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An Interview - By Arundhati Venkatesh
Three inspiring women show us what visually impaired people in India can achieve.
Savithri has been working at a BPO run by Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, after completing her B.A. She has been learning dance right from her school days, and has travelled abroad many times.
Savithri is visually impaired. She hails from a village where there were no facilities for education. Her uncle, a bus conductor, met other visually impaired people on a bus journey and obtained information and contacts from them. Savithri was then sent to the Ramana Maharishi School for the Blind. After completing her 10 th std., she arrived at Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled and spent the next eight years there.
Gangamma, visually impaired, is a degree holder, a dancer and chess player. Gangamma has won the National Chess championship for the blind, and was also part of the Samarthanam troupe that won the All-India Dance competition in 2010. She has secured a job at a bank.
Gangamma is originally from a village in Bellary district, but has spent the last fifteen years in Bangalore. She came to Samarthanam for her PUC after completing her 10th. Suma is a B.Com graduate, and works for Samarthanam as a Volunteer Co-ordinator. She is also visually impaired and arrived at Samarthanam to do her PUC after completing her 10th std. in a normal school.
The three women have travelled extensively for cultural tours and performances. I spoke to them about their passion, their accomplishments and their journey so far.
ENVIRONMENT
Parisara
Parisara, Samarthanam's waste management wing, collects and recycles dry waste from corporate locations, apartment complexes and residential units.The programme aids in empowering the differently-abled by providing employment opportunities. The income generated is used for Samarthanam's welfare activities.
. 5.16 lakh kgs in 2011
. Annual Revenue generated: Rs 52 lakhs
Printer Cartridge Recycling Unit
Samarthanam's Printer Cartridge Recycling Plant where refilling/remanufacturing is carried out; brings high quality compatible toner cartridges
to the market place, compatible with all major products. Samarthanam Parisara is a registered re-processor/recycler of printer cartridges, authorized and licensed by Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.
Samarthanam encourages talent among differently-abled youth, nurturing their skills in art, music & dance and providing opportunities to perform on stage.'Sunadha', Samarthanam's cultural troupe comprising visually impaired artistes, has given classical and folk dance performances across the country, and the U.S.
CULTURE
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Dance for the sight impaired
Suma lights up when talking about dance. She says, “Dancing makes me happy. I don't feel any stage fear. We learn dance using the touch-and-feel method. We can't execute eye movement, but apart from that we perform like sighted dancers. We walk around on stage and take steps to measure from the centre to sides before a performance. We perform in rhythm with the music.”“It takes practice”, Savithri says, “I enjoy dancing a lot. I forget everything when I am dancing.”According to Gangamma the key is not to lose orientation. “We can gauge the audience reaction and interest level from the claps”, she adds. Gangamma learnt to play the veena and the flute, before taking to dance. At first, she enjoyed the flute more as she could hear the music as she played. Gradually, Gangamma got interested and inspired by others in the dance troupe. Then there was no looking back.
Being sight impaired not an obstacle for travelling
“From not being able to speak English to being a confident woman, travel brought about the transformation”, Gangamma says. “Communication definitely, and I learnt life skills too. People abroad do their own house work, they are independent”, Savithri tells me.
On Samarthanam Trust for the disabled
Gangamma says, “Samarthanam paid our college fees, provided computers, Internet, free accommodation and food. There are a lot of other things; I can't express myself in words. No matter how much I say, it is not enough. I am totally blind; Vasanti ma'am (one of the Samarthanam Trustees) motivated me and was more than a mother.
Samarthanam may look small at first, but the facilities are very good and if one utilizes it well, he/she is sure to do well in life. Access to the Internet, computers, opportunities, foreign trips... I could forget about my disability. At home, extended family treated me with sympathy. At Samarthanam, I was treated as a capable person.”“The food we had at Samarthanam was excellent, I can't forget it,” Gangamma reminisces. “I feel welcome even now when I visit”, she adds.
On the transition to the real world, she says, “It was like being with parents while we were at Samarthanam, but now I am self reliant.”
“Learn ing computers and dance at Samarthanam was a turning point, it helped me come up in life”, says Suma.
Savithri is visibly grateful. “College admissions were over, I was late. But Vasanti ma'am took me to NMKRV college and requested the authorities. I got a seat thanks to Samarthanam. Samarthanam continued to support me - I studied and availed facilities without having to pay any fees. I now work at Samarthanam's disabled-friendly rural BPO. The BPO is unlike anything I have seen before, and it employs almost a hundred people. I would like to thank everyone at Samarthanam”, Savithri says with emotion.
Overcoming challenges with some help
Savithri is very proud that she did well at both dance and academics. Gangamma agrees and says it required focus. Samarthanam helped by providing CDs/DVDs with lessons copied when they had to miss classes during tours. Suma adds, “While theory classes were alright, I needed help from volunteers when it came to practicals. Computers helped a lot and made things easier”.
On attitudes towards visually impaired people in India
Savithri says, “Being blind is a boon. I wouldn't have gone to America or studied as much otherwise. I got opportunities and made use of them. Had I resigned myself to thinking 'I am blind' I would've been sitting at home doing nothing. My parents did not differentiate between me and my siblings. At Samarthanam too, I was in an integrated school beside able-bodied children – we were treated as equals. That is what I would like to say – don't differentiate, encourage. Don't decide upfront that we can't do something. Give us a chance to show we can.”Gangamma states, “People think we can't do because we can't see. But we can, sometimes even better than those with sight. We are specially-abled. Try to overlook the fact that we can't see.”
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Want to help?
Savithri would like to provide books and finance education for a few children. “I also want to raise funds. I want to give back as much as I have taken assistance from Samarthanam.” says this confident young woman. “If possible, one can provide financial support, but that may not be possible for all. Volunteering, reader services, recording, assisting during dance practice – there are many other ways one can make a
difference,” She adds.Gangamma suggests, “Be there, spend time. Arrange a field trip - it will be a good change from the routine for these kids who have no place to go to other than school/college and the NGO. It would be good to tie reward to achievement. Promise to fund the education of those who score more than 80%”.
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Awards and Recognition
· Samarthanam Founder Managing Trustee Mr. G.K. Mahantesh was conferred with the National Award for Child Welfare 2009. The award was presented to him by the Hon. President of India.
· Mahantesh's contribution to sports for the differently-abled was recognised with the NDTV Spirit of Sport Award for 2011. Mr. Mahantesh received the award in the 'Against the Odds - Lifetime Achievement' category.
Mr. Mahantesh received the award at an awards ceremony graced by the nation's leading sportspersons, politicians like Union Minister of HRD Kapil Sibal & Minister of State for Information and Technology Sachin Pilot, and movie stars. Olympic Medallist Leander Paes, Olympic boxer Vijender Singh, India's football captain Baichung Bhutia, Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Gagan Narang and seven times World Billiards and Snooker Champion Pankaj Advani were among the awardees, along with Mr. Mahantesh.
Mr. Mahantesh's personal achievements as a cricketer, as well as his role in promoting blind cricket, blind chess and athletics were recognized as part of a short video clipping screened during the awards ceremony.
Mr. G.K. Mahantesh has received several other awards in recognition of his services:• Aryabhatta International Award for services rendered to persons with disability, in 2009• State Award in recognition of services to children, in 2007• Vajra Kumar Prashasti in 2011• Karmaveera Puraskar in 2011
In 2012, Mr. Mahantesh was felicitated in Delhi at the Hindustan Times coffee table book release by Shri. Jairam Ramesh, Hon' Minister of Rural Development Govt. of India along with Dipankar Gupta, NAC member, Aruna Roy, HT Editor-in Chief Sanjoy Narayan, & BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman. The book 'India Awakened: Agents of Change' was brought out by Hindustan Times in partnership with Tata Tea.
Mr. G.K. Mahantesh receiving the ?National Award from the President
Mr. G.K. Mahantesh receiving the ?NDTV Award
Mr. Mahantesh being felicitated by Shri. Jairam Ramesh
WHAT'S NEXT
Barrier-Free school
. A 100% accessible residential school under construction in Bangalore
. Envisaged as a state-of-the-art facility that can cater to around 700 differently-abled & economically underprivileged students. Built-up area of 35,000 sq ft at a cost of 8.25 Crores. 35,000 sq. ft. of land granted by the Government of Karnataka, and Rs. 1 Crore for construction.
Highlights of Proposed School:
• Improved Accessibility : . Lifts and ramps . Carpeting and acoustic tiling . Sign boards to aid the hearing impaired. Lighting and paint schemes to help the visually impaired. Information provided through Braille and in large print• Lectures on audio tapes• Assistive Technology - Interactive keyboards & whiteboards, Touch-screen computers • Meditation hall, yoga centre, gymnasium and computer lab• We are nearing completion of Phase 1, which is the entire hostel block. We would like to take the opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to Tata Consulting Engineers who planned and managed the construction of Phase 1.
• Construction is on in full swing – Phase 1 is complete.
• The school is expected to be functional by the end of the year 2013.
Conferences
Mr. G.K.Mahantesh represented India at the World Blind Union conference held at Geneva, Switzerland in 2008 and the World Blind Cricket Council's Conference held at Cape Town, South Africa in 1997. He also presented a paper in the international conference held at Leipzig Germany in 2009. In 2011, he was invited as to speak at IIM Calcutta, and delivered a talk on 'Innovation in Social Sector'. He also spoke at the NASSCOM Diversity and Inclusivity Summit, and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).
Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled was awarded:· Governor's award for Excellence from the Government of Karnataka, 2002· The India NGO Award, 2006· State Award in recognition of services rendered to persons with disability, 2009· Green Star award 2012 for Samarthanam Parisara
Samarthanam Co-Founder Nagesh received the State award 2010 for his services in the field of Disability
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Support - Samarthanam CABI
You may draw a cheque in favor of Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled or make a secured online donation .
Make a contribution to empower blind cricket log on to www.blindcricket.in Make a general donation or program specific donation log on to www.samarthanam.org
All Donations to Samarthanam are tax exempted under Sec 35AC & 80G.
Samarthanam is registered as a 501C3 Status charity in the US
Contribute towards 'Vidyaprasad' Mid day Meal Programme
Provide mid-day meal to 3 government school children for one year: 3600Provide mid-day meal to 6 government school children for one year: 7200Provide mid-day meal to 10 government school children for one year: 12,000.Provide mid day meal to 12 children for a year: 14,400.Provide mid-day meal to one school for one month: 75,000.Provide mid-day meal to one school for one year: 7,50,000.
Contribute towards Education and Hostel Sponsor a disabled child's school education for one year: Rs 15,000Sponsor a disabled student's college education for one year: Rs 18,000Sponsor a day's meal ( 3 meals) – Rs 9500 Sponsor the computer education expenses of a disabled child: 6000Make a general donation to our education programme: 5000
Donate towards our upcoming disabled friendly residential school
Donate a class room named after your loved ones Rs 4 lacsDonate any amount of your choice towards CorpusDonate Rs 1800 per sqft X multiples of your choice For Donation assistance contact Kumar +91 9449864775, or write to [email protected] Donation/ Tax queries contact Sandhya + 91 9449864784 or write to [email protected] may send DD/Cheque to Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, CA-39, 16th Main, Sector -4, HSR layout, Bengaluru – 560102, India
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Participating Countries
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Souvenir Team
Foreword: Rajiv Anil Roark
Design: Binoy, Kishore Joseph
Coordination: Kumaraswamy C.R.
Arundhati Venkatesh (Editor)
Highlights Of
SBI T20 World Cup Cricket for the Blind
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