Latika Vihar Picnic at Dr. Kalhan’s Farm (June 30, 2010)
Sixty energetic children gathered at Latika Vihar early on the morning of June 30th, raring to go to Dr. Kalhan’s farm for the biannual LV Picnic.  More spirited than usual (which is saying a lot for these kids!) they listened attentively for their names to be called before rushing to board the bus.  They climbed into the first seat they saw, not caring how much or how little space they had because the excitement of the adventure was the only thing on their minds.  They sang songs the entire way, hollering out the windows to shopkeepers and pedestrians or bicyclists en route to work.  When the bus finally stopped at the entrance to the farm, the kids erupted in cheers and a steady stream of “hip, hip, HOORAY!”  After getting off the bus, they helped to unload and carry the supplies and toys down the path to our destination.  

When we arrived, their eyes became wide as they goggled at the sight of the pool—what cool relief for yet another hot day in Uttarakhand!  As the adults prepped the pool, the kids changed into their swimming costumes and distracted themselves with field games and snacks.  At long last, the boys were invited to jump in, which they did with full force and speed!  The girls watched in envy as the boys splashed (both each other and those poor girls patiently waiting on the edge), flipped, dipped and played with balls, noodles and floaties.  As the boys’ twenty minutes neared completion, the girls began to fiercely count down the seconds.  “Chalo!” they yelled as the boys begrudgingly made their way out of the pool.  The girls had just as much fun, challenging each other to see who could hold their breath under water the longest, throwing the ball around and jumping in together to make the biggest of splashes.  But those twenty minutes really did fly!  Before we knew it, it was time for the boys to have another turn in the cool, refreshing water.

After a few rotations of swimming, the kids all gathered together to have their snack (graciously donated by Ellora’s bakery in Dehradun) and eat their packed lunches.  After refueling, they joined in a circle to watch dances choreographed by their fellow LVers.  The performances were amazing!  These kids are so talented.  From the delicate steps of the first group of girls to the crazy moves by some of the boys, everyone clapped for and cheered on their friends as they danced to the musical beats.  After the dance performances, the adults took a turn in the pool, thinking they would get the chance to enjoy a nice, relaxing swim free from the craziness of the children.  But some of the adults proved to be even more mischievous than the kids—pulling each other into the water, splashing and throwing those bright, bouncy balls at everyone’s heads were common occurrences!!

 Some of the kids looked on with amusement and delight, while others found entertainment in games of football, badminton, tag or hula hoop contests.  After one more rotation for each the boys and the girls, everyone dried off and changed to get ready to go home.  They helped clean up the farm and made the walk back to the bus, laughing and remembering the funny things that happened along the way.  The ride home was starkly different than the one that morning, as all the kids were tired from the day’s activities, thus sleepy conversations and naps marked the journey back to Latika Vihar.  Yet their energy returned when we arrived home, as they said their goodbyes to their friends and trotted into the arms of their parents, eager to tell them about the fun-filled day they spent at Dr. Kalhan’s farm—which will surely be a lasting memory!

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Woodstock school visit (April 22, 2010)

“A smile costs nothing but gives much.  It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give.  It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.”

And smiles were galore when students and teachers from Woodstock came visiting recently. This time they came with a message. They came to visit CVT on “Earth Day” and brought along fun activities to do with our trainees to spread awareness about the environment. Some of the students had come for the first time, but the rest of them had been here before and vividly remembered their last time at CVT. In the first activity, Woodstock students were paired with our trainees and together they made posters and brochures with messages about the environment. It was a delight to watch the easy camaraderie they shared with each other. We also made lovely paper beads, a great idea to recycle paper.  Last, but not the least, was a delightful story-telling session by two teachers of Woodstock School. We all sat together in the activity area and listened carefully to the simple story of friendship between a tree and a man.
The highlight of the day was a spontaneous dance performance by our talented girl trainees and little thank you notes by few of our trainees to the guests. They left with a smile and a promise to come back.

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Transport Officials’ Workshop (February 8, 2010)
Venue – Hotel Sathvik
No. of participants: 20
Resource Person: Mrs. Priyo Lall, Director Education, Raphael Ryder Cheshire Home
The Awareness Team of Latika Roy Foundation has been striving to sensitize the society about the Rights of the disabled. What we have realised over a period of time is that too often, the expectation of living in the community for people with disabilities           stresses on housing, education and employment.  But just as is true for all other people, there is much more. To be able to fulfil civic responsibilities, go shopping, enjoy a park, join a club, and spend time with friends are also virtues of community life. Being able to realize these and all of the other opportunities of community living is dependent on various external factors beyond the well-intentioned and thorough work and support provided by service providers and families. Among the most important of these is the knowledge, skill, and opportunity to use community transportation. People simply have to get where they need to go. And without transportation, virtually all of the dedicated effort to support people with disabilities to live in the community may be wasted. Some even say that without the availability of transportation and the training to use it, it is pointless to invest time, energy, and money in preparing people for life experiences that will forever be inaccessible.

This being the guiding thought, the Awareness Team conducted a workshop with the Dehradun Railway Station staff on 8th February 2010. Our motive was to sensitize the staff towards the needs of the differently abled. We understood that the big changes might come from the top but sensitizing these officials who handled a lot of public dealing could help improve the experience of the disabled with the Railways, a principle mode of transport for every Indian. We had 20 participants most of whom were TTEs. Mrs. Priyo Lal, Director Education, Raphael Ryder Cheshire Home was our speaker for the day. She began the session with a simple discussion about different disabilities. This was followed by the different laws that exist in our country with respect to people with disabilities. She talked about the basic etiquettes that one needs to remember when dealing with people with special needs. She emphasized on the issue of accessibility at the railway station.

In the run up to the event the awareness team had conducted an unofficial audit of the railway station and compiled a presentation of the findings which Rizwan shared with the participants. They all unanimously agreed that although the Dehradun Railway Station was more accessible there were some issues that need to be addressed in order to make the place disabled friendly. The staff even offered to convey these issues to the higher authorities and draw their attention towards the same.

Encouraged by the response to this workshop, we now plan to conduct one on a bigger scale with the different transport authorities in Uttarakhand.
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Karuna Vihar Inclusive Winter Camp (January4, 2010-January 8, 2010)
A View From Inside
Winter Holiday camp at the Karuna Vihar School was a thought that provoked a lot of excitement as well as apprehension in our minds. Excitement because this was something which we as special educators and therapists are always looking forward to a host of fun activities which would keep our bundles of joy fruitfully occupied during their vacations. Ah! This sounded like music to the parents. The apprehension was that this would be an inclusive camp, a first of its kind to be hosted by a special school in Dehradun. There was a lot we hoped to achieve with this camp.

We fantasized of a group that had a 50 – 50 ratio of children with special needs and typical children.  With mixed feelings we started the process of registration and much to our pleasant surprise we got an overwhelming response from parents. We finally had 31 children enrolled to this program and had achieved our fantasy group of equal number of children with special needs and typical children! The team was now all geared up for the camp.

The schedule was made, printed and designed into scrolls that would be handed over to the children on the first day. We had several activities like pottery, candle making and puppet making lined up for the children. Infused with a strange strength and immense excitement we started with our camp activities.

Each day was a new day, a new learning and an absolutely refreshing experience. Initially we worried about how we prepare our children to accommodate and respect each others differences. It was indeed amazing to see how the children not only adapted to each other bat also made sure that everyone enjoyed each other’s company.

At the camp there seemed to be only one underlying principle ‘Enjoy’. The whole philosophy of inclusion appeared to be so simple and uncomplicated, quite unlike the way most of us think. In fact the learning as professionals that we carried home after the camp was that inclusion as a concept needs nothing more than giving experience to our children with different abilities, allowing them to simply celebrate each other’s presence. And what could be a better platform than a ‘fun camp’. Its amazing how much there is to learn from children.

Archana Sethi

From The Sidelines

Recently back from a film making course and armed with a video camera I was the perfect target as the camp’s official videographer and unofficial film maker. From the day that Archana shared the idea of the camp I was hooked and ready to support in every capacity. Inclusion an idea that I had barely heard until a year ago had now become an important element in my every day life. Working in the foundation as a theatre person in its inclusive activity centre, Latika Vihar I understand how inclusion is as easy as it is difficult.

Like Latika Vihar this camp too showed us how inclusion is something that we can learn from our children. The ease that the 31 children at the camp interacted with each other was astounding. There was no special child or typical child there, they were just children wanting to paint, dance, act and sing. They didn’t see a child who walked ‘funny’ they simply saw a boy who sang beautifully.

The school had made sure that there were enough activities for me to shoot. The first day was all about ‘Expressions’. The children got to express their feelings and talents through dance, drama and painting.
Day two started with the camp coordinator giving out maps to each team. The maps showed different paths to reach Latika Vihar, their venue for that day. With clues showing the way the troops finally reached Latika Vihar where they learnt how to make candles and pottery.
On the third day the children went to the Forest Reserve Institute for an educational tour and a small picnic. It was a magical day, any apprehensions that may have been there vanished as soon as we reached the venue.
The fourth day was equally fun and creative. The staff had prepared a small puppet show which was thoroughly enjoyed by all the children. After the show we all learned how to make puppets! As you can see the videographer lost track and became a child! One could see the creative juices flowing and some of the puppets made by the children could put any puppeteer to shame.
Unfortunately like all good things the camp too had to come to an end.

On the final day the children cooked delicious snacks for their party and danced their hearts out.Yes, there was a lot to shoot but I found something better than all activities. I found a story that even the best camera could not capture in entirety; I found acceptance of differences. I found the true joy of inclusion.

As Archana puts it, ‘its amazing how much there is to learn from children.’

Neha Joshi

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Khushi turns one year old (December 1st, 09)
KHUSHI, Dehradun’s first Inclusive Early Intervention Centre, celebrated its first birthday on the 1st of December. It was a small afternoon event with the kids of Khushi, the staff of the foundation and the staff of Astitva. It was a pleasure for all of us to celebrate: “ek saal... Khushi ka...” That’s how we had captioned the event. At the beginning we had a few words on the formation and success of Khushi by Preeti di (Astitva’s director), Nirmala di and Archana di. Everybody was unanimous about the thought that Khushi has proved its name and it’s a place of sheer happiness whenever you step in here. The event consisted of a couple of performances by our staff and we had also invited a few grown-ups to perform too (but they felt too shy to perform in front of the crowd!). The idea behind the performances was to let our children see and enjoy. Probably this was the first time that most of our kids saw a so called “stage performance”.

Like any other day, we started our event with our own prayer: “Itni shakti Hume dena data...” sung by a parent of Khushi. Then we had a play of “Moturaam halwai” which is one of Khushi’s favorite rhymes too. Both the children and the grown ups started giggling as Runa di, our office coordinator, was in a Moturaam‘s get-up. We had a dance number too, on the song “Chanda chamke cham cham...” which rained stars over the spectators.

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Christmas is here !
"There's more, much more to christmas than candlelight and cheer; it's the spirit of sweet friendship that brighten's all year. It's thoughtfulness and kindness, its hope reborn again, for peace, for understanding, and for goodwill to men" .

They came, they saw and they remembered!

The Woodstock School student’s recent visit to the Latika Roy Foundation was a wonderful experience for all of us and recently when we participated at their Christmas sale, we got a warm welcome and a great response. During their visit to CVT one of their teachers’ suggested that we participate in their Christmas Sale. We loved the idea and, were there on 2nd December to be a part of the Christmas celebration loaded with our lovely candles, charming greeting cards, and our yummy namkeen!

Three of our trainees Sana, Sahil and Mayank accompanied us to the beautiful school, nestled in the verdant Mussoorie hills. The drive uphill in the white Amby was made enjoyable by Mayank singing old romantic numbers and Sana giggling at every opportunity! Sahil was the quiet observer, enjoying the scenery and humming gently. We chatted our way up and discussed the nip in the air and the Woodstock school.
We stopped on the way to admire the beautiful scenery and click a few pictures. In less than an hour and half drive we reached our destination. We excitedly took our identity cards and walked towards our stall. Our stall’s location was great, directly facing the entrance of the mela. Our colourful backdrop (the sheet painted by CVT trainees, KV kids and Woodstock students) and collages received quite a few curious glances and queries even while we were setting up our stall. We set up our stall in no time with the help of our trainees.  

“Hi Mayank,” said a pretty little girl. Before I could ask her anything, she said, “I came to visit LRF last month, I remember making candles with Mayank.” That was just the beginning and excited 7th graders started pouring in greeting our trainees, asking questions and bringing along their friends and teachers. Our trainees confidently answered the simple questions and helped Raju bhaiya pack the candles and handle the orders. When the rush receded a little, we went around visiting other stalls and admiring the goodies. We also treated ourselves to some lovely cake which we bought from one of the stalls. Woodstock staff was very cordial and one of the teachers, Ms. Aparna Das took the trainees around, showed them the classes and took them to her room where she treated them with pakoras and chai. Sana noticed her picture in the teacher’s room and couldn’t stop blushing!

The three hours we spent there were full of fun, animated conversations, happy faces and a lot more and we didn’t realize how time flied and we got the signal of closing. We packed our stuff, counted our money, said good-byes and left with sweet memories and a promise to come back again and keep the friendship alive for times to come.
Exhausted after an eventful day, we all got into the car for our ride back. While dropping every trainees home, it was a pleasure to see the smiling and satisfied faces of the parents.
All CVT trainees and staff members thank the Woodstock School and wish all a Merry Christmas!!

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Latika Vihar stands tall in Urja ‘09
Under the dense shade of trees lined up the roadside, about 10 kms adventurous journey to UPES was indeed a fun for the growing ups of Latika Vihar. Like every year, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies organized its fest “Urja ‘09” on 21 and 22 November 2009. Various institutes like DIT, Alpine, RIMC and many more were present to felicitate the occasion. Latika Roy Foundation being one of them. It was represented by Priyam, Neha and Omi who contributed in fund raising formula of the organization by selling its calendars, stickers, envelopes and candles (made by the children of CVT) and face painting.

Five children (Tapasya, Dilip, Ajay, Anshul and Sandeep) from Latika Vihar under the guidance of their mentors Neha, Hema and Rajesh, participated in the group dance. Unfortunately, at the eleventh hour, Sandeep twisted his leg just before the performance. In spite of this unpredictable incident the remaining four gave an enthralling performance, leaving the audience wonder-struck.

The dance they performed was a result of one day preparation. It was complemented by the judges and was selected for the finals. Even the students present there appreciated their hard work and congratulated them for a lovely performance. They enjoyed it to such an extent that they started dancing along with them. Latika Vihar children pay their gratitude to all those who helped their class mate Sandeep with first aid and taking him to the Doctor instantly.
“It was an unforgettable experience for all of us. Kanupriya di of UPES helped and supported us in these two days. Our teachers took all our responsibility. The fest was just rocking. We wish that every year their festival achieve success and give us a chance to entertain them”, says Tapasya.

Besides this there were many events like Indian Culture Group Dance, Stand-up comedy, Western dance, Solo singing and dancing, Extempore and Modeling. Extempore was something new for these children from which they learnt how a topic is given on the spot and one has to perform instantly. They also saw how the university students were working efficiently as a team from hosting the show to controlling the discipline to managing the event entirely. Looking at all this, the young minds actually learnt how to organize an event!     
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Woodstock School Visit
When 43 7th Graders from Woodstock, along with 5 of their staff members greeted us at the Classic Hotel on the first day of their 4 day visit to Latika Roy Foundation, we had our share of apprehensions about how this was going to be. But our scepticism gave way to enthusiasm as we got to know them better.

For the orientation, Jo gave a presentation about the Foundation and spoke to the students about the possibilities of taking up a career in special needs. The two Neha Joshi’s, (yes the foundation has two) spoke to the students about the schedule of the following 4 days.  The students were divided into 4 groups and accompanied by a teacher. Thus over the next 4 days each group visited the Early Intervention Centre, Karuna Vihar, College for Vocational Training and Sharp Memorial School for the visually impaired.

The children especially enjoyed the time they spent at the Early Intervention Centre, thanks to the efforts by the lovely staff and Omi from the awareness team. We made sure that not more than 5 students at a time were allowed in, this way each child got to learn and interact without disrupting the normal schedule of the centre. While this group was attending the session the other children sat with the two Nehas and discussed disability and its various aspects. We tried to sensitize the students by making them do small skits and role play exercises so that we could explain what we do in a manner that is easy and fun to understand. It was heartening to see how some of the students who had been apprehensive in the beginning, express their views and speak for the cause. The students who came out from the session asked relevant and insightful questions regarding particular children and the various disabilities. It was a great achievement for us when many of the students said that the children were not very different from them and were quite surprised to learn that many of their new friends had Cerebral Palsy or Down syndrome.

Hema from the awareness team was the facilitator at Karuna Vihar School. Her hard work and great planning made sure that the experience for the visitors was a memorable one. Here we made it a point to make the students realise how our students learn the same subjects as them through activity based learning. The myth that children with special need can not do or study mathematics and English was meant to be broken, and fortunately we did break it! Each of the Woodstock students was assigned a buddy from amongst our students. The buddies were to sit together for the lessons and students from Woodstock helped them wherever the teacher asked them to. To our delight some of the Woodstock children took the initiative to take their buddies to the washroom and waited outside the door. The message that we wanted to get across, the message of inclusion, camaraderie and equality, seemed to have registered with them. The children played together and participated in a hurdles race which Archana Sethi, Principal KV School had organised for them. Their happiness and joy was contagious and inspiring.

At CVT, the Woodstock children were introduced to the importance of employment for people with special needs. Independence is not just a right for those with typical needs it is and will always be equally important and necessary for those with special needs as well. Nalin, our physiotherapist at the centre spoke to them about the different disabilities and helped them learn to identify some basic symptoms.
The students were divided into groups and were asked to help the trainees in their daily activities, like gardening, washing clothes, art and craft and candle making. Through this exercise we wanted them to realise that the activities are not easy or frivolous. They require concentration and dedication. Neha, Shivani and Shachi assigned a buddy for each student. The buddies were provided with some craft products and asked to make something useful with their buddies. This activity brought the students and trainees creative side to fore. But their creativity did not end here. There was more to come!

On November 6 the last day of the trip we decided to bring all the students together for an all inclusive activity at Latika Vihar. The students from Woodstock, Karuna Vihar and trainees from CVT came to Latika Vihar at 11 am. They were then divided into groups of 4 and given bed sheets, paintbrushes and lots of paint to unleash their creativity! And unleash they did! The bed-sheets had basic outlines of different scenic backgrounds like an underwater scene, a mountain hut and a forest with mythical creatures. The children had a wonderful time painting and sometimes even re creating the given stage backdrops!

The whole purpose behind the visit was to make the children understand what special needs are and how the children at our centres are not different from them. Another important aspect was that inclusion is not a dream it is plausible reality.
All we need is a little help from our friends.
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Student Awareness Workshop
Venue: SSA School, Sayyed Mohalla
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?
The smiling faces that greeted us at the SSA school Sayyed Mohalla brought this quote to life. As you turn towards Chakrata Road from Rajender Nagar crossing, a tiny board on the left, in front of a nondescript building just about whispers the presence of an SSA school. A narrow alleyway leads to the tiny classrooms where an assortment of kids, all brimming with energy greeted us with an exuberant “Good Morning Ma’am”.

There were 2 teachers to teach students of class 1st to 5th. Most of them sat together in the same class and the teacher had to divide her time and attention amongst them. There is no electricity connection in the school, so most of the kids sat in the veranda, making use of available natural light. We spoke to the teachers and they agreed to let us speak to the students.

Hema started the session in her signature style, with a big smile on her face which immediately put the students at ease. She has the wonderful ability to adapt her talk to the level of the age group she is speaking to. She spoke to them about the need for equality, of the importance of loving and respecting everyone and thus approached the subject of inclusion like the young students would understand it best. She also talked to them in brief about the disabilities that we work for and how they could identify them if they appear in their vicinity.
Rizwan did a little activity with the students to demonstrate and introduce the concept of accessibility. Post the activity, all the students unanimously agreed that there should be provision of ramps instead of stairs to make life easier for the special ones. We distributed pencils, erasers and toffees amongst the children and they were absolutely thrilled to get all that. They even danced and sang for us and I have to confess that they were in no way inferior to their counterparts who are financially better placed in the society.

We came out, realising the fact yet again that there is no dearth of talent in these by lanes of our society. The only thing missing is opportunity. Now it is for people like us who want to see a better tomorrow for our nation, to work towards creating these opportunities. To make sure that these bright stars do not fade into oblivion.
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BUILDER PROJECT 2009
Fundraising with Welham Girls’ School
Once upon a time two fair maidens came to Latika Roy Foundation and brought about a revolution. Well maybe that’s a little far fetched, but Merrow and Ashleigh our volunteers from Cambridge University did start a project that brought many like-minded people together. Having worked with several projects in their own college they came up with B.U.I.L.D.E.R. a brilliant fundraising concept which involves the young and dynamic force of schools students. The idea was great and our first presentation was in Welham Girls’ School. This presentation given by the dynamic duo was followed by a meeting with the girls. This is where the second chapter of this story begins.
And this is where the new troupe comes in, Neha (that’s me) and Priyam. Welham is our alma mater and from the first talk itself we saw ourselves as we were in school, a bunch of excited girls ready to take on anything for a good cause. Sensitive, determined and intelligent that is how we could describe the girls we met.

Post the first presentation they were required to make 5 teams of six members and come up with feasible ideas for fundraising. When we returned we were greeted with not one but several ideas from each group. And the ideas were not just stated on paper without thought, they had worked on them, decided what they want to do and how they can do it. Unfortunately most of the ideas had to be postponed as the school’s annual function (Founder’s Day) was not being held in its usual grand manner due to several reasons. Many more meetings later we agreed upon our limitations and decided to keep it simple. Since there was going to be no public function we altered BUILDER into an awareness campaign.

We left the girls with a few pamphlets, a lot of information and details about the foundation. Their aim was to go home and spread the word about the rights of people with disabilities. Nothing could deter these girls. No obstacle was big enough when they had set their hearts on something. They were going to fundraise and they did.
Saturday morning we get a call from Mrs. Gildiyal, the teacher in-charge of the Welham BUILDER project. She asked whether we could come and take the money that the girls had collect during Founder’s Day. Pleasantly surprised I went to school and met Mrs. Gildiyal. We spoke for a while about how the children had decided that they would fundraise and not give up. She then took out the money. I was expecting a few hundreds and out came a wad of money, Rupees 11,035 to be exact!

I counted it again, there had to a mistake. How could they collect so much money? They had no time. They were not allowed to be there for the Parent Teacher meeting. The truth finally came out. Mrs. Gildiyal told me about how the class 11 girls took out time and made donation boxes, posters and stands. They took permission and went on a collection drive in school. The class 9 girls sold products that they had made in their art and craft class. Everyone got together and decided to do something and they did. They had 2 hours and they made the most of those two hours!

Mrs. Mamta Singh, teacher and the housemother of many of these girls told me how one night she was amazed to see a few girls stay up late at night washing and ironing cushions covers. She assumed it was for their craft exhibition and told them that they need not do it as the didis would help them. The girls refused. They simply said, “It’s for Karuna Vihar, ma’am we have to do this on our own.” The passion and sensitivity that these Welhamites showed is reason enough for us to applaud them.

We would like to extent a warm thank you to Mrs. Jyotsna Brar, Mrs. Gildiyal and most importantly to all the girls who made this possible. Looking ahead to a longer association!
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Parents’ Meet EIC
Raising a child is never an easy task and if the child is special in any way, it becomes all the more difficult. Our special educators, helpers and everyone else at the early intervention centre do all they can to make this task a little easy for the parents. They encourage the parents to attend the sessions with the child, provide necessary guidance and address their doubts and dilemmas too, and everyone agrees that they are experts at this. But beyond the developmental needs of a child, there are various other issues that the parents may face in the society at large. Issues related to the rights of their children, their education, medical support, social security etc. This is where the Awareness team steps in to guide them and help them know what their child is entitled to. With this objective in mind, a parents’ meet was organised at the Early Intervention Centre where the Awareness team interacted with the parents, listened to what they had to say, and cleared their doubts wherever there were any. For the parents’ convenience, the interaction was done in 3 different groups. While most issues discussed were more or less the same for all the groups, we noticed that the nature of problems changed a certain extent with the child’s age.

Bhavishya and Rizwan started each session with information about the disability certificate and explaining its importance. Some parents, particularly those whose children were 4 to 5 years of age had already got the certificate made but a majority were unaware of the provision and those who knew did not know how to get it. We explained to them in detail the various steps and requirements to obtain a disability certificate. What was crucial was to get across the idea that it was for the child’s benefit and security. Even if they were from an affluent family and did not need any financial aid from the government, the certificate was to establish their child’s identity, his needs which were different, special and thus needed to be protected. It is the first step towards demanding the rights which every special child is entitled to, and a stepping stone towards a country where our Fundamental Rights do not just remain a chapter in the civics book we read in class 7.

Another important aspect that we spoke to the parents about was education. In the wake of the Right to Education Act recently passed by the parliament it was essential to make them realise that education is the right of their child as much as anybody else’s. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan or the Education for All scheme of the government is very important in this regard. Under SSA there is provision for home based programmes for children who cannot attend school due to some reason. This could be a blessing for children with mobility disorders. Also all the schools under SSA are completely accessible, so children on wheelchairs can also be independent.

We also talked about “Nirmaya”, National Trust’s Health Insurance Scheme for the welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and MultipleDisabilities. Parents showed interest in this which was expected as the condition of their child requires constant and often expensive medical care. We again explained in detail the benefits and also the various steps involved in registering for this scheme. Infact we encouraged them to form groups within themselves to get the registration done together.

One problem which was highlighted by all the parents was transportation. With the shifting of EIC to a not so central location, with limited access to public transport like bus or vikrams, most of them (majority of them being women) were finding it difficult to commute everyday. Unfortunately there isn’t much that we can do about this but we suggested to the parents to tie up with others coming from the same area for a car pool or something to make things easier. In the long run we hope we have enough funds to take care of this problem altogether.

Apart from the information we provided, we made a lot of observations and answered quite a few queries which I feel can best be presented group wise.

Ist Group
This was the largest of the 3 groups with 13 parents, their children in the age group of 1 to 2 years. In this group while most of the parents wanted to know more about disability certificates and other government schemes for their children, we noticed that some were so disgusted with the working of government departments that they did not see a point in getting into such hassles, especially when they could afford to take care of their child. Our experience at the CMO helpdesk helped us here as we could understand what they meant and also confidently say that things had changed for the better in the recent times. Our presence at the CMO desk and our intervention in the health department has helped avoid red tapism to quite an extent. We tried to encourage them to use their right, but saw that this could take some time.

Also some parents complained that even if their child had multiple problems, the certificate took into account just one of them and often the percentage of disability mentioned did not seem right to them.

IInd Group
This group of 6 primarily consisted of parents of children with developmental delays. So apart from the common issues like transportation and certificates one very pertinent issue that came up was that do they need to get a certificate made for their child and if yes them when is the right time. They like every other parent are right in thinking that the future will be brighter than today. And it is in fact this hope that drives all of us but we suggested that after the age of 5 years it is important to get a disability certificate to make sure that the child’s special needs are accounted for.

IIIrd Group
This group again had 6 mothers but was unique in the respect that the children were really young; in the age group of one year to 14 months. Also all the children had the same problem, Cerebral Palsy. One thing that we always emphasize on is the need for early identification and intervention, as it increases the chances of the treatment and therapy being effective. The parents brought to light some important issues regarding this. It was sad to hear that in most of the cases the paediatricians attending to the child were very hesitant in telling the truth, which caused for a lot of lost time, which in some cases meant living with a certain condition for life. This could have been avoided in the first place if timely treatment or therapy was given. It was appalling to know that it took a doctor 2 years to finally tell a parent that their child had cerebral palsy. No investigative procedures were in fact carried out to check about the same before that. This made us realise that still so much needs to be done to make the doctors understand the need to be upfront about early identification. There is seldom a scope for a mistake or bad judgement in their profession.

Parents also mentioned that most of them had to travel to Delhi for their child’s treatment as there was no child neurologist in town. Considering that Dehradun is the capital of Uttarakhand, and most people from the hilly regions also come here for treatment this is something that needs immediate attention.

To sum up, the interaction was a learning experience for us as we got an insight into the parents’ thought process. We hope that we were able to clear their doubts to a certain extent and direct them in the right direction wherever needed. We look forward to more such sessions in the future.

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Student Awareness Workshop
Venue: Purva Madhyamik Vidyalaya
Innumerable times we have been up and down Rajpur Road. So many times we have stopped at the Yak Petrol Pump for fuel. But some how none of us ever noticed the small yet remarkable “Purva Madhyamik Vidyalaya” located right next door. On the 6th of October Hema, Neha & Omi conducted a Student Awareness at this school.
The first thing that we noticed was the dilapidated state the building was in. Oblivious to that, a very enthusiastic teacher sat in the veranda surrounded by a group of toddlers, all singing and clapping. Even though the event wasn’t planned the Principal, Mr. Uniyal very generously allowed us to address the students. The group that we spoke to comprised of students from class 6th, 7th and 8th, majority of who stayed at the residential facility at the school. Most of them hail from small villages in the Kumaon and Garhwal hills. An introduction about our foundation by Hema was then followed by talk on disability and related issues like accessibility and inclusion. The session ended with the kids promising that they will construct a ramp by the next session that we planned with them.

The one thing that is truly remarkable about this school is the “Bridge Course” under the “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan”. This course is essentially for children who have dropped out of school because of various social, economical or personal reasons. The motley group consisted of children who had worked as rag pickers, domestic help, some who had to leave school because of hostile attitudes and tension at home. Mr Uniyal shared his experience of what it took to convince the parents to let these children come back to school. At present there are 30 children enrolled in this course while they started with 43. 13 children were taken away by the parents who wanted them to earn rather than study. This is actually and indication of the urgent need to combine education with some vocational training if we wish to achieve the goal of universal primary education. How can we expect a child to study when he does not have anything to eat? How will he appreciate the joys of learning when his family is suffering because of him not earning?

The children enrolled in the “Bridge Course” stay in the school premises though there is no proper residential facility. The classrooms that they study in double up as their shelter for the night. We hope to help them procure better facilities in the near future. Mr. Uniyal stays at the school with his wife in a room which speaks volumes about his nature and humble attitude to serve. His wife can be seen helping the cook prepare the mid day meal. We were so overwhelmed by the entire setup that we returned to the school on the 8th and screened the movie “Taare Zameen Par” for them. We loved the way they sat rapt in attention for 2 and half hours and cheered the protagonist’s achievements.

We hope our association with the school will bear fruit and as a team dedicated to spreading awareness, we will be able to help Mr. Uniyal in his persistent efforts to ensure “Sarva Shiksha”. And before I put my pen down it is must that I tell everyone about the wonderful ramp that the children had managed to come up with, and not to forget, the proud smiles on their faces.

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Student Awareness Workshop
Venue: IVY Memorial School, Prem Nagar
On a drizzly Friday morning, we reached the school located in a narrow by lane in prem nagar. Little did we foresee that time, the surprise that we were in for. The first thing that we noticed was the sign board of the school which said, “Inclusive Education for Special Children”. This aroused our curiosity but since we were already late, there wasn’t time for questions.
We were given a warm welcome by the staff and students. It was inspiring to see the enthusiasm that the teachers exhibited. Also, the fact that the 40 students present for the workshop had volunteered to be a part of it, were there by choice was very encouraging. Hema started the workshop with a brief introduction of our foundation, which was then followed by a talk on various kinds of disability. We then moved on to disability related issues like accessibility and inclusion. This is when someone sitting right at the end of the class said, “We do it “.To our embarrassment (momentary) and happiness we learned that the school had 21 special children enrolled along with the other kids. The principal, Mr Rejeev Negi is in-fact a trained special educator and has been striving to help the children fit in the mainstream system of education.

From thereon it was an educative experience for us. We did not feel the need to talk much. We were so in awe of everyone in that room that words failed us. The children narrated incidents and shared the experiences they had with their very special classmates. Their sensitivity and innocence was endearing. So early in life they were learning to accept these special children the way they are. A little boy not older than 10 years said that when he touched Abhishek’s (an autistic child’s) cheeks, he slapped him back. We asked him, “What did you do? “. He said he did not yell at him or any thing because Abhishek probably did not realise that he was hurting him. Such mature words coming out of a ten year old’s mouth was testimony to the success of Mr. Rajeev Negi’s efforts.

Rajeev has been working in the field of education for several years. He has helped many students to be independent and to stand on their own feet. We were surprised to know that Harnoor, one of our students at Karuna Vihar could not even stand till some time back and it was due to Rajeev’s determined and dedicated efforts that he can walk using a walker today. We met one of his students, a deaf and mute girl who has learnt to lip read and thus can attend classes with the other students. Rajeev has put up a huge mirror in the veranda where he helps her practice. We were touched to see how proud he was of her achievement.

We then met the special children, completely undistinguishable from the other kids, shy smiles on their faces. The joy that we felt on being there was accompanied by despair as hardly anyone in town knows about the milestone this school has achieved. Lack of funds, lack of government support, uncooperative parents, they encountered all this and emerged victorious. Mrs. Negi, Rajeev’s mother confessed that this was not easy in any way. At first when they started accepting special children in their school, the parents’ reaction was hostile and many parents withdrew their children from the school saying that they didn’t want their children studying with retarded kids. This did not deter the mother son duo, who continued their good work with a hope that one day they would bring about a change. And they were right. Looking at a child helping the other to button his trousers, or eat his lunch made us think that this is what we have been dreaming of. And here it was, our dream realised in this little school in Prem Nagar. This school can be a role model for all those big public schools who spend lakhs on buildings and infrastructure but fail to inculcate the sensitivity towards the vulnerable sections in their students.

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The Foundation celebrates Diwali!
Diwali is here and every centre at the foundation celebrated it in style.
The first in the long line was the Early Intervention Centre. They celebrated Diwali on October 14, 2009. After a small introduction on the EIC by Nirmala they screened Molly a true life story of a young girl who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age. The movie was directed by Shukla Das many years ago and though it seems outdated it still manages to touch a cord in many hearts. The movie was followed by performances by our children. The performances included a small play called ‘Bandar ki Shaadi’ (a monkey’s wedding) and a number matching exercise by one of our student’s Nandini. Post the performances the parents, children and staff took to the dance floor and danced till they dropped.

In the evening the resource centre too celebrated the festival of lights by designing a beautiful rangoli. The creative streak was evident as every staff member came up with a different design! We finally voted and got down to making the rangoli inside the centre!

If everyone else is celebrating Diwali can CVT be left behind? Never! The children started their celebration by making a striking rangoli with flowers and petals. They decorated the rangoli by eye-catching diyas that they had made. We all then took our places for the show to begin. The children had prepared a play on why we celebrate Diwali. It was a very well performed play which was thoroughly enjoyed by the children. Before we sign off here is something for all those who had faith in us and our children.
This is a photograph clicked by one of our trainees Hemant!

Here’s wishing all of you a very Happy and Prosperous Diwali!

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BOMB PATAKA, BOMB PATAKA BOOM BOOM BOOM
Latika Vihar Diwali Mela
Date: Sunday, October 11, 2009
Wondering what this is all about? Well this was the war cry of the Latika Vihar children when they went out on the streets to invite people for the Diwali Mela. The children did everything from making the posters to deciding on the games and even coming up with their own song for the mela.
There was not a single moment of dullness at the Mela. The most sought after game was the matki phod where one had to break a clay pot hanging from a tree. It isn’t as easy as it sounds specially if you are blindfolded and asked to spin around in circles before attempted to break the pot. Children and adults tried different strategies to break the pot but in no vain. Many even managed to brush against it but they just could not break the pot! But then Yvonne our petite volunteer from Birmingham decides to try her hand at the game. No one thought she would be able to do it but she proved us all wrong and smashed the pot into tiny little pieces. She is now called the ‘supersmasher’ and revered by all children!

There were several other games like popcorn kaho mast ho jao where you had to try and finish off a whole plate of popcorn in one minute while your hands were tied behind your back. We had break the pyramid, paper dance and lemon spoon race among others.
Satpal bhaiya, an old associate of the foundation made some delectable chai pakoras, chowmein and tikki chaat as no mela can ever be complete without great food. The children also put up a dandiya dance that they had been practicing for over two weeks.

The Latika Vihar Diwali Mela had it all great food, engaging games, brilliant performances and discount shopping. The one sure shot way you could measure the success of this mela was through the stuffed shopping bags and the smile of content on the children’s faces.
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DUSSHERA MELA
Venue: Latika Vihar
Date: September 25, 2009
Now we all know that Latika Vihar never needs a reason to celebrate, we are always doing something or the other. But, if we do have a valid reason to celebrate, then nothing can stop us from making it grand and great fun! So how could we leave Dusshera without celebrating it Latika style?
On Friday, September 25 the gates of Latika Vihar were opened to an anxiously waiting public at 4:30 pm for the Dusshera Mela. People went straight to the Rainbow Sale counters where all summer clothes were available for Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20. Nothing makes people happier than festive sales! The rush in the playroom which was being used as a rainbow sale area was amazing. One could barely find space to stand let alone shop!

After they had shopped till they dropped everyone was asked to take a seat as the children performed for them. Sometime back a few children from the centre had gone for a dance summer camp, they decided to teach dance to one of their friends at Latika Vihar. Anshul, the student did an amazing job and was appreciated by everyone.

Post the performances everyone ran to the front to get the best view of the Ravana effigy burning. The Ravana was made by the children using waste bamboo, old newspapers and discarded clothes. It had taken them many days of hard work and it showed as pride on their faces when everyone complemented them on the statue.
With every bomb that went off as Ravana burned the children clapped with glee. The mela had left us all fatigued but the warm glow of the fire made it all worthwhile.
We will be back soon with another Mela. To know more keep looking at this space.

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SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
Venue: Latika Vihar
Date: September 17, 2009
Its time for a fairy tale! A long time ago there lived a king and a queen in a castle deep in the trees. “What? No, not trees, forest, they lived in a forest” corrected Merrow.  “Sorry didi ek baar phir se karein”. After a good laugh we all get back to preparing for our first English play at Latika Vihar. Merrow was a volunteer from Cambridge and it was her idea to do an English play so that we can improve and teach conversational English to the children at Latika Vihar. After much debate we decided to do Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a play that all children knew and liked.
This play had a lot of ‘first times’ to its credit. The first play in English, a lot of first time young actors and for the first time we were using the front lawns as a stage. We were all very nervous and excited. Some of the children had never spoken a word of English before and were apprehensive about doing the play but despite it all we practiced every day and decided to give it our best.

The final day arrived (a little too soon, we thought!). After dressing up and a run through we said our prayers and stormed on stage.
Smartly dressed in white the four narrators came on stage and the fairy tale began to unfold. Babita, Snow White’s mother did not fumble with her lines as she prayed for her daughter to be beautiful. Meenaxi who played Snow White improvised on stage when the narrator forgot a line, the dwarfs looked dashing as they came in singing wearing their red bows and Anita stole the show with her unique portrayal of the evil stepmother.

The play ended as Snow white walked away with Prince Charming and the evil queen died eating poisoned biscuits (yes we did tweak the script!).

The applause and praise we received made all the hard work worthwhile. It made us realize that nothing can stop us if we put our heart and soul in something. We gave it our best and we did it!

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Eventful Month(August 2009)
Never known to miss out on anything fun all we need is a reason to celebrate! The month of august was full of fun filled activities across the foundation.  We started the month with rakhi celebration at Latika Vihar. Days before the actual festival children were seen making rakhis during the art and craft class. Each sister made sure that Archana didi (the art teacher) helped in making rakhis that adhered to her beloved brother’s taste. Finally the day arrived, the puja thali was ready and each sister took the rakhi she had made for her brother and tied it on his wrist. In return the brother gave her sweets and a promise to love and protect her all his life.
Rakhi done and over with we got down to preparing for the next festivals in line,

Independence Day and Janamashtami.  At Khushi the children had been asked to dress up as Radha and Krishna.  The children looked absolutely adorable in their colourful costumes. After finishing with their regular activities they spend the rest of the day dancing to their favourite songs.
The day before Janamashtami the children at Latika Vihar along with the bamboo weaving and pottery teacher made a beautiful pandal and a swinging crib where they put idols of Lord Krishna. While some of the children were busy preparing the Prasad for their friends and the guests the others could not wait to show the guests what they had prepared. The children put up two performances, a dance on ‘Woh Krishna Hai’ and a play on Rani Laxmibai for Independence Day. On the whole it was a fun day and all the hard work paid of.
But our celebrations did not end here! We had a lot more to celebrate. On August 15 we started the day at Karuna Vihar to celebrate our freedom and hoist our national flag. The children at Karuna Vihar had prepared a small but meaningful play. The children did a play on the importance of trees and showed how destroying them would also take away the animals right to live in their own homes. After all the freedom and right to live is not just for human beings! The CVT trainees sang a patriotic song and danced their hearts out.
Wait there is more! The Early Intervention Centre had a new home, a home that we could call our own and it was time to celebrate this new found freedom. The evening started with endearing performances by the staff and children of Khushi. ‘Ensemble’ a Dehradun based rock and roll band played foot tapping numbers and forced us to take to the dance floor.
Oh no we are still not done we had barely caught on to a few winks of sleep that it was time to start gearing up for the next event, The JRD Tata Trust Lecture Series. The lecture this year was on Sexuality and the Intellectually Disabled, a topic which is important yet ignored.
India is a country where sex is a taboo subject even among the so called ‘normal’ people, so it is no surprise when people with disabilities are completely negated in such conversations.  This lecture was aimed at several varied groups. There was a group who held misconceptions like people with disabilities are asexual, many believe since they are not ‘normal’ they have no such feelings or needs. Then there was the group of parents of children with intellectual disabilities who had specific questions that needed to be answered and finally we had the group of NGO’s who wanted to know more.
To do this mammoth task of clearing misconceptions and answering questions we invited Dr Shekhar Seshadri a child psychiatrist from NIMHANS, Bangalore. He was everything we hoped for and more. The main cause of concern that we had was the reluctance of people to talk about sexuality. Unless they talk we would never be able to help them understand or guide them on what to do next. It was this impossible task of making people talk that Dr Seshadri accomplished.  To come and give a lecture may not be too hard a feat but to make people get up and ask personal questions without inhibitions is a feat that deserves applause.
The month drew to an end but it doesn’t stop here as Robert Frost aptly said, ‘but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep’. September here we come!

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Transport workshop (August 17, 2009)
Venue: Gandhi Park/ Rajpur Road

On Monday August 17 we went toward Rajpur Road to do some transport awareness. Our plan was to visit all the parking places allotted by the traffic police for the disabled in Dehradun. While we were on the road informing people about the need for special facilities for people with disabilities, we wandered around the parking space allotted for the disabled and kept a check on how many people read the sign and still take away somebody else’s right by parking there. On finding anyone who violated that right we simply left a note on their vehicle ‘I am well cultured and I respect other people’s rights’.

Embarrassed by the unexpected note when they asked us about it, we in a short conversation left them with a long lasting message to respect other people’s rights if they want to get their own.
We ended the workshop by distributing right to ride stickers and information to public transporters around Gandhi Park.

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Parents Meet ( August 13, 2009)
Venue: Latika Vihar
From a quiet audience to an active, assertive and aware parent that is what we witnessed on August 13 at the parent meet at Latika Vihar. The workshop was meant to inform them about their rights as a parent of children with special needs and also about the facilities available for their children.

The workshop started with a fun ice breaker activity. We asked them what mood were they in by selecting a song from our play list which had songs like Geet Gata Hoon Main, Main Zindagi Ka Saath, Lekar Hum Dewaana Dil. Soon we were interrupted by the rain and had to move inside the building. Crammed in a humid room with over seventy parents all eager to know about their rights and how to get them at the earliest, we started our presentation on government schemes (PwD, Social Welfare, and National Trust) and the importance of a disability certificate and how to get it.

Most of the parents who were already tired by the government’s attitude or those who had lost hope or others who had not even tried were encouraged to give it another shot. They were advised to go well prepared this time with information, knowledge of their rights and how to ask for their rights. We suggested they try the right way and continue to try till they get what they want.

At the end of the workshop Shaila spoke about the need for parents to come together for a venture or ventures that will support their child in future. She also stressed that the idea and the planning for same should come from the parents.

The day ended with a whole lot of queries from parents and the awareness team delivered the answers or directed them towards the right channel of information.

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A Celebration of Independence! (August 15, 2009)
As we all know the 15th of August marks the national independence of India. This year we were able to celebrate both the independence of our country and of the Early Intervention Centre as it unveiled its new home!

The celebrations kicked off early in the morning with the flag raising ceremony at Karuna Vihar. It was a beautiful event, with people from all over the organization coming together to celebrate freedom. After the flag was raised and the national anthem sung, we were entertained by singing and dancing from those at CVT, and by an inspiring play put on by the children of Karuna Vihar, (which depicted the importance of working together for the benefit of all). On the wall we all wrote what liberty means to us, and it was full to the brim by the end of the event! Dancing and enjoying India’s finest sweets helped to round off the morning in style!

Yet the celebrations continued later in full swing with the inauguration of the new EIC centre. With a huge turnout, again bringing all supporters of the foundation together, we marked the new independence of the centre. The event began with the youngest member of the EIC, cutting the ribbon and officially opening the building. We were invited to look around and it was clear that a huge amount of hard work had been put into the centre, making it a perfect new location to work in.

We were then shown to our seats and the show began. It was truly inspirational. It really showed how much love and dedication there is towards the foundation and what it does. Whether people sang, danced, spoke or simply watched, it was clear that everyone wanted to be a part of the celebration. It was particularly inspiring to hear Karuna ji speak, to hear of the generosity of Jyoti Sood in offering her home, and to remember the work of people like Dr. Linda Upadhyaya. And it was great to see so many of those at Latika Roy up on the dance floor as the evening came to a close!

Overall the day was a great success, with independence being celebrated at the national and local level, as well as being a general celebration for all the work and success of Latika Roy.

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Student Awareness Workshop (August 3, 2009)
Venue: GGIC, Kaulagarh
As a part of our student awareness campaign, we conducted a workshop with the young girls of Government Girls Inter College, Kaulagarh. Our target audience were girls from Class 6th to Class 9th as we thought that it would be most effective to introduce our ideology and mission to them at this stage.

The session started with an introduction of us and our Foundation. We could perceive that there was curiosity amongst the student as to what “We” were all about. We asked the children to write down their perception of disability on sheets of paper. It was interesting to peruse their answers which were a direct reflection of their sensitivity and curiosity. They had shared their experiences as examples for explaining disability.

Our primary aim was to make the children aware of the different disabilities that manifest themselves in individuals and communicating to them that their awareness and co operation can go a long way in making the lives of the disabled easy. We tried to educate them about the notion that each individual is special. We also tried to bring up the concept of inclusion and accessibility and were delighted to see that most students were enthused by the idea and tried to advocate it in their own simple way.

Rizwan and Omi conducted an activity where they played special games with the children by either tying their hands or blindfolding them. In this way they tried to get across the message of being more sensitive towards the need of the disabled. Hema didi and Shachi went on to explain the different types of disabilities and some symptoms which may help in identifying them. The children were inquisitive and one of them even identified a certain child in her neighbourhood exhibiting symptoms of “Down Syndrome”.

All in all the session was a very interactive and Rizwan made it all the more interesting with his anecdotes and jokes. That our words did make a difference could be gauged from the post workshop questionnaires that the students answered. Their answers indicated that they did make an effort to absorb what was being taught. There after we distributed refreshments and left the venue with a promise from the students that they will spread our message. When asked what will they do, they chorused, “We will send them to Latika Roy Foundation”

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We love it when our friends win awards!

Deep Joshi - a member of our Advisory Committee and a longtime friend and supporter of our work - has just been named this year's recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award - Asia's version of the Nobel Prize.
Deep Joshi is well-known throughout India for the work he has done as co-founder and advisor of PRADAN. An engineering student from MIT and an MBA from the Sloan School of Management in the US, he could have chosen a comfortable and high paying job anywhere in the world. He chose instead to return to India and spend his life in service to the nation.
Along with his team of dedicated professionals, he has transformed the lives of thousands of families in around the country through self-help groups, women's empowerment, micro-finance and rural development. He is also recognized for bringing professionalism to the voluntary sector in India.
For the Foundation, Deep has been an invaluable mentor and guide. While his expertise is in rural development, his wealth of experience and understanding has given us new insight into the work that we do. We are proud to know him and congratulate him with all our hearts.
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Rainbow Sale Mela (July 19, 2009)
Venue: Latika Vihar

People love coming to melas because of the great games, the fun that they have there and the energy that one can feel there. Latika Vihar too is all about fun, people and energy so how could the two not unite?
We love melas because the amazing energy that we feel when we are at one is something that stays with us for a while. We love mela because the children at Latika Vihar love melas. All we needed was a reason and with Rainbow changing its venue to Latika Vihar, we found that reason.

Everyone at the center got down to working for the mela. Since I had joined the centre I had never seen the children so focused on anything as they were now. From deciding the play that they want to put up to making the posters they were involved in every aspect of the mela.

Everyone was full of life and brimming with ideas. It seemed that all we were thinking and dreaming about was the mela! The week before the mela was absolute chaos! We were running around making posters, putting them up, practicing for the performances and deciding on the layout. It was a week full of hustle bustle that we loved with all our hearts.

The mela was held on Sunday, July 19 at Latika Vihar and was a huge hit!

The venue was packed by 11 am and we could see smiling faces everywhere we looked.
The youngest students of Latika Vihar performed a short play. It was an Akbar – Birbal play called Jaduee Gadha (The Wonder Donkey). Birbal was the wisest minister at King Akbar’s court. There are many stories about his intelligence and this is one of the most loved stories. The children had worked hard for the play and the hard work paid off as it was greatly appreciated by all.
The products of Rainbow were a huge hit with people. Everyone shopped till they dropped! The game stalls were packed with children and adults alike trying their luck.
By the time our last guest left we had no food left on the stalls, no tokens left at our payment desk and no clothes left on the rack!!! We were exhausted and excited at the success of this venture.

We would like to thank all of you for making this a success.

Rainbow Sale has officially shifted to Latika Vihar and the products will be on sale every Sunday from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm.
We Hope to see you there.
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Smiling Souls (July 11, 2009)
Talent knows no boundaries. It does not see your class, caste, ability, region or religion. Each child with talent deserves an opportunity to further hone and display it to the world. This is an ideology that the foundation has always stood by. This is why when Smiling Souls a summer camp came to Dehradun, we did not think twice and grabbed this opportunity with both hands. Smiling Souls is a summer camp run by Sumant and Sanjana Pai at the Tussat Function Centre. The camp brings together professionals and experts from Bollywood and Dehradun to conduct various workshops.   

Three of our students, Sandeep, Dilip and Ajay went to this camp for the dance workshops. The three were chosen solely because they love to dance and have great potential, a fact that even their dance master Umesh, a professional choreographer from bollywood agreed to. At the end of the month long workshop was a public performance. Everyday the trio would come to Latika Vihar after dance class and tell us what they learnt and how they were enjoying themselves. Just seeing the energy and the zest in them after a grueling workshop strengthened the fact that we had not made a mistake by sending them.

The performance took place on Saturday, 11 July, 2009 at 7 pm at the Tussat Function Centre. It was a grand show where people of various age groups performed with energy and elegance.

Dilip Sandeep and Ajay had to dance on three songs. Two of the songs were to be performed with other children from the camp and one performance was by them. When they finally came on stage in their shimmering white pants and black shirts we could not contain our joy. They were always good dancers but the confidence and pride in their eyes that day is difficult to describe.

We hope to realize more dreams, nurture more talent and see a lot more performances by students in all our centers.

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LATIKA VIHAR KE BOLLYWOOD TOP 5 (June 12, 2009)

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. But even fun is streamlined to incorporate a bigger picture of nurturing existent talent and of discovering the undiscovered talent. But this article is not about how and what we do at Latika Vihar, but about what 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? With heated arguments the children ridiculed, discarded, appreciated and rejected tons of ideas that I gave them and then finally accepted the idea of a TV Show. But the acceptance came with a rider, it has 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 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!

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Concession Mela (May 21, 2009)
Venue: Bhagwanpur, Dehradun
The ‘panchayat ghar’ at Bhagwanpur (near bhauwala) was flooded with people, and everyone wanting to avail the numerous facilities offered there, the whole place was bustling with energy. Getting such a huge response, we were all very happy but had our fingers crossed. The crowd kept pouring in and at the end we had the satisfaction of touching several lives. Looking at the success of the event, the struggles along the way seemed miniscule. However, I must admit, it was not an easy task! Right from the very first step we faced several problems like CMO denying us permission to hold the event due to the upcoming elections. Getting our way through the infamous red-tape was another mammoth task, but as Albert Schweitzer has once said: Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people to roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lot calmly if they even roll a few more upon it. We certainly accepted our lot calmly and managed to wriggle our way out of the bureaucratic hassles.

The Mela was open to all residents with disabilities in Dehradun.  We were very clear that this mela would be a one stop shop to resolve and answer several problems of people with special needs like how to avail Medical Certificates, Disability Identity Cards, Railway Concession, Stipends, aids and appliances and existing rural development schemes.

For this, we contacted several Government departments and private organizations. NGOs like Raphael and Bajaj Institute, government organizations like NIOH and NIVH were immensely supportive. Raphael set up a desk for providing the niramaya scheme and The Bajaj Institute assessed people with hearing and speech impairment at the mela. NIOH and NIVH assessed people with physical and visual limitations on the spot and registered them for providing aids.

Getting a few government departments like the Special Employment Exchange and Social Welfare Department was comparatively a hard task, but after several meetings and discussions we managed to convince them to set up their respective desks at the event. Other like the SSA Campaign (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) was more than cooperative though, offering to provide free aids and appliances at the venue.

Speaking of cooperation, the village pradhan Mr. Mahavir Khhatri and Bhuvan Vikram Dabral, Chairman, Dugdh Utpadak Sahkari Samiti deserve a special mention. They contributed at every level, right from arranging for the lunch to the publicity. We conducted a workshop with the pradhan and his neighboring colleagues, and then publicized the event, reaching out to the interior villages, distributing pamphlets and informing the locals. Credit must also be given to him for arranging the photographer and Photostat facility at the venue, which made the process of getting the certificate a whole lot easier for the   people.

The day long program started with the distribution of disability certificates by the panel of doctors from the Chief Medical Office. Dr. J.S. Bisht (Psychiatrist), Dr. Toliya (Eye specialist) and Dr. Vohra (Orthopedic) formed the panel of doctors from the CMO’s office.

People from neighboring villages benefited the most from this mela as it is difficult for them to visit the office or hospital for disability certificates. At the mela they could get certificates made, receive aids and equipments, get school and job registrations done, get health insurances, scholarships, pensions and several other facilities. For the first time mental and physical assessments were done and certificates issued on the spot, all of this under one roof. This event also sensitized people about the issue of disability and created awareness about rights and benefits available to people with disabilities.

In spite of all the initial hiccups the event was a grand success and we would like to extend our gratitude to Congress General Secretary, Mr. Shankarchand Ramola, pradhan Mahavir Khhatri and Bhuvan Vikram Dabral, Chairman, Dugdh Utpadak Sahkari Samiti.
We would also like to thank the CMO, Social Welfare Department, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH), Raphael, National Institute of Orthopaedically Handicapped (NIOH), and Special Employment Exchange, students of Hopetown School and local workers for all their support.
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Hey Ho! A Camping We Will Go!(May 8, 2009)
Come summers and everyone wants to kick off their school shoes and head off to the hills. Well this year the Karuna Vihar children were one step ahead of most of us. They decided to go for a night camp a few days before the holidays set in. Thanks to their principal, Archana Sethi, Dr. Sebastian and the school staff the troop had an evening of fun-filled sprees set ahead of them.

It was 4 o’clock when most of Vasant Vihar was taking a siesta away from the searing sun, but to our surprise the anticipation of fun made us forget all about it. So all the children linked with their adult “buddy”(s), all bags were tagged and checked, buses were loaded with all our paraphernalia and out we headed, to our first pit stop: The Christian Mediation Centre, ShenShahi.

As our shuttles trudged along to the Centre, everyone was stressing upon their vocal skills trying to out sing one another. The adults were struggling to find new songs to please the kids and the kids would just look in disbelief, “How could you not know a single Akshay Kumar song?”

At the Centre, everyone gaped in awe as they walked into the courtyard for a quick gulp of refreshing squash. This place looked so reposeful, and yet had a charm to it in an Enid Blyton kind of way. Dizzy with excitement we all reloaded the bus to head out towards Malsi Deer Park, our excursion for the day.

Although most of the park is not accessible, we made our way to the swings. There was a soothing zephyr that did away with the heat and the swings swung higher and the roundabout whizzed faster and everyone was delighted. After exhausting the swings we then went to visit our little friends across the meshes.
The Owls, rabbits, ducks were all busybodies active around their enclosures. The lazy Tiger refused to wake up to greet us, but never mind we got to see an amazing stag fight. We were truly lucky to witness this episode, one only gets to see it on TV, here they were a few yards ahead locking antlers, adrenaline pumping and stirring up the dust. Just then, we had a few visitors ourselves, the monkeys of the park came to say quick “Hi!” and swung back into the trees.

While taking a break on a small sloping garden patch in the, park some of the kids started rolling down the hill. The trend caught on fast; soon everyone was rolling down the slope and enjoying this rush. The faster they rolled the wider the grins on their faces. Phew!! By the end of it all the buddies were panting their way back to the bus, while the kids were raving for more.

Back at the Centre, the evening started to set in and it started getting cooler. Carpets were rolled out into the courtyard and the kids took a quick time out. Before we knew it some were up by the tree and some were at the courtyard bell ringing the dinner bell. Soon the music started and the kids took to the dance-floor. Under the night skies colourful figures danced in perfect tandem, funky break dancing steps were the call of the night.

Then the actual dinner bell rang, “Dinner’s Served!!” and as the ringing resonated through the air the hungry dozens headed to the mess. All the kids settled down onto long mess tables accompanied by their buddies. While they were being served with simple yet wholesome food, we all got a moment to take stock of the beautiful British architecture that surrounded us.

Full-bellied we then settled down onto the carpets back in the courtyard. A suggestion came from one of our kids to play Antakshari (singing game). Initially a few lazy voices sang, but slowly everyone joined in enthusiastically and some of us even took to the floor, dancing to the songs. 

Seven hours of non-stop fun and activity finally took a toll on most of us and when more heads started nodding off everyone retreated into their rooms only to dream about good times like these.

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Workshop on Parents Empowerment (May 12, 2009)
Venue: Latika Roy Foundation Training Centre
Resource Person: Dr Shanti Auluck, Director of Muskaan
The involvement of parents in a child’s life holds great importance, at the foundation we have always kept this in mind and have actively involved parents in the development procedure of their children. Taking this believe further the College for Vocational Training invited Dr Shanti Auluck, Director of Muskaan, to hold a workshop on Parent’s Empowerment at the Latika Roy Training Centre. Muskaan is a Delhi based NGO which works as a vocational training centre for intellectually challenged persons. Muskaan has since its inception laid great importance on parent’s involvement and is currently the largest Parent Association of its kind in Northern India.

Dr Auluck first gave a presentation on Muskaan and spoke of the importance of providing employment opportunities for people with disabilities. She also stressed on the fact that parents of children with disabilities need to play an important role in this aspect.

One of our students parent said that the development that his daughter has gone through under the guidance of Karuna Vihar and then the College for Vocational Training has been tremendous but post this he is confused as he has nowhere to send his daughter to utilize this growth. He wondered what to do after she graduates? As this question was haunting many parents at the workshop, Dr Auluck decided to tackle this with a question with one of her own; she asked the parents “What do you do when your children are at school?” Since many mothers were homemakers she told them to start a work centre which would be run by the parents to accommodate the students when they graduate.

She told them how Muskaan had initially been such an initiative and how today it has grown. She said it was important for the children to utilize all that they have learnt at Karuna Vihar and the College once they graduate else all the effort made would go to waste. She told them that it is important for their children to have a meaningful involvement which would increase their self worth and make them independent. She told them to start with something small, like selling masalas, making paper bags etc as these activities are easy to learn for both the parents and the students, they require less equipment, minimum technical training and are market friendly.

Mrs. Savita Thapliyal, Coordinator, The College of Vocational Training offered to train the parents at the centre, she also encouraged parents to come and volunteer at the centre to know more about the children who would eventually work with them. She also offered to include the activities in the college curriculum so that the students are prepared to join the work centre as soon as they graduate. Dr Auluck too offered to help the parents in this initiative.

A parent Mrs. Madhu volunteered to offer her house and her services for this initiative. Ten other parents too volunteered for this initiative. Dr Auluck helped the group to set up targets like when to meet next, what raw material is required and what they need to do next. With ample information and a set agenda the group thanked Dr Auluck, Mrs. Savita Thapliyal and Mrs. Manju Sinha for all their help and decided to meet on Friday, May 15, 2009 at the Latika Roy Foundation Training Centre to further discuss the details of the work centre.

About the Resource Person

Dr. Shanti Auluck, the founder director of Muskaan, is a well known psychologist who was a professor of Psychology at Lady Sriram College, Delhi University for more than two decades before taking voluntary retirement to further the growth & expansion of Muskaan.
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Workshop on Accessible Tourism (May 1, 2009)
Venue: Malsi Deer Park
Resource Person: Subhash Vashisth, Sangeeta, Gaurav Raheja, Deputy Chief Commissioner (Disability), Government of India, T D Dhariya.

With a vision to make Dehradun an accessible tourist destination, Latika Roy Foundation organized a workshop on May 1, 2009 at Malsi Deer Park, which is a prominent tourist and recreational spot. Located on the way to Mussoorie, Malsi Deer Park is the home to various species of deer such as the Neelgai and the two horned deer. The deer Park also has a wide variety of birds and the peacocks are extremely popular amongst tourists of all ages. Unfortunately, the park is not accessible for all. There are no ramps and facilities for people with disabilities. This is one of the serious challenges that are crippling the Indian tourism industry. The workshop aimed at showcasing the importance of making tourist spots accessible to all.

Accessible tourism is a set of services and facilities for individuals with specific needs who may include the disabled, elderly people, pregnant women, parents with children, people with temporary disabilities, or the increasing number of tourists carrying heavy strollers.
Accessible tourism is the need of the hour, especially in countries like India. With India on the brink of exponential growth in infrastructure development this is the right time to take up the issues related to barrier free and inclusive public infrastructure and transportation. Accessible tourism is built on the principles of Inclusion and Universal design. This will not only promote tourism in India but also provide means of generating sustainable revenue and greater job opportunities for the tourism industry.
Our panel of speakers consisted of Subhash Vashisth and Sangeeta, from Svayam, a Delhi based NGO that has worked tremendously in the field of Accessible tourism. Svayam can be credited with making several tourist spots like the Qutub Minar accessible to all. Emphasizing on a universal design, Subhash Vashisth and Sangeeta, from Svayam, a Delhi based NGO urged on the significance of creating an enabling and accessible environment for all. Mr. Vashishth said, “Universal design is a philosophy of design that recognizes, and attempts to accommodate the broadest possible spectrum of human ability in the design of all products and environments. It requires sensitivity to, and knowledge about people of all ages and abilities. It encompasses and goes beyond the accessible, adaptable, and barrier-free design concepts of the past”.

Gaurav Raheja, a prominent Lecturer of Architecture and Planning (IIT Roorkee) who gave us vital inputs on Universal Design which is accessible for all. He stated “Singapore and the US struggled for four to five decades to improve their infrastructure and create an accessible environment. So the task ahead for India is not very simple, but at least we make a start”.
Deputy Chief Commissioner (Disability), Government of India, T D Dhariyal who talked at length about legislation with regards to disability in India. He also supported the concept of creating a Universal Design.
Rajiv Bhartari, Additional Secretary Tourism, Uttarakhand was among the prominent guests. He encouraged the initiative taken by Latika Roy Foundation to promote accessible tourism in Dehradun and showed great interest in making Uttarakhand a state which is accessible to all.
The workshop was supported by District Forest Officer, D K Gangte and Ranger Office of Malsi Deer Park, Rakesh Negi.

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Students Awareness Workshop (April 24, 2009)
Venue: Primary School, Defence Colony
Participants: 20
Resource Person: Awareness Team
It’s amazing how kids are always brimming with energy and curiosity. And once you are with them, it’s hard not to get infected.  Our latest experience was with a bunch of highly energetic students of class V at Primary School.
Our first question to them was, “Do you know why we’re here?” and the answers we got were hilarious. “You are from MDDA,” said one, “You are here to do a dance program,” said the other. Basically, the workshop started on a light note.
We started with a brief introduction, followed by an ice-breaker “Fruit-salad.” Kids loved the activity and participated actively.

The activity was followed by a Jataka Katha on four friends who helped each other in the time of crisis. Discussing the moral of the story with the kids, we tried to relate the story with their personal lives, giving them examples and situations. Thereafter, we had some fun with one of our favourite learning-based activity. We got great response and participation with each child wanting to be a part of the game. Blindfolding one of the kids, we gave her a task. She stumbled a few times and the rest of the kids got their share of fun, which happens normally in such cases. Then we asked one of the kids to assist her, and she was able to complete the task with ease. Suddenly, the kids stopped laughing and looked attentively towards the two participants. This was an opportunity for us to know their minds and if they at all understood the significance of the activity. To our pleasure, the kids seemed to have grabbed the message.  

After all the fun, it was time for some sweet and savory treat, followed by the registration and the feedback.
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Ophthalmic Screening At Latika Roy Foundation(April 20-22, 2009)
Special Vision Assesment for children with special needs
Venue: Early Intervention Center
Resource person: Dr Sebastian, Dr Abhas Mehrotra, Dr Shubha Nagesh, & Mr Rahul Pandey

Several studies have stated that children with special needs are more often afflicted by visual and ocular disorders as compared to children with normal developmental milestones. Vision problems may deter and delay overall development in these children. Children with special needs are often unable to communicate their visual problems, and this makes it all the more important to have periodic ophthalmic screening on a regular basis. These eye assessments enable detection of refractive errors, strabismus (squint), nystagmus (jerky eye movements), infections, ulcers, and other conditions, all of which need to be corrected at the earliest. Visual improvement will in turn enhance development in other spheres of life.

Keeping this in mind Latika Roy Foundation decided to conduct a Vision Assessment Camp at Karuna Vihar and the Early Intervention Center conducted over a week. This assessment was jointly organized and conducted by Dr Sebastian, Dr Shubha Nagesh and Dr Abhas Mehrotra. The vision assessments were conducted by Mr. Rahul Pandey.

In this camp the doctors conducted several important tests for the children like external ocular, fundus and ocular motility examinations.
Different modes of examination were used depending on the age and the development of the children. For the older children the standard vision chart was used whereas object matching was used for the younger children. In this test the doctor takes a coloured object like a ball and asks the child to pick up, touch or throw the same colour ball out of all the balls that are provided to him.

This eye assessment is not a one off exercise, we intent to make this a regular occurrence in the foundation. The initial screening for the children will be conducted on the premises of the school, and the children who required further detailed examinations will be referred to the eye specialist.

After the study we came to a conclusion that a significant proportion of the children need detailed ophthalmic examination, therefore, it was decided that a Vision Protocol will be developed to serve as a standard for use at the Latika Roy Foundation to enable regular and detailed ophthalmic examinations of all the children, and criteria for timely and appropriate referrals to an eye specialist.

About the Resource Person
Dr Sebastian Gruschke is the Medical Officer at Latika Roy Foundation. He joined the foundation in 2006 and has since been an integral and irreplaceable member of the organization. His specialization lies in Tropical Medicine, a little-known specialty which includes Pediatrics, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Infectious Diseases.

Dr Abhas Mehrotra, completed MD Ophthalmology and Fellowship in Vitreo-retina and Uvea from All India Institute of Medical sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi. His areas of expertise and interest include Diabetic Retinopathy, Age Related Macular Degeneration and other retinal disorders. Community Ophthalmology is one of his focus areas. He currently is the Consultant Vitreo- Retina Surgeon at The Eye Clinic, Dehradun.

Mr Rahul Pandey is a qualified optometrist who has done his Bachelors and Diploma in Optometry from Lucknow. Before working with Dr. Abhas Mehrotra (Consultant Vitreo- Retina Surgeon, The Eye Clinic), he trained under Dr SK Shah in Varanasi.

Dr Shubha Nagesh is the better half of Dr Abhas Mehrotra. She presently is a student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She is currently doing an internship with Latika Roy Foundation and is a valuable member of the team.

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CBR Workshop(April17,2009)
Venue: CHC, D. L Road
No. of participants: 45
Resource person: Awareness Team
Community Based Rehabilitation is one of the most important fields of work for the Awareness Campaign. We regularly conduct workshops for the Community workers like Health workers, Aasha workers, Aanganwadis, etc. to inform them about our organization and its projects as well as update them about new Govt. schemes for persons with disability. These people are our direct link to the people we want to reach. We try our best to reach out to as many people as possible, but these workers pass our message to those nooks and corners of the society where we can’t reach or haven’t reached so far.
This time around, the Awareness team conducted a CBR workshop at Community Health Centre, D. L. Road. Almost 45 Community health workers were present, along with their supervisors. We started with an introduction of our organization and explained to them about our various projects with the help of a colourful board. They came up with various questions regarding our projects and shared their experiences as well. We also informed them about disability certificates and how and where are they made.
The introduction was followed by a group discussion. We divided the participants into groups and gave each group a question, typed on a piece of paper. The questions were on disability issues, e.g. how can you contribute to the cause of disability, what is your outlook towards disability, etc.

The participants came up with amazing responses. Most of them felt that disability is not a curse and we can help people with disability live a better life and if diagnosed at an early stage, it can be treated with therapy, etc. They also took our message of early intervention very well. Thereafter, we asked them to tell us about their work and challenges. We stressed on the fact that together we can really make a change, as we can provide them the right information and they can take the message to the people who need it.  
We wrapped up with a promise from our side to come back with more information and this time about specific disabilities, as they had demanded. The participants seemed keen to learn more. The workshop ended on a sweet and savory note with samosas and baalushahis and hot cups of tea.

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The Second All NGOs’ Meet(April 17, 2009)
Venue: Latika Roy Foundation, Training Center
Resource person: Richa Thapliyal and Utpala Deb (LRF), Number of participants:13
On Thursday, 13 March, 2009, the First All NGO Meet, an initiative of the Latika Roy Foundation was held at the Latika Roy Foundation. This Meet laid the foundation of a beautiful dream, a dream of a united stand for the disable in Dehradun. The agenda of the meeting was to bring together all the NGO’s working for the disabled in Dehradun under one concrete forum where we could share our achievements, discuss issues, solve problems and make a difference. The first meeting was a testing ground and the response was as expected, almost every organisation agreed to the benefits of a collective voice. We all agreed that the government may or may not respond to individual concerns but a collective voice was far difficult to ignore.

The second All NGO Meet was held at the Latika Roy Foundation Training Center on Friday, 17 April, 2009. The agenda of the meeting was to create a common group consisting of some of the best NGO’s of the city it became mandatory to know the individual organization, therefore the meeting started with the participants giving a presentation about their organizations, its achievements and activities. 

Having agreed to start an identity which would be a collective voice of all the NGO’s the next question on everyone’s mind was how do we do this? The answer of which led us to discuss the importance of the World Wide Web or the Internet! The internet is a powerful tool, if used effectively it can be a blessing. A common online identity would help the members in spreading awareness, have discussions with experts and supporters, get feedback and even get funds for various projects.  The current rage on the internet is blogging and the members agreed to start with a blog that would provide all the information about the member NGOs training programs, activities and even employment opportunities for the people with disabilities. The blog will soon be active and we hope everyone will give suggestions, participate in discussions, ask questions and share information!

The success of collective effort was extremely evident on the lunch table! Every participant got food leading to a colourful plate filled with delicious food which was difficult to leave.

The post lunch session began with the discussion of certain issues related to disability in Dehradun.
Some of the issues discussed were the inaccessibility of ATMs and public transport for the disabled, the importance of documentation and the need for a Disability Department separate from the Welfare Department.

A cause close to all the members is complete social inclusion therefore one of the biggest concerns that we had was the lack of awareness about the disabled and their issues. It is very important to spread awareness about various disabilities, its important to the break myths that surround disabilities, we need to sensitise doctors, teachers and the general public regarding the disabled. It is also imperative that the disabled know about their rights and the facilities provided by the government and several organisations.
  A suggestion that was well received was the idea of setting up a camp for the disabled. The camp would be similar to the Polio Drive Camps. Through these camps the organisations could spread awareness as well as provide instant solutions to several problems. The idea was well liked and we hope to invite all of you to one such camp very soon.

The meeting ended on a positive note as several questions that we had were answered and the dream of the collective voice seems probable.

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Right to Ride Workshop (April 14, 2009)
Resource person: Awareness Team
Venue: ISBT, Participants: 50
“You cannot have an inclusive society unless everyone has access.”

The aim of the Awareness Campaign is to spread the message of inclusion, which in turn will help making public places, organizations and transport vehicles more accessible for people with special needs. Our ‘Right to Ride’ campaign is a step towards a more inclusive transport system.
Continuing the ongoing series of the Transport Awareness Workshops, we carried out the Right to Ride Campaign at the I.S.B.T, Dehradun on the 14th of April ’09.
To start with, we contacted the Depot In-charge, giving him a brief introduction of our Foundation and asked him for his co-operation. We were glad to know that he already had an idea about the organization and its activities. He seemed quite enthusiastic about the workshop. Thereafter, we headed towards the terminals, where we interacted with the drivers and bus conductors, explaining to them the importance of inclusion and accessibility. We showed them our campaign stickers, and which we wanted to put on their vehicles. The drivers came up with various queries. We also came across a few who weren’t interested at all. However, we tried to tackle every query with clarity and patience.

While a few team members were busy interacting with the bus drivers, a couple of others approached the auto-drivers, who seemed even more well-informed and supportive. Some of them were curious about our street plays, which they had seen in the past. We informed them about the forthcoming street plays. The entire activity was very encouraging. And we were successful in reaching out to the right people, who are directly involved with the transport system.

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Career Workshop (April 2, 2009)
Resource person: Richa, Kahkashan and Shachi (Awareness), Vandana (Training Centre)

Conducting a career workshop is a challenging job and to do so with post-graduate students of Psychology even more so. The idea of the workshop was to sensitize the students about disability related issues and make them aware of various career opportunities in the field of disability. In this respect the training centre team guided us really well.
Before the workshop we had a discussion with the head of the department, who was very supportive and keen to hold a bigger workshop with students from across all streams.

The ice breaker which was conducted after Richa’s brief introduction was received with great enthusiasm. The students were divided in couples on the basis of some commonalities like two girls in red shirts or two girls wearing spectacles, etc. They had to introduce each other and tell one good quality of one another. The girls took it really well and loved the new way of introduction and praised each other. The teachers present also contributed, and a light and congenial atmosphere prevailed thereafter.

In order to guide them it was important for us to know what they are looking for in their careers and lives and to do this, we asked them, “Where do you see yourself ten years from now?” The students were divided into groups of seven and each group was given a sheet a paper. They had to write their answers and fold the sheet before passing it to the next student. Once they were done, one student from each group read the answers out. Most of the students expressed a desire of working for people with disabilities or helping the disadvantaged, satisfaction and happiness was on everyone’s mind.
One of the students told us that she holds a diploma in special education and has been working with organizations working for people with disabilities and how satisfying it has been for her. She helped set the mood for further discussion on the topic.

We also had a screening of a film titled ‘Molly,’ a story of a girl born with Cerebral Palsy. The movie shows how her parents, professionals in the field of special education, counselors and therapists helped her live a complete life. The film had a deep impact on the students. Among many profound comments by the students one that stayed with us was “One should never lose hope.” After the film the discussion became more focused with several questions being thrown our way.

We told them how Psychology students can contribute to this field and discussed the various career options available for them. Thereafter, we gave them a brief presentation on Latika Roy Foundation and its various projects. We left M.K.P. P.G. College with a sense of achievement as all the students and teachers appreciated the workshop and gave us positive feedback.    

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A Trip to Rishikesh (March 17, 2009)

I would without doubt have to agree with the famous architect and notable educator Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright that ‘The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.’
Take the trainees to Rishikesh? Is that possible? Wouldn’t that be dangerous? Is that a smart call? The long strong tentacles of apprehensions and skepticism had not just gripped parents and well wishers but also several of the staff members. But then the vision of the long flowing river and the grandeur of the Laxman Jhoola (famous ancient bridge) combined with the excitement of the trainees and staff made taking the risk worthwhile. So, all advice was duly heard, every precaution written in the book was memorized, safety kits were made and remade, long lists of dos and don’ts were prepared distributed and discussed to death.

Finally the day of reckoning dawned; 17th March 2009, we were ready for our trip to Rishikesh. Leaving all the apprehensions behind we were all excited to finally be on our way. Each staff member was assigned to a team of trainees to ensure maximum care, attention and learning. True it was the job of the staff to teach, but to be honest we were the ones who ended up learning (being taught)! The one lesson that we learned and hope to remember is how to find joy in the little everyday things. Let me elaborate, on our way the staff was always on the lookout for something interesting to show and would you believe what received maximum applause? A passing train and monkeys on the roadside, makes one wonder how in our search for ‘something special’ we miss out on the ‘everyday special’. Well, we were the lucky ones; we had our ‘trainees’ to show us around!

The monkeys were such a huge attraction that we had to stop and explore the forest with the hope to find (or not!) more wild animals. The pit stop was definitely worth it as it washed away the lethargy of the journey and turned all the students into contestants for the next Indian Idol! The students took the initiative to sing and managed to drag the not so musically gifted staff members to sing along.

By the time we arrived at Rishikesh, it was almost noon. The first stop here was a ghat (river bank) close to the parking lot. The view from the ghat was beautiful but there was something else before which its beauty too paled in comparison, it was the keenness and confidence with which the trainees took the responsibility of some of their peers. The way they carried out their designated duties was truly commendable.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do! So we took the local vikram-wallahs’ (a three wheeler public transport driver) advice and got into several vikrams to enjoy a filling lunch under the cool shade of the trees. The unbearable heat that had driven us away from the ghat earlier than we wanted was no longer a threat to our lunch. After lunch the group headed towards Laxman Jhoola where we were stared at with admiration and disbelief. Some locals even advised us to not take the trainees to the Laxman Jhoola but, we were up to the challenge, without missing a beat we marched on. True, it was difficult at times, but in the end the triumph and pride that we felt made it all worthwhile. That feeling lasted all the way back to Dehradun, the bus was full of energy, everyone sang, interacted, cracked jokes and had a great time.

Helen Keller once said “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” That is what we did. We looked the world straight in the eye, faced all the challenges with determination, broke all myths and above all had a fabulous time!

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Seminar on “Accessibility for People with Disabilities”
A new beginning (Mar. 01, 2009)
Realizing the importance of an inclusive society, Uttarakhand Traffic Police in collaboration with Latika Roy Foundation organized a Seminar on Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities at the Parade Ground on 1 March 2009. This seminar was the first of its kind.
The Seminar was inaugurated by M A Ganpati, IG, Garhwal Range. In his inaugural speech Mr. Ganpati lauded the efforts of Uttarakhand Traffic Police and Latika Roy Foundation for bringing the police and NGOs working for the people with Disabilities into one platform. He emphasized the role of police in educating people about traffic rules and regulations and monitoring traffic. He assured all possible support from the police to make roads, parking and public transport accessible for people with special needs.
The inauguration was followed by a street play, staged by Latika Roy Foundation in collaboration with Nijaat Rehabilitation Centre. The play was based on the troubles faced by commuters, including those with disabilities in public transport.
Nilesh Bharne, Superintendent of Police, Traffic dwelt at length on the social service role of Police to make traffic resources accessible to all. He said that traffic rules and regulations are made keeping in mind the average man. He assured that the Traffic Police would help in providing accessibility to people with disabilities, inspite of the fact that they do not have the required expertise. Mr. Bharne further said that Uttarakhand Traffic Police would be trained on sign language by the Dumb Welfare Association.
Amit Sinha, SSP, praised the police and Latika Roy foundation for taking the initiative to make people with disabilities aware of their rights to public transport. He said that there is need for a systematic approach to make public transport accessible to people with disabilities.
The police and the public present there were exposed to the problems faced by people with disabilities in public transport, parking areas and roads. Delegates from various NGOs working in the field of disability shared the problems faced by their children while crossing roads and accessing public transport. Suman Samuel, Director, Sharp memorial for the Blind suggested that there should be road maps in Braille.
Most of the delegates felt that this Seminar must not become the end, but the starting of a new inclusive movement in the country. It was also felt that there is tremendous lack of awareness and sensitization among the general public, the police and  tranporters on issues related to accessibility. It was felt that the Uttarakhand Traffic Police has got an important role to play in this direction.
A major recommendation of the Seminar is the setting up of special steps in public transport. A petition was signed by all NGOs working in the field of disabilities asseverating the Government of Uttarakhand and Local Administration of Dehradun to take serious steps towards establishing an inclusive society.

Suggestions to Uttarakhand Traffic Police
Emphasizing the importance of the Uttarakhand Traffic Police as the nodal government agency for the establishment of traffic rules and regulations, the NGOs working in the filed of disabilities made the following suggestions:

1. Separately allot and earmark parking space for people with disabilities
2. Extra steps should be set up for convenient boarding on public transport.
3. Zebra crossing near institutes and centres for the people with special needs
4. Special ID cards for discounted travel should be issued easily issued to the people with disabilities 
5. Making aware the public transport operators of the needs of the people with disabilities
6. Special seats should be set up in public transport and priority boarding
7. Promote sensible driving and regular driving tests for public transport operators in this regards.

The seminar came to end with the distribution of badges and stickers by the Traffic Police and Latika Roy Foundation.

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Learning from each other: Sharing experiences, forming partnerships and thinking futuristically (Jan. 08-09, 2009)
 A two day meet was organized by Sir Ratan Tata Trust and hosted by the foundation on the 8th and 9th January, 2009. This was a step taken by SRTT to bring all the NGO’s funded by them from all over the country to come under one roof and through series of presentations and discussions be able to share their strengths and take home certain learnings which would help them to be more effective in their sectors.

The NGO’s that participated in the conference were namely Ashadeep from Assam, SDIC from Ahmedabad, Comm Deal from Bangalore, HRLN from Delhi, RMKM from Rajasthan and Latika Roy foundation from Dehradun. Shalini Sinha, an independent documentation consultant also participated.

 Vikram Gupta and Bhagirath Gop from SRTT, in their opening address mentioned that the trust is looking forward to fund the projects for disability in rural India. The various organizations spoke about their early intervention programmes on the first day. The highlights of the second day were the best practices followed in various organizations. While Ashadeep spoke about their programme with children with mental disability and mental illness and how they are running their commercially viable vocational training for both the groups together; RMKM talked about their programme on reverse integration started in rural sectors of Rajasthan, a very promising project in keeping with the principles of community based rehabilitation. SDIC elaborated on their projects which they are taking to rural areas of Ahmedabad by enabling the local community. Shalini Sinha stressed on the role of documentation and presentation skills when it comes to projecting the work we all do as NGOs. The importance of advocacy presented by Mr.Rajeev Ratauri was also the highlight of the conference. Our own foundation had presentations which emphasized the role of activity based learning, communication, critical thinking and monitoring progress.

To sum up the learning outcomes of the two day conference, the organizations need to understand the concept of community based rehabilitation and to take effective steps in this direction. We cannot undermine the importance of effective communication and critical thinking which play an important role in effectiveness of any organization and also be able to strike a balance between professionalism and idealism. The conference ended on a very optimistic note where our funders SRTT in their vote of thanks appreciated the efforts put by Latika Roy Foundation in organizing the event and also showed their immense trust and faith in the various organizations and vowed their whole hearted support in their endeavours. One issue that emerged was the need to have a centre for excellence in the field of disability set up by Tata trust on the lines of the exemplary institutes set up in the past which have stood the test of time. We do hope that this dream becomes a reality soon!

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Doctors workshop on 'Hearing deficits in high risk children' (Dec. 06, 2008)

On Saturday afternoon the 6th of December 2008 the 'Second Latika Roy Foundation Doctors' Workshop' took place at Ajanta Continental Hotel in Dehradun.

This year the workshop was on 'Hearing deficits in high risk children' The subject was carefully chosen. It is not an issue about which we can actually teach others what to do. On the contrary our intention was to share the complexities we face with some of our children in the detection and treatment of hearing deficits.

Dr. A.K. Agarwal, director-professor of ENT & DEAN, M.A.M.C. Delhi was our special guest speaker. He is an expert in the field of detection and treatment of children's hearing deficits, as he is actively involved in the National Programme for Prevention and control of Deafness.

Given the nature of the subject we chose to have a joint meeting with the Indian Associations of Paediatricians and the Indian Association of ENT-specialists and Dr. Sebastian, our staff physician, gave a short introduction on the LRF, followed with the presentation of a case report on suspected hearing deficit. Some of the obstacles we face on a daily basis were discussed. How to detect hearing deficits in children with mental delay? What is the benefit of formal testing and how to deal with financial constraints of the parents?

Prof. Dr. A.K. Agarwal spoke about the need for early detection of hearing deficits in the general population. The aim at the national level is to detect any hearing deficit before the child reaches the age of one year. But the ideal and the maximum benefit would actually be reached through detection before 6 months.

The professor stressed the fact that 50% of hearing deficits are actually preventable. Prevention could be achieved by raising the awareness, increasing the hygiene and improving the nutritional status of the general population. However, the professor also drew the attention of the attending doctors to the serious fact that some hearing deficits are actually caused by unnecessary prescription of certain drugs, especially antibiotics and diuretics.

Professor Dr. Agarwal also addressed the issue of mental retardation and suspicion of hearing deficit. He stressed the need for the standardization of non-formal hearing tests and gave some practical advice.

At the end of the meeting there was time for discussion. The response by the 25 Doctors present at the meeting was enthusiastic and encouraging. A few ENT-specialists as well as Professor Dr. Agarwal himself pledged their full support in our aim to develop a protocol on early detection and treatment of hearing deficits within the Latika Roy Foundation.

A journey from disabilities to abilities: World Disability Day (Dec. 03, 2008)

Like all parts of world and our country, International Day of Disabled Persons was observed today at our foundation. On this day our aim is to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for dignity, rights and well-being of special persons. It is a time to celebrate the achievements, contributions and the abilities of people with a disability around the world. It's is a time for people with a disability, their friends, families and colleagues to celebrate their diversity.

We made our presence felt in our neighbourhood by organizing a march from Karuna Vihar school and Centre for Vocational Training (CVT) to a park. This park, we adopt from today and are planning on making it a green zone and a place where our kids can go and play and interact with other kids. Shouting slogans, waving flags and holding banners, our kids and staff made sure that everyone in the vicinity come out to look, listen as well as hear a thing or two about persons with special needs and how each one can help out.

After reaching the park, there were games organized which our children enjoyed and shared with kids from a local pre-school as well as from Doon school.
 It was heartening to observe how much the kids enjoyed regardless of their “ability” or “disability” and how trivial the words seem when all that matters is a bit of support, understanding and genuine regard for each other to make inclusion work.

Let us promote the values of inclusion and equality, today and always! Let us challenge perceptions about what people with a disability can and can't do. Most importantly, let us sit up and bring into focus the needs, concerns and rights of persons with special needs.
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Workshop on Sexuality and Disability (Nov 21- 22, 2008)

Sexuality is an intimate, private area of our lives, which most of us find very difficult to talk about. When the issue is on sexuality and disability, things get even tougher. When Prabha and Gunjan*, two extremely gifted and sensitive resource persons from Tarshi, Delhi held a workshop to address issues on sexuality and disability for parents and teachers, there was a mixed feeling of apprehension and relief at having them do all the “talking”. However, the two day workshop made us realize the power of a participatory workshop which involves a lot of inputs and discussions from the participants and does not rely on a “lecture” model and tests the skills of the trainers in the process.

On 21st November, 2008 the workshop was held for parents of our organization. Most parents had specific concerns about the issues they face with their children and wanted concrete strategies to deal with the same. Gunjan and Prabha’s method of conducting the workshop was both empowering and participatory. They were able to draw out some innovative methods and practical strategies that the parents can use in their day to day lives to deal with sexuality issues they confront with their children. This gave them a new sense of confidence and most parents were appreciative of the fact that the workshop was a novel experience and addressed some issues that they never imagined they could speak out in the open. In many ways it helped them establish some comfort level with the issue and gave them a sense of relief that they are not alone and many other parents face similar issues.

On 22nd November, the workshop was held for teachers of our own organization as well as other schools. There was a marked difference in the concerns of parents and teachers about sexuality issues. Whilst parents needed help for their own children and topics revolved around menstruation, marriage, child sexual abuse etc.; teachers wanted help with issues like masturbation in the classroom by students, sexual activities between students, answering questions that children ask regarding sexuality etc. Once again Prabha and Gunjan played the role of facilitators, steering the participants into thought provoking discussions on specific situations and bringing out handy techniques that the teachers can use in such occasions. There was a very interesting polling activity on issues of hysterectomy of a young lady with disability to teaching masturbation techniques to adolescents with disabilities. There were strong points raised both for and against these ethical dilemmas and the atmosphere was charged with passionate and confrontational statements from both sides.

Accepting that sexual expression is a natural and important aspect of our lives, views that deny sexuality for disabled people are actually denying their basic right to expression. We need to be more aware and sensitive to the sexual rights of people with disabilities and help them and their families fight this battle with society.

Thank you Prabha and Gunjan for helping us take the first step in the direction of addressing an issue we need support and guidance with. For more information refer to our resources section “Sexuality and Disability - Some Issues to Consider”

 *About Resource Persons:

Prabha Nagaraja has worked in the field of disability and special education before focusing her work in the area of sexuality.  She has been a counsellor and manager of the TARSHI helpline and has been involved in counselling and sexuality related training for several years. Her special interests include issues of disability and sexuality.

Gunjan Sharma is a trainer and counsellor on issues of sexuality and HIV/AIDS. She has worked extensively on these issues with a wide variety of groups and has special interest in working with women and adolescents in building capacities and life skills around issues of reproductive and sexual health. Currently, she works part-time with TARSHI in addition to independent consulting with other agencies.     

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Workshop on: Sensory Processing Issues (Nov. 14, 15, 18, 2008)

We were fortunate to have Nancy Blake and Carena Leonard* from the US conduct workshops for teachers and therapists on addressing sensory processing issues in children. Our very own therapist, Barbara was also one of the resource persons.
Children with Special needs often have difficulty making progress towards independent living because their sensory systems are not well integrated with the cognitive and motor control areas of their brains. Many “normal” children also have trouble with sensory processing which keeps them from performing well in school. 
The teachers’ workshop was on Learning Problems and Classroom Performance and its relationship to sensory problems in children. The main focus was on devising interesting and innovative activities which would not only help children with sensory issues in the classroom but let also everyone in the class have fun!

The therapists workshop was an introduction to the identification of sensory processing problems in children and brain damaged adults and treatment strategies and activities that have been shown to help improve sensory processing.

The activities and games that Nancy and Carena have developed and used in their workplaces were rather innovative and exciting and the enthusiasm that the participants showed in doing them was a sure sign that they would employ them with the kids too!

Activities suggested by Carena, Nancy and Barbara: Rolling child in blanket or carpet., encouraging the child to rub a variety of textures against his/her skin – e.g. shaving cream, rice etc., doing ball and tunnel activity, action songs,  swinging in blanket, jumping on trampoline, rolling down an incline/over different textures, sitting in a large cardboard box  and letting another child push the load across the floor, setting up obstacle courses which involve the child in changing his body positions, using their heads, shoulders, backs, or feet to make it move, using beanbags on shoulder, Using of regular swings as well as tire swings, art activities, blowing bubbles etc.

 As Nancy and Carena summarized: “Let the child swing, spin and bump as much as they want even if it makes you dizzy just watching!  Let the child control how fast and how long to spin. Let them propel by themselves. Use sit ‘n spin. Never force a spinning activity on child”

Some recommended website resources: www.KIDfoundation.org, www.SPDnetwork.org, www.henryot.com, www.theragifts.com, www.therapyshoppe.com
 

* About the Resource Persons:

1.Nancy G. Blake, MEd, OTR/L

Nancy Blake is BS, Richmond Professional Institute, Richmond, VA, USA and Med, Auburn University at Montgomery, AL, USA. Nancy works as occupational therapist in home health, mental health (community & hospital-based) and in-patient rehabilitation. She is presently working as Faculty & Fieldwork Administrator at Towson University, Towson, MD, USA.

2. Carena Leonard

Carena Leonard graduated from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa with Bachelors in Occupational Therapy. She worked in a school for students with cerebral palsy as well as students with true learning disabilities for several years. In South Africa she got certified in Neuro developmental therapy (Bobath). She has completed several courses and workshops in Sensory Integration and school based therapy. Currently, she is working as an Occupational Therapist in Orange County Californis for the Greater Anaheim Selpa who services 6 school districts providing Occupational therapy services.

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 Chicago University Students arrive at Latika Vihar to engage the students in a project to relate their lives to the society around them. By using the creative medium of photography to tell their life stories, the children were able to express and explore the issues that were and continue to be important to them.

Project: FOCUS(July 02-Aug 05, 2008)
Viewing through the lens of a camera, the lives of the children at Latika Vihar
“Within every child lies the power to create and change. Too often, however, a child’s potential for creativity is stifled. The harsh realities of living in poverty and the incredible crush of oppression are forces strong enough to squeeze out every child’s understanding of his or her own creative abilities. The poor children of India are easy victims and suffer the consequences of such powerful forces. They live in a fast moving environment in which competition in all areas is fierce and the opportunities to live in prosperity are scarce. This competition emphasizes the need to conform and lose creativity because the societal mold for success in India, as in any society, is well defined. Poor Indian children are in dire need of opportunities for creative expression; opportunities that allow children to understand their own abilities and to harness the potential to transform their landscape and build towards dreams.”
In conjunction with the Latika Roy Foundation of Dehradun, India, this project sought to provide an opportunity for creative expression among children of Dehradun. The project was undertaken by Nina Gupta, Adam Kuranishi, and Daniel Schneider, students at the University of Illinois at Chicago. There were 30 children from Latika Vihar who participated in this program.
 The goals of this project were as follows:

• Empowering youth through artistic expression.
• Aiding children in realizing their creative abilities and self-worth.
• Inspiring the young to become more aware of their presence in their community, country, and in the world.
• Increasing each student’s proficiency in the use of the English language, including conversational and written English
• Facilitating the development and improvement of each child’s critical thinking abilities.
• Increasing each young person’s ability to communicate with each other as well as with individuals outside of their cultural background.

The Children utilized photographic artistic expression and group discussion. The program operated for two hours a day for a month. It occurred in a variety of settings, including a classroom and collaborative efforts within the community. Initially, each student was be given instruction on the use of the camera and information on setting up photographs. This instruction also included information concerning the ethics of photography. Each participant was then given a 35mm camera and film. During the course of the program, the students were encouraged to take photographs of their surroundings. These photos included where they live, go to school, travel on a daily basis, go to relax, etc. Broad direction was given, but the choices concerning picture subjects and creative direction were at the student’s discretion. The pictures were then used as topics for discussion in the classroom. Students and facilitators  analyzed and discussed the photographs, identifying and discussing the themes of each image. The discussion included describing the reasons the themes existed in the photos, how they affected the child’s life, and what could be done with these themes in the future to positively impact the child’s life. We believe that each child is an expert in his or her own life experience; therefore, the emphasis was on the student instructing the teacher on their own life experiences. Through this reversal of the student-teacher relationship, the students were able develop a greater awareness of their presence in their community. With this greater understanding of self we hope that the children have developed an understanding of ways in which they can positively impact their own lives.

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The Power of One 
Latika Roy Foundation has always believed that every individual holds the power to make the world a better place. With a recent donation of "gait trainer," a piece of equipment used to help children learn how to walk, our belief in the power of the individual is reaffirmed.

Becky, a physiotherapist from the USA who volunteered at the Early Intervention Centre last January, saw that we had several children greatly in need of the aid of a gait trainer. Upon her return to the USA, Becky bought the innovative equipment and sent it back to us via her friend Barbara, who is also a volunteer at the EIC and has been for years. Now, thanks to the dedication and generosity of a single person, and the willingness of another to carry the bulky thing back to India, numerous children will benefit from the assistance of an apparatus that builds their leg muscles and mobility while allowing them to use their own balance. In short, Becky and Barbara gave these children a chance to walk.

On behalf of the children, their parents, and our foundation we offer Becky and Barbara our heartfelt thanks for their support and dedication. They have certainly made our world a better place.

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Happy kids with new Orthosis (July 24, 2008)

It's always a pleasure to have Mr Gulati, a Prosthetic Orthotic Engineer from AADI, visit the EIC. His sensitivity and practical inputs while providing special shoes, calipers, braces and other equipment are so valuable to our kids and parents alike. The last time he visited was in May 2008, when he assessed more than 15 children.

This time, he provided new  devices to 9 of the children who had already been assessed. For the "old-timers" - kids who'd been using  devices for some time, Mr Gulati ran an interactive session with the parents to make sure the children were comfortable wearing them. Both parents and kids were satisfied and more importantly, wearing them regularly.

Mr Gulati will come to the EIC in October, 2008 and judging from his previous visits we are certain that he will be awaited eagerly by our kids and their parents.

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Workshop at the Primary Health Care Centre,
Prem Nagar, Dehradun (July 18, 2008)

As a part of the ongoing efforts by the awareness team to reach out to the grass root level and spread awareness about disabilities and their management, a workshop was organized for the anganwadi workers and health workers at the primary health care centre, Premnagar, Dehradun. This was the first of the series of workshops planned for this target audience.

Pooja David, Rizwan and Sreedevi conducted the session. It was essentially an introductory session; a brief preview of the various future sessions planned for them. An overview of the foundation, its various projects, and the target age groups within these projects was summarized. The creative and activity based teaching through which the child is taught various skills were elaborated.

A short question and answer session followed, where the participants posed some interesting questions on disability, teaching methodology used in our various projects, difference between physical and mental disabilities etc. A few of them suggested that we start going into further remote areas in Uttarakhand as they find a lot of children with disabilities being neglected and isolated in such areas.

Snacks were served after the discussion. Handouts and booklets containing information about milestones in child development, concessions and disability certificate were distributed. Contact details of the various organizations in Dehradun working in the field of disability as well as our own different projects were also given out.

The enthusiasm and interest shown by the audience was conspicuous and we hope future sessions with them would be as rewarding.

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Laws do matter: A Workshop On Advocacy (July 3, 2008)

Most of our centres wear a deserted and sleepy look during the summer holidays. So it was a pleasant break to the monotony when we had Anjali Chaudhary, our advocacy coordinator who willingly conducted a workshop for all those poor souls of the foundation who work through the break.

Though advocacy, laws and the like usually keep people far away and happy to be oblivious of, Anjali’s workshop threw light on the importance of being aware of these very laws which many of us view as being draconian and outdated. She stressed on the importance of knowing the legal aspects involved in disability issues which equip one to be more assertive and not submissive when it comes to demanding (as she puts it) the rights of people with disabilities.

The workshop began with a brief explanation of the term “advocacy” and how an organization can advocate. Anjali explained the need for joining strong groups which are already working on issues which matter to us. She gave pointers on how we can start off doing our bit like each staff becoming aware of the “legal rights of children and adults with disabilities” and in turn passing it on effectively to parents and adults with special needs.

The other aspect covered in the workshop was a discussion on the Persons with Disability Act, 1995 and the National trust act for the welfare of persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities, 1999. Anjali very skillfully pointed out at the various loopholes and glaring errors in these and other different legal provisions which leave a lot to be desired and amended. She also briefly talked about the Right to Information Act and the procedure to obtain information about disabilities using this Act.

By the end, all of us seemed to be a bit more aware of the legal provisions in the area of disability and our duties as people working in the field; to be informed and updated about legal aspects in this area. It is great that we are focusing on providing direct services but without the legal awareness and backing we cannot create a sounding board for the hard work that we put in.

The well condensed and clear handouts given out at the end were appreciated by all.

Anjali is leaving the foundation to do her masters in applied dramatics from Goldsmith College (University of London). It would be a specialization in theatre in education, community and social context. She hopes to get into scriptwriting and creating effective scripts for disability issues. Though we shall surely miss her lively presence, we do hope that she returns to the foundation and implements all that she learns during her sabbatical for the further development and enrichment of our foundation.

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