www.civilsocietyonline.com

February 2008

Amita Joseph New Delhi

YOU don’t need wings to fly. Not if your name is Rajinder Johar. A senior occupational therapist working at King George’s Medical College, Lucknow, Johar did not know that his life would change forever when intruders pumped three bullets into him in 1986. One bullet hit his spine and made him a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. He was declared 100 per cent disabled, paralysed neck downwards. Yet the founder of Family of the Disabled (FOD) and winner of 13 awards, Rajinder Johar has proved that disability need not be a constraint if one has the will to overcome.

He has helped hundreds of others like him get back on their feet. “If one has desire, it is enough to inspire,” he says simply. Starting with the country’s first magazine on disability in 1992 called ‘The Voice’, FOD started promoting artists with disabilities by printing and marketing cards designed by them from 1994. Beginning with a borrowed capital of Rs 1,000 and four card designs, his group now sells around 20,000 cards. Each is designed by disabled artisans. Sales of cards, however, are decreasing. In 1998, FOD started implementing its Apna Rozgar Scheme (ARS), a unique employment programme.

Under ARS, FOD economically rehabilitates those below the poverty line who are unlettered, unskilled and have disability by providingthem an interest-free loan to procure materials for a trade of their choice. This enables people with disability to financially support themselves and their dependents. Till date ARS has helped 352 disabled persons in and around Delhi to earn a living with a success rate of over 80 per cent. The majority of ARS entrepreneurs are physically impaired, leprosy cured, hearing impaired or with other impairments. “I am lighting those houses which were enveloped in darkness. ARS is a ray of light for them,” says Shiv Kailash, an ARS field worker. ARS follows a simple procedure and candidates approach FOD directly or are referred. They are required to fill up a form with a photograph, disability certificate, proof of residence and two references. FOD staff visit the candidate to verify details and then FOD assists them in procuring materials to begin the trade of their choice.

The special needs of the candidates are kept in mind and a maximum of only two visits need to be made. The whole procedure does not take more than 30 to 45 days and regular monitoring is done to provide support. Intermittent workshops are held by FOD to enhance business skills and build confidence. Financial assistance is in the modest yet critical range of Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 and earnings range from Rs 2,500 to even Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 per month. Trades include petty shops, PCOs, vegetable and fruit vending, sale of cassettes, soft toys, stationery, cosmetics, general merchandise, clothing and clocks. Earnings have led to independence, respect in the family and society, savings, self-reliance and dignity for people with disabilities.

They have also led to a better quality of life, improved medical facilities, aids and appliances, education to siblings and children. FOD is one of the few agencies economically rehabilitating disabled people with micro-finance. Regular feedback is sent to donors to the ARS giving details of the person, trade, progress, as FOD believes in accountability. The power of small sums of money made available without bureaucratic hassles cannot be underestimated. People often need timely, critical and sensitive interventions to beindependent. If this is achieved they are able to move on and cope well for themselves. Vikas, one such entrepreneur, sells fruit for a living in the market. He earns about Rs 6,000 a month. Chandraprabha runs a mobile PCO-cum-shop near the hospital. Vikas is diversifying his range while Chandraprabha aspires for a permanent booth.

While promoting artists among the community by converting paintings into greeting cards, FOD felt the need for a broader platform to do justice to the abundant talent they saw and the idea of displaying paintings through a national level exhibition, ‘Beyond Limits’ was born in 2001. ‘Beyond Limits’ has emerged as a platform for artists, uplifting their spirits. Since 2001, four exhibitions have been held and their canvas of artists keeps growing. The artists who participated in the 2006 exhibition include Arveend Budh Singh, Yog Raj Dang, Sreekant, Shilpa Gupta, Jamaluddin, Mukesh Rajesh, Reema, Pradeep, Ashis Kabash, Beetan Goswami, Debashis, Nilanjana, Nirmalaya, Santanu, Ram Raghubir and Siddharta and Sriharsha from Orissa.

There is also Imamuddin from Rajasthan with his spectacular tiger paintings. Imammudin, who is hearing impaired, was a sign board painter for eight years before he joined the Ranthambore School of Art. Gallery space is donated by Arpana Caur just as ‘The Voice’ is supported by generous contributions from the Krishnan family of Surajkund. FOD is sustained largely through individual donors and does not have institutional support. About half of this team of eight, headed by Rajinder Johar and his daughter Preeti, are people with disabilities. Rajinder takes no salary while for the rest of the team FOD is only able to afford modest honorariums. FOD encourages education of economically weaker disabled students with a focus on the girl child through Gyanpanth. It conductseducational tours and excursions, arranges free aids and appliances for those who are economically disadvantaged andprovides counseling to its many entrepreneurs.

The organisation is constantly looking for volunteers who can provide time, marketing, managerial and networking skills and evenraise funds from donated newspapers. With a supportive family and a sensitive engineer brother who designed an innovative low-cost writing device, Rajinder Johar continues to dream. A Hindi version of the magazine to reach out to more people, a multiple rehabilitation centre with treatment, library and recreational facilities to cater to all categories of disability are dreams yet to be fulfilled. All that these dreams need is 200 square yards of space on the ground floor anywhere in Delhi.

For joining the mission or volunteering contact:

Preeti Johar, B 1/500, Janakpuri, New Delhi, 110058 Ph: 25597328, 9811792505

E-mail: contact@familyofdisabled.org preeti.johar@familyofdisabled.org Website: www.familyofdisabled.org

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________Share this article

Newsvine

del.icio.us

Comment on this article and be one of lucky 100 readers to get a copy of Civil Society FREE for two months in India.

Name Email Subject Phno Address Comment on this article (Not more than 250 character)

 

Disclaimer

The views expressed here are strictly personal and civilsocietyonline.com does not necessarily subscribe to them. We shall endeavour to upload/publish as many of the comments that are submitted as possible within a reasonable span of time, but we do not guarantee that all comments that are submitted will be uploaded/published. Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene, unlawful, defamatory, libellous, hateful, or otherwise objectionable content; or have spam, commercial or advertising content or links are liable to be removed by the editors. We also reserve the right to edit the comments that do get published. Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly.

 

About Us | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | ©2007 Civil Society

.
........................................Webmaster Vishwanathan ( vishu4@rediffmail.com )