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Blog by Apu Gayen, Team Member of SAVE Program.
People with disabilities have amazing potential – to work, they have vast pool of talent which many of us are not aware. They are not a burden to the nation. They have the ability to contribute effectively to the nation.
Their ability to contribute and the purpose of their life can be realized if their abilities are recognized and there is holistic development. People with disabilities like other people can emerge as a winner. Some outstanding examples of people with amazing talent are – Sudha Chandran; a famous dancer who dances with artificial limb, Marlee Matlin famous actress who is deaf, Helen Keller; American author who was blind, Stephen Hawking famous physicist who had Motor Neurone Disease, Christy Brown famous painter had cerebral palsy, Farida Kahlo a Mexican artist suffered from polio. The list is a long one.
Despite having immense potential and talent, there are many people with disability who are removed from the mainstream education. They do not get minimum respect from the common people. They are looked down upon. Even they themselves and their families are not aware about their right to education and other entitlements. There is lack of accessibility of services. Without this enlightenment, the world will be filled with even more disable people. The few things that are required for such enlightenment are – encouragement and empowerment of people with disabilities, inclusive education, sensitisation of the mass around their issues and concerns.
This has led many non-profit as well as corporate organizations towards working on the issue of people with disabilities. But the services need to reach out to these beneficiaries in a holistic way. We often feel that law and policy is enough to bring a change in the society. But it is not the sole mechanism. Mass needs to be oriented about their issues and there needs to be a lot of sensitization and awareness to remove the barriers to getting the services. So, this gap needs to be bridged with a change in the perspective of the mass.
So, let us join hands in this mission and work towards holistic development of people with disabilities by reaching out to them in a sensitized and inclusive manner with health, education, opportunity of employment leading to their overall development. Let us not keep them distant from us. Let us take the pledge to reach out and make this a beautiful universe for our future generations.
