Meet Anil kumar who has a hearing disability. He used to work in a papad factory earning Rs.1500 a month for a daily workload of 10 hours. Then he came to know about Noida Deaf Society and enrolled for their English course in the year 2007. Eventually he got placed in Leela Kempinski Hotels, Gurgaon much to his joy and satisfaction. “I have learnt to commit to my job from NDS, and the value of having a good job and a regular salary,” says Anil.

Noida Deaf Society was started in the year 2005 single-handedly by Ruma Roka and now this organization is impacting over 300 students through its various courses. Here is an interview of Ruma on NDS, her inspiration and the impact she is creating:

Here is a photograph of Ruma with the entire NDS family:

To know more about NDS and to go through their work, please visit their website: http://noidadeafsociety.net/

In our busy lives where our abilities are taken for granted, we forget that living along with us are challenged people who have special needs. Who could better understand the needs of the visually challenged than someone who has suffered it herself? Madhu Singhal is visually impaired by birth. Born into an upper middle class family in Haryana, Madhu had the affluence to lead a comfortable life. But she chose not to be laid back and wanted to do something on her own.

After completing her MA in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music, Madhu came down to Bangalore to undergo specialized training in communication and counseling. To her surprise and much difficulty, she found that there was very little support for her learning needs. In the North, audio recordings of text books were made available for students like her, but here in Bangalore Madhu couldn’t find any such help. Fighting this difficulty she completed her studies and got out only to find that it was extremely difficult for her to get a job. This is when Madhu decided that no one else should suffer what she suffered. And Mitra Jyothi was conceived.

Mitra Jyothi is aimed at empowering the visually impaired by supporting their educational needs, finding suitable jobs and making them independent enough to take charge of their lives. The organization’s most popular initiative is its Talking Book Library. Text books and books for general reading are given a voice by volunteers, and cassettes and CDs are recorded for circulation. Over 22,000 cassettes of more than 2000 books have been recorded till date. Mitra Jyothi set up its own recording studio to provide this service professionally. Notably, Mitra Jyothi’s effort in this front was the first of its kind in Karnataka and over 5000 people have benefited from the library.

The organization is also extensively involved in Braille transcription and providing computer education to the visually impaired. Mitra Jyothi runs a full-fledged job placement cell for its members, a service that has helped its members find suitable jobs in corporates and manufacturing units. Another admirable service is that the organization runs special courses for women to impart independent living skills.

Mitra Jyothi has been serving the needs of the visually challenged for over two decades now. It has extended its services to Kerala, Andhra and Tamil Nadu. Madhu Singhal has nurtured the organization with her selfless commitment that grew beyond her impairments.  Madhu lives independent, travels abroad on her own, spearheads an organization and chairs important positions in various social service organizations – a true role model. What she has achieved can be made possible for more visually challenged people. Help spread the cause.

Visit http://www.mitrajyothi.org/

It is true that the differently-abled get a raw deal in the economy of the country. However, this is changing as steps are being taken to include them in the India growth story. EnAble India, a Bangalore-based NGO working for the uplift of physically challenged people, together with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), organized a job fair with a difference.

Companies like Integra Garments, ITC Hotels, ITC Agarbatis, Coffee Day and IBC Hotels and Resorts participated in the fair, and employed 70 people with low vision or hearing disability or mild mental retardation and other physical disabilities. They are not highly qualified people, and have been given vocational training by EnAble to allow them to be usefully employed and earn a living.

We can see what a difference it has made in their lives form the following article in Thaindian:

“I am happy that I got a job. I am no more dependent on my parents,” said an excited Bina Prasad, 22, who is hearing impaired and was chosen by Bangalore-based Integra Garments as a tailor.

Echoing Bina’s emotion, 23-year-old Sourav Shukla, who has locomotive disorder and was offered a job by ITC Agarbati, said the job would help him lead life with dignity. Sourav is a trained incense maker.

According to the World Bank report, there is a great difference between the opportunities and economic conditions of the disabled people in India from their healthy counterparts:

People with disabilities are among the most excluded in Indian society, according to “People with Disabilities in India: From Commitments to Outcomes”, a report prepared by World Bank in collaboration with the central Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 2007.

The report states that disabled adults have far lower employment rates than the general population and this fell from 43 percent in 1991 to 38 percent in 2002, even in the midst of high economic growth.

This is a commendable step forward for inclusive growth, and we hope the beginning of many similar initiatives in the future in order to bridge the gap.

Read the complete article here.

Image Courtesy: www.newhopeaustralia.org