From the States

Mysore

New Delhi

A new home for the homeless mentally challenged

A voluntary organization has come forward to start a protected community home for the homeless mentally ill and mentally retarded found wandering on the streets.

Sinar Jernih, which offers cleaning and waste management solutions to hostels and hospitals in 10 cities across India, has hired two mentally challenged people from the Ramana Sunritya Alaya Trust (RASA) run by dancer Ambika Kameshwar.

The home, named Manasa, would come up at Chikkahalli village, four kms from the city and would follow the footsteps of the Banyan, a well-known Chennai-based voluntary organization, providing interacted services for persons with mental health issues.

The Trust would soon start a helpline to facilitate citizens to call up the organization whenever they spot such persons.

Dr. H. Sudarshan, recipient of the Right to Livelihood Award, said that after providing treatment, Manasa would try to facilitate the reunion of such persons with their families. But, if they had no place to go, they would be rehabilitated in the protected community home or village.

The community village was expected to have a hospital, a school and a medical store, besides farms and cottage industries to keep its inmates occupied.

The Trust took the initiative to start Manasa after a survey revealed that about 60% of the persons detained at the government shelter for homeless under the Prevention of Beggary Act were actually mentally ill.

Besides, the finding of a study at Balamandira, the home for juvenile delinquents and needy children, reinforced the prevalence of mental retardation among homeless and destitute children. These beggars and children were left untreated as government doctors visit them hardly once a month.

Dr Sudarshan, also the Chairman of the Karnataka State Health Task force and Vigilance Director of Karnataka Lokayukth, lamented that there was lack of awareness about mentally ill and mentally retarded homeless people in society. He pointed out that though there are eight NGOs working for orphaned and homeless children in Mysore district, none placed specific emphasis on mental retardation.

Masana now has the capacity to admit 24 cases. Initially, it plans to function as a transit care facility for mentally ill and mentally retarded women and children. Later, the facility would be expanded to accommodate men.

The trust would launch a programme to create awareness about the plight of mentally ill and mentally retarded people and the need for the society to take care of them. It has also embarked on a fund raising exercise to meet the expenses arising out of its programmes.

Source: Home for mentally retarded. National Herald, New Delhi, 7 June 2006.

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AWWA camp for the disabled

In the wake of the killer tsunami in 2004, the Army Wives’ Welfare Association (AWWA) organized a camp for the disabled at Port Blair in Andaman in collaboration with the Artificial Limb Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO). The camp, which ended on June 1 this year, offered on-the-spot distribution of ready to use appliances after an initial need assessment by professionals from ALIMCO and the national Institute of Visually Handicapped.

According to Col. T.K. Chatterjee, a representative of the AWWA Secretariat, the camp registered more than 500 beneficiaries and distributed over 300 aid-appliances free of cost. Tailor-made aid-appliances were made available after 10 weeks.

With its mission, “Ability Beyond Disability,” the camp was launched by Anupama Singh, wife of the Army Chief, General JJ Singh, in July last year. The 5th Battalion of the 5th Gorkha Rifles, under the aegis of Brigadier JM Devodoss, contributed immensely to the success of the camp by, “reaching the unreachable”. The camp was able to establish a link between rehabilitation professionals and those in need. AWWA has stresses that the focus of development models should be on capacity building that include local participation, system building and a multi-sectoral approach to ensure better synergy at all levels.

Source: Aid-appliances distributed to disabled. Business Line, Delhi, 6 June 2006.

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Disabled boy seeks care but the government does not care

The case of a 13-year-old deaf-and dumb boy, who is being shuttled between various private shelters even though the Capital has 14 government homes, underlines the trails of destitute children at the hands of the administration.

The boy was found at the Old Delhi Railway Station on June 1 by Aditya Kumar, a social worker with Pratidhi. When Aditya contacted ‘Children’, it allegedly refused to take the boy in on the ground that the caller was from an NGO, and “not a concerned citizen”.

Aditya said that the helpline officials instead gave the contact number of a private child care centre in Gopalpur. The private centre, however, refused to give a document of receipt required to prove that the boy had been put up there for the night.

On June 2, Pratidhi activists took the boy to the Child Welfare Committee at Kingsway Camp. The NGO alleged the Committee refused to take the child, in contravention of the juvenile Justice Act, “which states that a child in need of care and protection is to be immediately given care and protection”.

CWC officials, however, denied this charge. CWC member, Randhir Kashyap said that the boy was never produced in front of the Committee and that the Pratidhi member who appeared was rude to the Committee chairman.

Raj Mangal Prasad of Pratidhi, however, said that the CWC refused to take custody saying any rescued child was to be produced before the Committee under whose jurisdiction the NGO was located. He also added that his grounds were clearly irrelevant as NGOs operate and rescue children across the city. Moreover, the Mayur Vihar CWC, under which Pratidhi is located, does not have a shelter of its own.

Meanwhile, the boy is being put up with Pratidhi members and at temporary shelters until he is produced before the CWC, Mayur Vihar.

Source: Challenged boy ‘homeless’ as official pass the buck. Indian Express, New Delhi, 6 June 2006. 

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Law schools oblivious to their responsibility under the PWD Act

A bright young girl, Pooja Sharma, a wheelchair user got admission to Symbiosis Law School based on her meritorious performance. Pooja dreams of becoming a lawyer, but when the session started at the prestigious college, her dreams become a nightmare.

Symbiosis Law School is ranked among the top five law colleges in India. However, she had to run from pillar to post, knocking at the doors of the senior management staff of Symbiosis Society, requesting them to provide a single room in the hostel. Being a wheelchair user, Pooja faces problems in her routine work. Her brother Mayank said that the college not only refused to allot her a single-occupancy room but also refused to allow her mother or even a maid to help her in the hostel. This is despite of the fact that Pooja’s parents are ready to pay for this. But, as the constraints of a private institute are well known, the single rooms are provided only to NRIs. At present, Pooja’s parents are staying in a hotel.

The session in the college started on June 5 and initially the college tried to dissuade her from taking admission. Though the college has got a wooden ramp built, her other problems still persist. The law provides 3% reservation for the physically disabled. Pooja’s family alleges that prestigious institutes, like National Law School of Bangalore, NALSAR of Hyderabad and National Law University of Jodhpur, refused to take students under the 3% quota. Pooja’s brother, said that they asked them to get written permission from the President of India.

It is ironical that though the 3% quota is in force in educational institutions most of them have little or no facilities to cope with the barriers faced by physically disabled students like Pooja.

Source: Disabled girl in law school nightmare. Asian Age, New Delhi, 11 June 2006.

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SRCC to get a facelift

The Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) from this academic session will be making special efforts to make its campus disabled-friendly, replete with special railings and raised platforms. The hostel rooms and college canteen will also get a makeover.

The movement of the physically-challenged students will be made easy in the classrooms as well as in the restrooms. P C Jain principal of SRCC said that he had visited the IGI Airport to see the way toilets were designed for the orthopedically-challenged people, and they have followed the same architectural design. Physically challenged students will be able to move their wheelchairs inside the newly-designed toilets, as they would have special railings.

Even the main entrance will have ramps and handrails with contrasting colour bands painted on the edges of the steps. The college will also overcome other physically barriers like lack of grab bars and raised platforms for urinals.

The hostel too will sport a new look. He added that the shabby look of the hostel rooms would be changed with new coats of plastic paint and colourful tiles. Even the furnishing will be changed. They will replace the iron cots with wooden beds and each student would get a separate cupboard to keep belongings, unlike now when two students have to share one cupboard. They will also put colourful and trendy curtains in the room to give them a fresh look..

The toilets of both the hostel and the college will also be revamped. He said that sanitary fittings and drainage systems of the toilets will be changed. They will be fitted with glass ceilings and mosaic tiles.

The canteen will also have a coulorful flooring and a range of a new dishes will be introduced.

He assured that the stairs and the flooring of the canteen would be made trendy. A variety of good quality dishes will be served in the canteen. The prices however, would not be hiked. The college will be spending about Rs. 20 lakh for the renovation work.

Source: SRCC to revamp hostel & canteen, to give the disabled advantage. The Times of India, New Delhi, 8 June 2006.

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New wheelchairs to hit the markets

Giving hope to millions of Indians with locomotive disabilities, a rehabilitation trainee from Sweden has developed a new “India Chair”, which promises to meet the constraints and demands of wheelchair users in both urban and rural settings.

Mr Arun Sondhi, a wheelchair user and rehabilitation trainee from Sweden, has developed India’s first “active” wheelchair that has finally won the approval of experts at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) and was termed as the “India Chair”. Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia, chairman of ISIC said that a survey of wheelchair users was done to find out their requirement and problems. Based on the finding, the “India Chair” was designed.

A fully detachable, portable and lightweight wheelchair, the “India Chair” can be folded into a bag, carried in a three-wheeler and perform skills that are difficult to do with other wheelchairs available in the market.

Having undergone a series of tests and trials at ISIC, the “India Chair” is all set for mass production in India. Major Ahluwalia explained that while maneuverability was a problem in the rural setting, the stairs, malls and other offerings of a city environment could be full of uncertainties and anxieties for a physically challenged person.

In India, nearly 8 million people are in need of a wheelchair. Sadly, however, locomotive disabilities have been one of the most neglected segments in the health scenario of India. Active wheelchairs are out of reach for majority of the Indians who cannot afford the expensive imported wheelchairs. A wheelchair dealer said that a basic wheelchair costs around Rs 8,000. The ones imported from China, Taiwan and Germany cost anywhere around Rs 3-4 lakhs. However, the “India Chair”, priced at Rs. 6,000, will give the imported wheelchairs a run for their money once they hit the Indian market.

The handmade wheelchair is available in three sizes - small, medium and large. It has detachable wheel and armrests, making it compact.

Source: ‘India Chair’ offers hope to disabled. Asian Age, New Delhi, 13 June 2006.

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LSR going disabled friendly

Hurdles do not disappear for visually challenged students by merely gaining admission into a DU college. For many it remains a long and tough struggle to get to college and then find enough support in terms of academic material in Braille. Lady Shri Ram College has decided to make things much easier for its students by installing special softwares on dedicated computers in the library.

LSR will become the second college in Delhi University to extend the facility to its students. St. Stephen’s is the only other college that extends the benefit of JAWS - a software that translates words being typed on a computer into audible output to its students.

Asha Mathur, vice-principal, LSR said that they have a dozen students who suffer from some kind of visual impairment. While several students residing in the hostel have JAWS on their personal computers, the college is procuring the software mainly for the benefit of the underprivileged students who cannot afford to pay for it.

Mathur says the college plans to get both Hindi and English versions of the software to enable students in any discipline to study independently. She said that students could even appear for exams without taking the help of a writer. While many colleges like St. Stephen’s and IP College have extensive Braille libraries, very few institutions actually have adequate academic infrastructure for visually challenged students.

St. Stephen’s installed the software two years back after the college collected information about improving facilities for disabled students. Anil Wilson, Principal St. Stephen’s College said that St. Stephen’s has been the hub of readers for visually challenged people and they regularly conduct recordings for these students, apart from assisting them in their exams. Procuring JAWS was the next step in their programme of promoting education for the visually challenged.

Source: Lady Shri Ram tries to bridge Braille divide with JWAS. The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 6 June 2006.

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