Institutions

Help Handicapped Foundation

Help Handicap Foundation (HHF) reached an important milestone in August 2007 when it approved assistance to the one thousandth applicant since its inception in 2001. HHF has grown from strength to strength over the years with a steady increase in both the donations received and the number of disabled students and individuals sponsored. One of the primary reasons for HHF’s success has been its low overhead cost with close to 92% of donations going towards providing assistance. HHF has helped people with various disabilities pursue their education, receive equipment assistance and start self–employment in different parts of India.

In 2007 alone, HHF has already sponsored close to three hundred disabled persons. A significant majority of these beneficiaries received education assistance while close to forty were granted employment assistance.

Since 2001, close to 850 disabled students have received education assistance to complete their degrees in various disciplines. These students came from very poor families who otherwise cannot support their education. In fact the average monthly income of their parents was reported to be $40 per month. This program has helped them pursue their dreams of self–sustenance and an independent life through education. Some of the highlights of this program are given below.

  • 5 of these disabled students are pursuing their MBBS degree, 2 are in Nursing program
  • 16 of these disabled students are aspiring to be engineers through their B Tech/B E degree
  • 24 are MBA/MCA students; 15 are in M Sc/M Ed, 47 are in B Sc/B Com and 62 students are pursuing B A/B Ed degrees
  • 9 of the students scored over 90% of marks, 15 scored over 80%, 75 scored over 70% and 140 scored over 60% in various educational programs

Another major way of providing assistance to disabled individuals utilized by HHF has been the EmploymentAssist program. Approximately thirty five percent of donations received by HHF have been granted through this program. Nearly a hundred disabled individuals have been provided self–employment assistance to make them earn a sustained income through which they could become independent in their life. Monetary assistance has been provided to implement several self–employment schemes such as IST/STD booths, copying machines, sewing machines, garment/electrical goods shop, mobile phone repair shops, tea stalls etc.

Several kinds of disability equipments such as calipers, crutches, hearing aid, 3–wheel scooters etc have been also been granted.

In addition to assisting students and individuals with disabilities through the programs above, HHF is also venturing into providing support to projects geared towards improving the lives of disabled individuals. The first project is the Home for the Mentally Challenged, Pune, where 34 mentally challenged students reside. The second project is the Home for Disabled Orphans, Aligarh. Accessibility design guidelines similar to the ones used in the USA were provided to the project architect in India to make the ward accessible to disabled inmates.

HHF is working with 6 NGOs; they are in Aligarh, Bangalore, Bombay, Hyderabad, Pune and Secunderabad

Source: Over one thousand poor, disabled applicants earn scholarships and assistance.www.helphandicap.org.