like Hyderabad, there are no special schools for such children and normal schools do not admit such children. About 25 per cent of these children are minimally retarded and have mild behaviour problems which are tenable. They should not be admitted in schools for mentally retarded. Though they have difficulty in walking and climbing stairs, by 12-14 years, they become near normal, says Dr Jaydeep Ray Chaudhuri, neurologist, Yashoda hospital.

Source:The Times of India

Copyright exemption to allow disabled more access to reading material

Fri, Sep 17 05:31 AM

The visually challenged can now hope for a far better deal under the Copyright Amendment Bill, 2010 with both the PMO and Sonia Gandhi having already nudged the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry in the direction. It is learnt that the ministry will give many more copyright exemptions and concessions to the visually challenged and those facing other disabilities will also be factored in, following a series of representations made to the ministry and the Parliamentary Standing Committee which is examining the proposed amendments.

The ministry is likely to allow greater access of reading material to the disabled by allowing them to convert it to any format instead of only special formats like Braille.

The legislation aims at bringing the Indian copyright rules in line with international norms and has already ignited debates with creative artistes and film producers sparring over royalty sharing while disability activists are alleging the Bill is discriminatory and restrictive. Both the Prime Minister's Office and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have forwarded petitions they had received from disability activists and asked the ministry to consider these.

While the current Copyright Act 1957 does not have any provisions to address the needs of the disabled, including the visually impaired, and permission has to be sought from copyright holders every time a visually challenged person requires access, the amendments proposed by the ministry are to allow automatic conversion of reading material into "specially designed" formats for the disabled like Braille and sign language. Disability activists, however, argue that to truly allow the visually impaired unfettered access to reading material, it should be made available in mainstream formats like audio formats, e-texts with screen reading software, reading material with large fonts rather than the limiting 'special formats'. The fact that miniscule reading material in India in available in electronic formats further underscores this point. Many visually disabled persons prefer to convert reading material into electronic formats that can be listened to.

That apart, disability activists allege that the Bill leaves out large sections of disabled people affected by dyslexia, cerebral palsy and those suffering from partial impairments.

Source:Yahoo News

For disabled on capital roads hurdles remain

31 Jul, 2010 0649hrs IST TNN[ Risha Chitlangia ]

With thousands of disabled visitors and athletes expected in Delhi during the Commonwealth Games, the government is hard at work to make the city "disabled-friendly". But in the absence of clear guidelines, lack of coordination between different government bodies and failure to follow international-standards, it’s anybody’s guess how well-prepared the capital will be for the disabled in October.

There are some efforts to address needs of disabled people but shoddy implementation means there is little improvement on the ground. Take for example buses run by Delhi Transport Corporation. The low-floor buses are disabled-friendly but are rarely used by people in wheelchairs. Reason: There are few bus stands in the city equipped with well-constructed ramps which help people board buses.

Ironically, all bus stands flaunt the accessibility symbol — a person in a wheelchair. "That symbol on these bus stands is a joke," said Shivani Gupta, director of AccessAbility. "Built at a cost of Rs 25 lakh each, the bus stands have two major problems. One, the ramps on both ends are merged with the pavements, and two, one end of the stop has a huge steel advertisement board which blocks the so-called ramp."

Javed Abidi, director of NCPEDP, agrees. "Practically, there is no ramp to get on to the bus stand. And to get in to the new low-floor buses, a person on wheelchair has to be on the bus stand," he said.

NGOs like Samarthyam and National Centre for the Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) have been vocal about this issue but to no avail. "We told DTC several times that bus stands coming up in the city are not disabled-friendly. The advertisement board near the ramp is a big hurdle for a wheelchair-bound person," said Anjlee Agarwal, executive director and accessibility consultant at Samarthyam. DTC chairman Naresh Kumar said, "I agree bus stands are not completely disabled-friendly, but we cannot do anything about it as pavements are built by land-owning agencies. If they merge the pavement with ramps, we cannot help it."

Last year on World Disability Day, CM Sheila Dikshit said the government would ensure that new pavements follow a disabled-friendly design. Though new pavements are spacious and well-laid, in most NDMC and MCD areas, they are blocked by bollards through which a wheelchair can’t pass. "A person on wheelchair can’t get on to pavement. When we can’t provide accessibility to disabled people, why project the city as a disabled-friendly city," said Abidi. "Close to 3,000 disabled athletes and spectators are expected to visit Delhi. We can’t confine them to the Games Village and stadia. They would like to see the city. But nothing is disabled-friendly."

NDMC said it had placed bollards to stop motorists from using pavements. "We have placed bollards on the pavement to discourage two-wheelers from using it. It is mainly used in the commercial sites," said Anand Tiwari, spokesperson, NDMC.

Special ramps constructed on various roads have faulty design. The 89-meter ramp right next to Indian Spinal Injuries Centre doesn’t follow international criteria. "For a height of one metre the ramp should be 18 metres long (1:18 gradient). But this ramp is built on 1:12 gradient and is steep. Moreover, they have not provided a landing after every five metres," said Shivani.

The ramp near Moti Bagh too is steep. "To discourage motorists from taking the ramp to cross the road, gates have been put at the entry and exit points. We create infrastructure for disabled and then block it. The intention might be right but it defeats the whole purpose," said Anjlee.

Source: TOI

Credit Card Scheme for the Blind

Public sector bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a special credit card scheme for visually impaired.

In a circular dated 31st May, the bank has particularly directed all its branches throughout India to accept applications filed by blind having a bank account for over 6 months and have a good track record.

It has also directed that the blind persons falling in the age group of 18 to 65 years and who are at least matriculate and have screen reader enabled mobile phones would be qualified for getting a credit card.

A written pledge is required from the client stating that he would use the card carefully and legally.

Source: http://www.bankbazaar.com

Bill Gates checks on polio vaccination eradication efforts in India

GULERIA, India, May 13: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates traveled by boat Wednesday to a remote village in eastern India to check on the progress of a government campaign to eradicate polio that the billionaire is helping to fund.

India's ruling Congress party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, right, and Microsoft chief Bill Gates arrive at an eye testing camp in Amethi, India Gates, whose Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed nearly $1 billion to health and development projects in India, met with health workers and discussed the strategy to fight polio with immunization drives and an effective surveillance program that identifies cases early.

Gates visited Guleria, a village nearly 140 miles (225 kilometers) east of Patna, the capital of Bihar, one of only two Indian states where new cases of polio continue to be reported, according to UNICEF. Uttar Pradesh is the other.

In 2002, India had reported 1,613 polio cases ? a number that has now come down to about 685 cases per year, UNICEF says. Polio mostly strikes children under 5 and is carried in the feces of the infected and often spread by contaminated water. It usually causes paralysis, muscular atrophy, deformation and sometimes death.

The disease has dropped by more than 99 percent since the World Health Organization and partners launched an initiative to eradicate the disease in 1988 through vaccinations. But the numbers of cases ? fewer than 2,000 annually ? have remained at a virtual standstill since 2000. In addition to India, polio persists in a handful of countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Chad, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sudan. Every year, India mobilizes more than 2 million health workers for an immunization day, visiting more than 200 million homes. To make sure they don't miss anybody, they also go to train stations, bus stations and ferry terminals to immunize children who are on the move.

Source: AP

Rs 2000 crore hike in social justice budget

The disability sector seems to be moving up the priority ladder, with the Centre giving a substantial hike in the allocation for schemes and institutions linked to disabilities for 2010–11. It comes with a near–double increase in the budget of the social justice ministry (MSJ). The rare focus on this sector seems in line with the growing awareness about the neglected sector.

Sources said the Planning Commission has cleared MSJ's budget at Rs 4,500 crore, up from Rs 2,500 crore. Sources said it may set a trend as sectoral grants rarely see a dip with new budgets.

The central sector schemes on disability have managed more than before. The Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme will have a kitty of Rs 120 crore, up from Rs 76 crore for 2009–10. A healthy Rs 100 crore has been cleared for schemes under the Persons with Disability Act. Its last allocation was a meagre Rs 20 crore. The seven National Institutes for Disabled have got a grant of Rs 70 crore, up from Rs 49 crore. The MSJ will have Rs 100 crore, as against Rs 79 crore this year, for purchase of aids/appliances for disabled persons. Three corporations for SCs, OBCs and handicapped are in for a grant of Rs 130 crore, and the 'handicapped corporation' is expected to see an increase from present Rs 9 crore.

Social justice minister Mukul Wasnik had sought an annual grant of Rs 7,000 crore to meet expenses for schemes on SCs/OBCs, handicapped, old–age and for checking drug addiction. But a Rs 2,000 crore hike is significant as grants for three years have hovered around Rs 2,100 crore, Rs 2,300 crore and Rs 2,500 crore.

The increase will help MSJ revise Post–Matric Scholarships for SCs which have remained frozen for paucity of funds.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Chandigarh gets sensory park for visually impaired

Institute for Blind people has created a sensory park with the help of Chandigarh administration and Municipal Corporation for the use of visually impaired persons. This park has been built to provide a safe place for visually impaired to walk around in a fresh environment, away from traffic and pollution.

The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh has spent 23,000 dollars to create the 0.41–acre park replicated from similar parks in Osaka, Japan.

Many aromatic herbs and medicinal plants like jasmine, lavlena, albertine, mint, neem, tulsi and bamboo have been planted here.

While creating the park, the corporation invited visually impaired children and noted their feedback and suggestions.

"If one sense organ is defective, the other senses are more developed. Here we train the visually impaired kids to use rest of their organs to the fullest. Technically it is called compensatory mechanism," said Jagannath, headmaster of the Institute for the Blind.

"In sensory garden, these kids can explore, smell and feel new things. They can share ideas and interact with the citizens of the society. In this way they will learn new things and also develop healthy relations with the community," he added.

The credit for helping the blind children in Chandigarh also goes to the Society for the Care of the Blind.

Ever since its inception in 1972, it has been actively engaged in the education, training and rehabilitation of blind children and working for the prevention of blindness.

The society runs the Institute for the Blind in Chandigarh's Sector 26 to impart educational and vocational training to the blind children. It teaches handloom weaving, typewriting, music and Basic Computer Literacy to make them self–reliant.

"A visually impaired person doesn't have sight but has perspective. We educate the children so that they easily overcome various problems and difficulties in their life. It is our endeavor to make visually impaired children physically fit, mentally alert and emotionally well balanced," Jagannath said. "We also ensure that their all round development takes place as we function as a recognized senior secondary school. Nothing is bigger than knowledge, no worship is greater than truth, no sorrow is bigger than night and no happiness is greater than sacrifice. Only education can make a man wise and strong," he added.

Be it creating a sensory park or providing easy talk computers, the mission is to integrate the visually impaired into the mainstream of social life.

Outfits like the Institute for the Blind aim to inspire and inculcate in the children the zeal and zest for life by ensuring equal opportunities. By Sunil Sharma (ANI)

Source: http://news.oneindia.in

Procedure to get disability certificate simplified

The process for obtaining certificates to prove physical disabled people has been simplified under which the signature of only one doctor is needed except in cases of multiple disabilities.

The new guideline comes into force with the government amending the Persons with Disabilities Rules, 1996, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik today said.

Inaugurating the 9th National Meeting of Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities here, Wasnik said "the format of disability certificate has been simplified requiring signature of a single doctor other than in cases of multiple disabilities".

He asked state governments to amend the rules accordingly and ensure greater involvement in the process.

As per 2001 census, 21.9 million people are disabled people in India. Wasnik said the meeting assumed significance against the backdrop of India's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

He also said that the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 is being amended to harmonise it with the UNCRPD.

The minister said the newly launched scheme of Inclusive Education for Disabled People at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) would enable children with disabilities to enjoy their right to school education on equal basis with others.

Wasnik had recently written to the states to ensure that the all government buildings are made barrier free.

Source: http://www.zeenews.com

Govt to consider giving fellowship to disabled people

Government on Friday said it will examine the issue of providing fellowship to physically disabled students for pursuing their research with "serious consideration".

On receiving a request in this regard from a visually disabled student here at a national workshop, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Mukul Wasnik today said, "We will examine the issue... I think this is the suggestion that needs serious consideration. I will do my best to see that your request is through."

In a novel gesture, Wasnik agreed to pledge his support by donating his one month salary as the dean and director of School ofInternational Studies.

JNU Professor Yogesh Tyagi sought his contribution quickly, proposing to start a fellowship scheme for the physically disabled students of his unit.

Wasnik was chairing a workshop when visually impaired student on behalf of JNU visually impaired forum came with his request to either extend financial assistance to disable persons under Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship (RGNF) which is meant for SC and ST students only or Dr Maulana Abul Kalam Azad fellowship ((MAKAF) which is likely to be announced soon for the minority research scholars.

The ministry provides scholarship to physically disabled students for pursuing their post–matric studies, graduation and post graduate programmes but does not specifically offer any fellowship to them.

"The financial assistance being extended to the needy students pursuing highereducation is particularly laudable. Unfortunately, enough persons with disability find no place in either of the two schemes (RGNF and MAKAF)," the visually–challenged student Anwaram said.

He requested the minister to take "appropriate measures" either to include persons with disability in the existing fellowship schemes or launch a special national scheme for them.

Earlier, while addressing the workshop, the minister said it was the responsibility of all to extend all possible support to these sections (disabled) of the society.

"Most of us, rather almost all of us are disabled in some respect or the other. Some may be economically, some may be politically, socially, educationally, intellectually... many of us are privileged, many of us are under privileged. Many of are not privileged at all, many of us do not get the recognition like human beings and that I have rights," he said.

"We should be recognised as a human being and I think our task, our mission should be to care and support those who are underprivileged," he added.

Referring to the 2001 Census, Wasnik said it was almost about 21.9 million people across the country who came under the category of persons with disability.

"This figure is huge and therefore we have to have a mechanism in place which provides them their rights and that on time," he said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Brigadier on wheelchair to be major general

In a stirring achievement, a paraplegic Army officer confined to a wheelchair, Brigadier S K Razdan, is all set to become a two-star officer or a major-general.

While this is not the first time that physically challenged officers have reached high ranks, with at least two having even become senior three-star officers or Lt-Generals, the feat is possible only through steely determination and sheer grit.

Brig Razdan was a Lt-Col in the special forces when he participated in an intensive counter-terrorism operation in Damal Kunzipur area of Jammu and Kashmir in October 1994 to save several Muslim women taken hostage by militants. While the women were successfully rescued, the brave officer suffered grave injuries to his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed below the waist.

A grateful nation awarded him the Kirti Chakra, the nation's second-highest peacetime gallantry award, in 1996 for his act of valour. The wheelchair-bound officer later went on to become a brigadier. And now, Brig Razdan has been approved to become a major-general and will `pick up his rank' once there is a vacancy.

"As per Army rules, any injury or disability suffered in war, counter-terrorism or any other operation, which is called a `battle casualty', does not come in the way of any soldier in his promotion boards as long as he is capable of performing his duties, said a senior officer.

However, if a soldier suffers a `physical casualty', that is, gets disabled in training or an accident, then there is no recourse but to put him in a lower medical category. He is allowed to serve if he can perform his duties but there is a bar on him getting promoted or attending some particular courses. Otherwise, he is boarded out.

Take, for instance, Lt-Gen Pankaj Joshi, who passed away last year. Commissioned into the Gorkha Rifles in 1962, he lost both his legs during a mine-clearing mission in Sikkim in 1967. But through sheer grit after becoming a `battle casualty', he went on to command an armoured brigade, an armoured division and a corps before becoming the general officer commanding-in-chief of the Lucknow-based Central Army Command.

That's not all. Lt-Gen Joshi also became India's first-ever chief of the tri-Service integrated defence staff in October 2001, established in the aftermath of the 1999 Kargil conflict, and retired after a fruitful tenure.

The 1.13-million strong Indian Army, in fact, has also had a disabled Lt-Gen as it vice-chief. Lt-Gen Vijay Oberoi, who lost one of his legs during an operation as a young officer, served as the vice-chief in 2000-2001 after first serving as the director-general of military operations, a strike corps commander and then chief of the Chandimandir-based Western Army Command. Source:Times of India

Disabled children to get special treatment under RTE

Children having disability including those with cerebral palsy, mental disability and autism will be treated as "disadvantaged groups" who will get precedence over others under the Right to Education Act.

The government today introduced a bill in the Rajya Sabha to amend the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, which provides for free and compulsory education to all children of the age group of 6 to 14 years.

The children belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, socially, educationally and economically backward classes get preference over others under the historic Act enacted last year.

However, children with with disabilities were left out of the special category. Introducing the amendment bill in the Upper House, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said the government wants to ensure "specific needs (of these children) are given precedence in the elementary education system in the country. Source: http://www.ptinews.com

Giving direction to the future of deaf blind people

There are nearly 2.5 million deaf blind people in the world, according to data from World Bank, with 4.25 lakh children from India alone, a rough estimate. Inspired by the work of four mothers in the U.K. for persons with multiple disabilities, Akhil Paul started Sense International (India) with 23 deafblind people in Ahmedabad. Today, it works with 38 partner organisations in 19 states and has reached out to 32,000 people.

Brahada Shanker, Regional Coordinator (South), Sense International (India), monitors the four southern states by helping produce resource material, conducing training and promoting networking activities. She spoke to Liffy Thomas on the organisation's journey so far.

"Identifying people who are deafblind and those with multi–sensory impairment is a big challenge in India. They are a minority within a minority and parents practically do not know how to identify, while most NGOs work with one disability," says Brahada Shanker, Regional Coordinator (South), who was in the city to participate in a workshop organised by the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities.

That's when Sense International (India) entered in 1997. From disseminating information, sensitising, conducting training and providing support to advocacy, it is an ongoing process. The 15–member core team is building a network of partners, which carries out the activities.

It offers home–based programmes, vocational training, community based rehabilitation and teacher training sessions. They adopt communication methods such as tactile signs, writing on the palm, tadoma (holding the jaws) and using pictures.

"The functional level of every person is different, so it is an evolving process," says Ms. Shanker, who has been with the social sector for 13 years and specialises with children with vision and additional disabilities.

Starting four Regional Learning Centers in the country was one major step that Sense International (India) took to reach out to small network organisations. In south India, for instance, the Holy Cross Service Society, Tiruchi, has identified 13 partners. "We even network with neo–natal and paediatric clinics such that they refer to our Regional Learning Centers if new cases have been identified," she says, adding that 2,000 teachers have been trained by them.

"Getting deafblind a certificate is the most difficult; unless otherwise there is a unique category it creates a lot of problems for which we are fighting," she says. Until then, reducing social exclusion and improving the quality of deafblind people is their motto. The deafblind helpline is 1800 233 7913 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1800 233 7913      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1800 233 7913      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1800 233 7913      end_of_the_skype_highlighting http://www.hindu.com