Mrs. Savitri of Sangli

Mrs. Savitri is a weaver at the Physically Handicapped Training and Rehabilitation Centre in Sangli, Maharashtra suffers from leprosy but is learning to make scarves using wool for the first time.

Mr. Anbazhgan is a disabled wood-cutter, part of The Helen Keller wood carving group in Kalakurchi in Tamil Nadu, who is learning about the problems he could face with the use of an unfamiliar wood for an international client.

Mrs. Kankadurga works at Bethany Products, Bethany Leprosy Colony in Andhra Pradesh to create bed webbing that is used in the production of strong and beautiful bags.

Tarak Nath Roy of Susunia

Mr. Tarak Nath Roy of Susunia, West Bengal, is a gifted stone carver but disabled by polio.

The lives of these four artisans and several hundreds like them have been changed by an organization called MESH (Maximizing Employment to Serve the Handicapped). Earlier they were all being paid half of what their products were worth because of the presence of middle-men. But now, due to the efforts of a MESH, these artisans are able to market their wares directly and receive their due credit.

Mission and Activities:

MESH aims at providing opportunities for social and economic development to disabled and leprosy-affected people. It achieves this by acting as an intermediary between the disabled artisans and the market place. In effect they secure orders from national and international buyers, forward those orders to the skilled artisans, train and guide the artisans in fulfilling these orders, and promote fair wages among the artisans.

In addition to this, MESH helps the artisans by providing access to a host of design and product development ideas from its own Design Studio in order to keep them updated on the latest market trends. The organization helps add value to the artisans’ products by telling their stories. It also provides training in best business practices and helps the artisans secure 50% advance payment if required so that they can buy their raw materials without taking loans.

Products and Contact Information:

Their product catalogue includes shoulder bags, table mats, scarves, bedcovers, tablecloths, office stationery, toys, cards in a large variety of shapes, sizes, designs and materials to keep up with the latest trends and cater to various needs. All of these are available at their stores at the following locations in India:

MESH
5, Local Shopping Centre,
Uday Park,
New Delhi 110 049
Tel. +91 11 26965039/26568048
email: mesh@del6.vsnl.net.in

MESH
Shop No. 8,
NTR Gardens
Necklace Road,
Hyderabad
Tel. +91 9703879557

Besides this, MESH also has retail outlets in Britain, Germany, Sweden, USA and some other locations. Check their website for more details.

MESH has truly helped in filtering out the middle-men and enabled the handicapped artisans of India to earn their due.

We read, we learn, we understand. Sites like the one you are currently reading, along with countless other blogs, books, newspapers make up our reading spectrum. Make us aware, make us improve.

But what if we were to be visually impaired? How would we fare with a total lack of reading material? Did you know that most of the material available so easily to us is just not accessible for the visually impaired? In fact, only 0.5% of books are made accessible to the visually impaired in India. So, how do we ensure that those with visual impairment are able to read all those wonderful things that we come across regularly everyday?

This is where BookBole steps in. An initiative of Inclusive Planet, BookBole is a website that is designed for easy access for the visually impaired. Most visually impaired use text-to-speech converting software. Now, while there are standard guidelines for websites to ensure that text-to-speech software can easily ‘read’ them out, most websites do not adhere to these guidelines. The result is a lot of clutter and subsequent loss of information for the visually impaired. Bookbole solves this by making varied content available in easily accessible form.

The Problem

With the digitization of content as a result of the internet, as well as specific governmental and non-governmental initiatives to increase the volume of accessible content, there is now much more accessible content though the volume of content remains a major issue. However the problem is not just one of quantity but of relevancy i.e. of not just responding to general needs but specific user requirements. Large-scale global initiatives to make content accessible are just a drop in the ocean, albeit a very useful one. They can only cater to some needs of some people in some parts of world. With so much information captured in partially or fully inaccessible formats (print or digital non-readable formats) how does one respond to culture, language, industry and domain specific needs?

The Solution

The answer to this decentralized and hydra-headed problem is a decentralized community-driven solution. If similarly placed print and visually impaired across the world can connect with each other and share their efforts to fulfill their specific needs then there is a durable and dynamic solution at hand.

From books to class notes, journals to cooking tips, product reviews to personal stories. BookBole is all about the small stuff, but on a really large scale. A vibrant universe where people reach out, connect and fulfil each other’s needs. A universe created by aggregating the pools of accessible content that the visually impaired community has created for itself. A place where the value to the community of an individual effort is truly unlocked. Sharing that goes to the heart of the problem.

Bookbole.com is the consequence of this thought process. Designed exclusively for the 300 million-strong global print impaired community, it enables them to connect with each other and share accessible content, including books, notes, articles, blogs, audio recordings and so on, and furthermore, to build conversations around this content. It is a social network, with a difference. In the fashion of all things simple and useful, Bookbole will no doubt come to mean different things to different people across the world – a learning tool for some, an entertainment platform for others, and for all, a place to make friends and have conversations.

BookBole’s vision is that of a large, vibrant, pulsating community that shares useful content and conversations in a more-that-just-accessible environment, and where publishers and content-creators across the world, see the value of making available their content in mutual beneficial arrangements. Going forward, the largest community of visually and print impaired people in the world could see Bookbole become a social network, a content platform, a marketplace and a policy platform rolled into one. The makings of a true social venture.

Sittilingi is a remote village in Dharmapuri district, 125 km away from Salem town in Tamil Nadu, which used to be a god forsaken land caught under the spell of quacks and black magic. Noisy drums and fake injections were all they had to cure illnesses. This is when Dr. Regi and Dr. Lalitha took the plunge. This doctor couple went ahead to provide medical services to the tribals of Sittilingi, leaving their promising careers in the cities.

The couple found their calling in service to the underprivileged and wanted to use their knowledge where it was needed the most. Their hunt for the right place to offer their service ended at Sittilingi, a totally neglected and ignored tribal village. They ventured into the village, faced tough resistances and now they have emerged successful in establishing a full-fledged medical center for the tribals. A service beyond praises! 

Regi and Lalitha called their service the Tribal Health Initiative (THI). Their perseverance and continued service has brought about dramatic change in the living conditions of the natives. Infant mortality rate in Sittilingi has reduced to 20/1000 and there are no mothers dying in childbirth for the past 5 years. The nutrition levels of children and the general well being of the people have improved to a great extent.

Another striking fact about the Sittilingi initiative is that the girls who serve as nurses at the medical center are personally trained by Regi and Lalitha. When Regi and Lalitha saw that it was extremely difficult to get nurses to work at this tribal village, they decided to go choose smart and trainable girls from the village. This became such a wonderful uplift to the self esteem of the girls that they are extremely proud to be part of this initiative and to serve their community.

THI’s approach to medical care went one step ahead in educating the people and ‘helping the tribals help themselves’. They wanted to create a general understanding about health and health issues and make the natives acquainted with basic first aid. Today, over 21 neighbouring villages are benefiting from the Tribal Health Initiative that sprung at Sittilingi.  

And, the couple didn’t stop with medical facilities. They organize educational programmes, cultural activities and community development initiatives. There is a library facility that is available for children who also get to listen to motivating stories from a community worker every month.  Truly commendable, right?

It is very heartening to know about the selfless and committed service of Regi and Lalitha and many others who are supporting them. You can visit them at Sittilingi and get to know their service better. We also encourage you to support the initiative by contributing to the cause. Visit http://www.tribalhealth.org/