Minutes of 3rd All NGO Meet

The following are the minutes of the 3rd ALL NGO MEET that was held at , Bajaj Institute, Dehradun on May 15, 2009 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees :
- Tenzin Phuntrok, Ngoenga School
- Air Commander A. K. Khanna, Bajaj Institute
- P.M. Samuel, Sumana Samuel, Sharp Memorial School for the Blind
- Bhavishya Dua, Deepak Pande, Dr. Sebastian Gruschke, Latika Roy

Foundation
- Sharon Dominica, Anugrah Project
- Sudha Atreya, NIOH
- Anupama Thapliyal, Priyo Lall, Raphael
- Saswati Singh, Inspiration India

1. There was an initial round of introductions.

2. It was suggested that the Mayor of Dehradun, Mr. Vinod Chamoli is expected to visit one of our meetings. He would like to share his ideas in this area.

3. It was suggested that we include the government organizations like NIOH, NIVH, NIMH working in the area of the disability and we work together towards a common cause. It was suggested that we do not use the term NGO meet from now on, it can be termed as the forum meet.

4. It was suggested that the group be named as Dehradun Ability Forum. The other suggestion was to name it as per the UN convention guidelines. It was decided to temporarily shelve the naming issue and continue with the other items in the agenda.

5. Blog:A blog http://dehradundisabilityforum.blogspot.com has been created for the Dehradun Disability Forum. It was suggested that LRF send out invites for the blog to all email ids attending the meeting and reevaluate the problems in accessing the blog in the next meeting.

6. Poster : Bajaj Institute gave a sample poster design. It was suggested that we refine it and put it on doctors’ clinics and chemists’ shops. It was suggested that we put a proposal to the government for spreading awareness in other areas of Uttarakhand. IT was suggested that we have two formats .. a poster format for patients and a card for reference by the doctors. Finally it was decided that we will pursue only the poster format initially. LRF to initiate the design of the posters and come up with options.

7. Meeting with IMA : A meeting with the Indian Medical Association was suggested and it was decided to make a small presentation for the IMA.

8. October Mela : It was suggested that we have doctors camps, food stalls, sales stalls and cultural events at the event.

9. Bhagwanpur Mela : LRF was planning a disability camp at Bhagwanpur for distribution of Mental Disability certificates. Raphael suggested that they can help with the evaluation. Baja suggested that they will send a representative with booklets.

10. Employment : It was suggested that we help the government help themselves. We as a group can identify information on what employment can be taken up by whom. We can also share the details of the employment available for PwDs.

11. DDF Fund : It was suggested that all member organizations would give a small contribution towards the fund which can be used for running and other minor expenses of the Forum.

12. RTI Usage : It was suggested that we can use RTI to get information from government offices regarding disability. It was also suggested the way to use RTI can be put up on the DDF blog.

13. Indian Sign Language course : Bajaj informed about starting a 3 month Indian sign language course after 20th May with charges of Rs. 300/- . They also planned to start a course on beauty culture and setup a beauty parlour for training people.

14. Next meeting : It was decided that there will be no Forum meeting in June due to the summer holidays and the next meeting would be at Raphael on July 17th, 2009. Raphael to send out the time details with the agenda later.

Minutes of the 2nd All NGO's Meet

ALL NGO's MEET

The following are the minutes of the 2nd ALL NGO MEET that was held at Latika Roy Foundation, Training Center on April 17, 2009 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm

Attendees :
- Tenzin Phuntrok, Jamyang Tenzin, Ngoenga School
- Air Commander A. K. Khanna, Bajaj Institute
- P.M. Samuel, Sumana Samuel, Sharp Memorial School for the Blind
- Jo Chopra, Bhavishya Dua, Deepak Pande, Archana Sethi, Latika Roy Foundation
- Sharon Dominica, Anugrah Project
- Sudha Atreya, NIOH
- Anupama Thapliyal, Raphael
- Saswati Singh, Inspiration India


1. All present gave introductions and presentations about their respective organizations in the following order :
- Anugrah Project
- Bajaj Institute
- Latika Roy Foundation
- Ngoenga School
- Sharp Memorial school for the Blind
- NIOH
- Raphael
- Inspirations

2. Information Technology : Neha, from LRF told about the usage of information technology for spreading awareness about the organizations and sharing information about disability amongst ourselves. The information can be about trainings, employment, awareness programs or information about disability. She suggested the use of websites, social networking sites (like facebook/orkut) and blogs as a tool for sharing information. She suggested that a blog is the cheapest form of information sharing that can start immediately. The following blogs were suggested : live journal and blogart. She suggested a sample blog that can be looked at for reference is : Circle of Hope. It was decided that since Neha seemed to be the person who knew the most about blogs .. she would start one about the forum that had collected.

3. Forum Name : The group discussed the possibility of having a name for the forum. The name ‘Dehradun Disability Forum’ was suggested and tentatively agreed upon. The logo design for the organization was discussed. It was decided that LRF would come up with sample designs of the logo and present them for selection by others.

3. Disability Camp : The group discussed the possibility of a city wide joint disability camp/convention. It was suggested that a time around October during the Dussehra to Diwali time would be the best for holding such an event. It was suggested that we can find commercial sponsors for such an event. It was decided that all organizations would come up with planning ideas for the camp/convention to the next meeting.

4. Poster : The group discussed the possibility of having a poster for information in English and Hindi. The intention was to share the names and contact details of the organizations with the medical community and the public at large so they can come to these organizations. It was decided that LRF would prepare sample poster designs which give the details of our organizations. Jo from LRF would also look at the funding from some organization like Cipla for sponsoring the posters.

5. Disability Helpline : It was suggested that a disability helpline like ‘197’ be made available and the telephone operators can be trained to redirect the person to the right institute/organization.

6. The next forum meeting details :
Venue : Bajaj Institute
Date : Friday, May 15th, 2009.
Time : 10:00 – 12:00 hrs.

7. The forum rounded off the meeting with a delicious pooled lunch.

LATIKA VIHAR KE BOLLYWOOD TOP 5

Latika Vihar is our own little Neverland. The place where no one ever grows up, in fact it is the place where even grown ups return to their childhood.

That is what happens every time I go there, I forget how old I am and just have fun. This article is not about how and what we do at Latika Vihar, but about the we did on June 12, 2009. This is about Latika Vihar Ke Bollywood Top 5, our play which was great fun to do and equally fun to watch. Ah! How can I leave you out of the process of deciding on the play? I was supposed to decide the play but the children ridiculed, discarded, appreciated and rejected tons of ideas that I gave them so finally I came up with what I thought was the perfect idea which was happily accepted by the children (PHEW!) the idea was of a TV Show. But the acceptance came with a rider, it had to be a dance show.

But I was ready for the challenge, if they were smart; I was smarter (ahem! ahem!).

It would be a dance show but with an anchor and advertisements, after all I had to make them act and no TV show is complete without either! This is how Latika Vihar Ke Bollywood Top 5 finally came to be.

A group of 24 children were divided into three groups. Each group came up with a list of their top ten bollywood songs and three of their favorite advertisements. The lists were tallied songs that were common were picked, that gave us 15 songs! What do we do next? All the songs were loved by the children so we did what any god fearing, democratic organisation does, we voted! Finally the Top 5 were chosen -

Song No 5- Pappu can’t Dance (Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na)
Song No 4- Desi Girl (Dostana)
Song No 3- Aye Pappi (Kismet Konnection)
Song No 2- Move Your Body (Kismet Konnection)
Song No 1- Yeh Dooriyan (Fool & Final)

Each song was intersected by an advertisement or poems by children at Latika Vihar and how can we forget our anchor, Anukta.

She was at her witty best, from Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapur’s love story to the effect of the return of our very own “Don’ Shaila and lovelorn Rajesh in the absence of his wife, Hema, she spared no one!

Once the show was over and the curtain call done with, the staff, children and guests at Latika Vihar took over the stage and danced away till they dropped!

Those who missed it need not worry as “Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost”, we will see you soon with another performance!

Supported decision making- What's your opinion?

We all make decisions in life- about what we want to do, what we want to study, which doctor to visit, how we spend our money and so on.. Making our own decisions gives us a sense of independence, solidarity, even individuality.
Adults with an intellectual disability also like to make their own decisions. When given an opportunity they also express their desire to do specific things, interact with specific people or go to a specific place. They too can dream.

However, in today's society they are often not given the opportunity. They are not given a voice. Even when given a voice, they are not allowed to make decisions about their own life, or future.

Take it a step further. A bank often does not allow a person with an intellectual disability to manage his own finances. The doctor does not get consent from , or a landlord will not enter into a contract with a person with intellectual disability.

That is where Guardianship came into the picture. A guardian being , ideally, a caring adult who makes good decisions and enters into a contracts on behalf of the person with disability. The guardian manages the person's money and property, decides where he should live and what he should do with his life.

Guardianship posed a problem. The person with interllectual disability no longer had a voice. The guardian talked to the community on his behalf , even thought and decided on his behalf.

Is that fair? Doesn't every human being have a right to make their own choices? The UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities protects the rights of people with interlectual disability and states that they enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others. It also mentions, that the state will also provide them support, when required to access their legal capacity.

Supported legal capacity starts with supported decision making, a process where you support individuals with intellectual disability instead of making decisions for them. How can we support? It can be through providing a way to communicate, or also by helping the person go through the entire decision making process.

Inclusion International has been working on creating awareness and legal systems to allow for supported decision making and are starting a pilot project in association with Inspiration , right here in Dehradun.

In the project, the aim is to help the person with intellectual disability choose a few trusted people to form a network. This network in turn, helps the person think about his future and make decisions.

A group of people consisting of parents, professionals in disabilities ,and representatives from different NGO's in Dehradun ave now designed an outline for this pilot project to be carried out in the coming year. The pilot will hopefully, give us many answers about how this concept works in India- is it feasible? Acceptable by the Indian society? Will it work? We hope that during the course of this project, as we face problems and find solutions, we will find a suitable model of supported decision making that will encourage people with intellectual disabilities in India to dream, and to live out their dreams.

What are your opinions on this concept? This project? Can this blog be a place for us to think aloud?

NEWS UPDATE!!

Law University Campus to be 100 per cent Disabled–Friendly

Ahmedabad, Jun 07 : The new campus of Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) at Coba near Gandhinagar, whose foundation stone was laid on Friday, will be 100 per cent disabled–friendly. This will be the first educational campus in the country to be so. GNLU Director Bimal Patel said: "Our efforts are to make this campus a unique architectural marvel. Its most prominent feature will be its disabled–friendly design. The campus will be spread over 50 acres of land and will be made in a few phases, of which phase one has started." GNLU officials added that the new campus will include academic sections, residential hostels, faculty accommodations and a state–of–art world class library.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

DU charts new course to open avenues for disabled students

Jun 03: One of the features that distinguish Doordarshan from private news channels is a special news programme for persons with hearing disability: the anchor 'tells' news through sign languages, covering everything from politics to sports and the weather.

Though no other news channel gives such job opportunities, the Delhi University's Equal Opportunity Cell is working towards more hearing– impaired students getting the training needed for such work.

The course starts this August. Now, a new course on Mass Media News Reading and Anchoring is being introduced in Delhi University to teach students the expertise needed for such jobs in the media. Dr Nisha Singh, Officer on Special Duty at the Cell, says TV channels often do not realise that disabled students can also handle news and anchor shows equally adeptly.

The Cell, she says, will invite people from the media industry to help create space for such students. "We have to work towards the implementation of the 3–per cent reservation for disabled employees in the media industry once the courses begin," Singh says. "There is a large population of disabled persons whose requirements should be met by the media industry."

Established in 2006, the Equal Opportunity Cell encourages Delhi University colleges to be more disabled–friendly, and has over the past couple of years made efforts to get more disabled students into the university. Last year, the Cell introduced four courses in Sign Languages, Communicative English, Information and Communication Technology, and Human Rights and Disability.

This year, Singh says, the Cell is introducing courses in Braille reading and writing, and Mobility. The course on Braille is available for abled–category students as well, she says. The course on Mobility will teach students how to effectively use their walking sticks to cross roads, how to get on buses using hand movements, and ways to use hearing–aids among others. The Cell plans to introduce the course in clusters so that two or three colleges share one centre of learning, Singh says.

All courses are of duration between four and five months and are part– time, so that they do not clash with regular classes. "Classes will be held after 2 pm at the Equal Opportunity Cell building in the North Campus," Singh says.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

Anugrah Project- this is what we do..

Anugrah is a centre dedicated to improving the quality of life of children with developmental disabilities. Part of the Community Health and Development Project of Herbertpur Christian Hospital, the Anugrah centre emerged through one father’s commitment to looking after his son, Anugrah, who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.

Anugrah program focuses on all aspects of these children’s lives by enhancing the their developmental prospects, improving the well being of their families, creating specialised services to meet their specific needs and creating a responsive and responsible community.

Anugrah currently runs an Intervention Centre for 26 children that focuses on physical and occupational therapy, life skills and special education. Within a 20km radius of the centre are another 40 children enrolled in a Community Based Rehabilitation program where community members are trained to work with children in their homes, involve them in play groups plus engage them in ongoing physical and occupational therapy.

Major Activities

Assessment of physical, social, learning abilities of children; planning customized, child specific intervention program; forming developmental groups in the communities; capacity building; awareness programs; and networking for advocacy.

Focus on the Poor

The aim of the program is to bring children with developmental disadvantages together, within the context of their community, to learn from each other and to provide support for their parents. The children have opportunities to learn social skills and improve their understanding of the world. The program also helps improve parents’ awareness and enables them to support and learn from one another.

Right to Ride: an initiative towards Social Inclusion

‘Right to Ride’ is an ongoing initiative started by Latika Roy Foundation (LRF) in Dehradun to make the people with disabilities aware of their rights and benefits provided by the government and sensitize the issue of social inclusion with regards to public transport.

The campaign which started in February, 2009 is based on the idea that improved mobility would allow people with disabilities to play an active role in society both economically and socially. Thus, when the need arises disabled people should be able to travel locally or within urban and suburban areas using public transport and other modes with ease.

As a part of the campaign Latika Roy Foundation has designed some attractive stickers (priced at Rs 10 per sticker) to put across the message of ‘Social Inclusion’.

The campaign also includes street plays staged by the LRF Awareness Team in partnership with ‘Nijaat Rehabilitation Centre Nukkad Natak Team’. The street plays will be conducted through out the year at various places like Prem Nagar, ISBT, Railway Station, Connaught Place and Anurag Nursery etc.

If you want to buy the sticker (the sample can be seen below) or know more about our campaigns, call us at 0135-2761014