Anuprayaas conducted disability Awareness program for the teachers of Manasarovara Pushkarini P.U College Mysore. We received an overwhelming response from the teachers who for a change were on the other side of the podium attending the session. It is said if u want to bring change in the society at the ground level, teachers are the only one who can make this possible.
Disability Awareness Program
Anuprayaas in collaboration with Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru participated in and organized World Disability Day at the Airport.
We conducted a Disability Awareness Program for the staff of the Airport.
The program aimed at educating the staff on Do’s and Don’ts of behaviour while assisting people with disability at the airport. Our founder, Pancham Cajla conducted a session for the staff.
Visit of Students with Disability To the Airport
Students with various disabilities along with the teachers from various organizations participated in the event. Kempegowda Airport demonstrates the commitment to being inclusive. The Airport staff gave a tour of the premises to the students and explained the working of an Airport.
It was an experiential learning session that made the students familiar with the airport. Most of the students visited the airport for the first time. Organisations like Thinkerbell Labs participated in the program.
Anuprayaas is committed to spreading awareness and make India Inclusive & accessible for all.
An invisible disability is defined as any disability that is invisible to society. These include disabilities that are not widely understood or formally acknowledged. The University of Massachusetts has compiled an exhaustive list of these lesser-known disabilities, going to show just how equally debilitating they can be to those inflicted with them. Examples of invisible disabilities include chronic illnesses such as diabetes or lactose intolerance or mental illnesses such as depression or social phobia. Unlike physical impairments, these less tangible disabilities are harder to take note of, and as such, persons with invisible disabilities do not often get the assistance they need to perform daily tasks.
Types of invisible disabilities:
1. Diabetes:
A person with type 1 diabetes might require a routine insulin shot before that cake party at work. Their coworkers, who might be oblivious to this fact, might conclude that they are just being avoidant or hesitant to be a part of the team. They could be written off as anti-social or the like. These labels can hurt, and in due course of time, severely diminish one’s ability to feel confident in their skin doing whatever in society.
As a consequence, many persons with invisible disabilities continue to drag themselves through life internalizing their condition. This can weigh heavily on their self-esteem and willingness to be proactive in their careers, relationships, and even family life, where they might feel as though they are being a burden.
2. Mental Illness:
Mental illnesses are even harder to spot. While a case of diabetes or lactose malabsorption can be clinically recognized, with the necessary documents that can be produced in support of the illness, depression, certain phobias, or sensitivities to the environment (such as to noises or lights) cannot be readily discerned and documented. A lot of this has to do with how a culture defines mental illness, and many cultures around the world do not recognize a sensitivity to bright lights or loud sounds as a disability as such, as one requiring serious consideration.
Now, why must we work harder in our fight to recognize and assist those with invisible disabilities?
Well, because persons with invisible disabilities in our societies are often the ones to harbor many of these superpowers that we so highly prize.
3. Dyslexia:
What we call a learning disability might just be a person processing their environment differently. They may find themselves falling behind in their classes, unable to keep up with others in a one-size-fits-all curriculum. In the right light, however, when assisted with the tools and resources, persons with learning disabilities can excel in many facts of learning and comprehension. A person with dyslexia might come out unilaterally gifted, with exceptional musical ability. If the same person’s special needs are recognized and supported from an early age, they might succeed in their careers just as well as their neurotypical peers.
Mindset of Society:
Before we get to tackling the problem of bringing institutional or systemic change, we must start at the grassroots of our society. This includes the way we define disability, and our unconscious biases (both well-intentioned or otherwise). For starters, we must take care to not assume what the person has. Always approach a person with an invisible disability as you would approach any other person. Ask them clearly if they have any concerns, or if they require any assistance. Even if they do not disclose anything, do not assume they are free from disability. In any case, remember to be productively empathetic rather than simply express sympathy.
Positive Attitude of Society:
By leading with empathy, we make people feel included in our daily activities, be it at our workplace, schools, or recreation places like gyms or parks. It is vital to know neither to create a scene nor downplay the extent of the person’s disability, both of which can cause the person to feel discomfort. Some types of hidden disabilities, such as self-esteem or self-worth issues, can cause the person to feel like they’re needlessly burdening others. This might cause them to withdraw all the more and refrain from asking for help, which is precisely not what we want.
Social Reforms:
Only when we reform our attitudes towards those in need can we start to think about bringing any truly lasting change at all. These social reforms must spring forth from the grassroots, i.e., in the way we refer to people with invisible disabilities and any implicit moral attitudes we may hold. Institutional reform may only come next once a conducive cultural scenario has been set for the inclusion of persons with invisible disabilities.
On an institutional and societal level, legislators and representatives may be persuaded to make any upcoming public infrastructure projects more accessible. A well-planned and executed infrastructure project will save not just cost but also trouble on the part of philanthropic organizations such as NGOs in rendering these spaces accessible to persons with invisible disabilities. The government may provide free rehab services, helplines, transportation, and translation or interpretation services at public spaces such as railway stations or canteens.
Hidden Strength:
Persons with invisible disabilities can bring fresh and unique perspectives to the workplace. This is especially true for persons who communicate or think differently. This difference in ability can be cultivated into a hidden strength. Persons with dyslexia, for instance, are known to be exceptionally creative and talented in musical or athletic abilities. Furthermore, they are also known to have extraordinary spatial awareness and abstract reasoning ability, gifts that the more neurotypical among us do not carry often.
The presence of persons with invisible gifts in a team can greatly uplift and promote team spirit while fostering attitudes of inclusion, tolerance, and empathy within the company. Whether invisible disabilities remain as disabilities or become invisible abilities lies entirely in our hands. You can refer to the link below of our previous blog also to read more about Invisible Disabilities. https://anuprayaas.org/5-things-you-must-know-about-invisible-disability/
We are happy to share pictures from our various projects at different railway stations. Sharing these pictures of empowerment, by building an inclusive & accessible India. With immense joy we share our collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank under their CSR initiative Seeing is Believing to make 30 Railway Stations accessible.
Through this project we are trying to empower people with disabilities to travel with ease & independently. Accessible Infrastructure is a basic step for inclusion of disability in mainstream society. As the majority of people with disabilities in India use trains & buses for commuting.
Accessibility plays an important role in every country’s growth history, as this is an ailing social problem affecting millions of lives. Anuprayaas is bringing an impact solutions to make railway stations better at accessibility & fill the gaps for all the passenger amenities at the station premises.
The project aims to aid people with visual disabilities, people utilising wheelchairs, as well as those with hearing disabilities to travel independently as well as with dignity by reducing their dependency on others while travelling by Indian Railways.
Some of the major stations out of the 30 railway stations to be covered under this project include Bandra, Agra, Jaipur, Ahmadabad, Egmore Chennai, Bhopal, Mathura and Secunderabad.
Towards Accessible India!
We are happy to share that Anuprayaas in association with Standard Chartered Bank and Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled is in the process of making 30 railway stations across India accessible for people with disabilities by providing accessible facilities. This is under the Bank’s “Seeing is Believing” initiative that tackles avoidable blindness and visual impairment.
This project aims to aid people with visual disabilities, people using wheelchairs, and people with hearing disabilities to travel independently and with dignity by reducing their dependency on others while traveling. The facilities which will be provided include:
1. Guiding Braille indicators at platforms and railings to identify platform numbers and facilities.
2. Braille General Signs for facilities like ticket counters, male-female toilet.
3. Reflective strips at stairs for people with low vision
4. Braille Maps of the station
5. Braille information booklets at the Enquiry counters
6. QR code to watch the video about the station in sign language
7. Portable ramp & wheelchair to board the divyang coach
Though Thane station will be the first to be ready, all facilities will be made available at these 30 railway stations by April 1, 2022. Some of the major railway stations to be covered under this project are Egmore Chennai, Bandra, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Mathura, Agra, Secunderabad, and Jaipur.
Commenting on this initiative, Karuna Bhatia, Head of Sustainability, India, Standard Chartered Bank, said, “Making railway stations accessible for people with disabilities is a positive step in our journey towards being an inclusive organisation. We always strive to bring the Bank’s here for the good brand promise to life by working towards affecting a real change and this is one such programme. While there is still a long way to go, this project under our Seeing is Believing initiative, reaffirms our commitment to increasing accessibility and dismantling barriers for people with disabilities.’’
Pancham Cajla, Founder Anuprayaas said, “Accessibility in public places is the basic requirement for ensuring inclusion and equality for people with disability in society. We thank Standard Chartered Bank for taking this initiative that supports dignity for people with disability and makes travel safe for them.”
Mahantesh G K, Founder Managing Trustee at Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled said, “We extend our thanks to Standard Chartered Bank for selecting us as an NGO partner to implement the initiative towards creating accessible Railway Stations for People with Disabilities in 30 Railway Stations across 16 States in India. This support will enable People with Disabilities to travel independently with safety, security, and dignity.”
Accessible Travel facilities to promote travel for people with disability. Happy to share that as part of its CSR, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/yatra-online-pvt-ltd/" target="_blank"Yatra Online Pvt Ltd along with Central Railway & Anuprayaas, has launched facilities for differently-able travellers at the iconic Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus ( CSMT) Mumbai.
Here are the Facilities Provided for Accessible travel under this initiative:
1. Braille Platform Indicators
2. Braille General Signs
3. Braille Maps
4. Braille Booklets
5. Reflective strips
6. Portable Ramps
Reflectors on the stairs to aid people with low vision have been introduced at long distance trains section of the station with its entry at P D’Mello Road. There are plans to introduce sign language videos at the premises to help people with Speech & Hearing disability.
Baby steps were taken towards ensuring that travel is made accessible & convenient for all. Central Railway Mumbai division is highly committed to make travel convenient for day to day travellers as well as Tourists. Authorities have a vision of setting a dedicated help desk in future to aid passengers with special needs.
This project has been end to end executed by Anuprayaas.
Braille Signs and Maps were introduced at the station
An initiative to make Indian Railways Inclusive and accessible for people with Disability. Northern railways has taken a great step by providing Braille signs and maps at Dehradun Railway Station. This project is a CSR initiative taken by MakemyTrip Foundation in association with Anuprayaas.
Significance of Dehradun City for people with visual disability
Dehradun city has a great significance for people with visual disabilities. The city has a number of institutions for people who are blind and visually impaired. These include schools like Sharp Memorial School and the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (Divyangjan).
Hence the city railway station is frequently used by visually impaired travellers. The accessibility enhancements in this project empowers visually impaired travellers to travel independently, also it is helping to spread awareness on disability and braille.
Importance of Braille in Public Places
The Provision of braille in public places encourages visually impaired people to get educated in braille since there is a practical use of it that they can make in day-to-day life.
Braille in public places provide sense of security to female travellers to be sure to the room & platform they are heading towards. This becomes extremely important for female travellers travelling in night. Finding out the right toilet or a waiting area will empower them to know where they are being guided, even when they are guided by someone. This will help reduce crime against women with disability.
Watch the video below to know more about the initiative. The video contains feedback from female travellers with visual disability that use the railway station frequently to travel to Dehradun and their hometowns.
Imagine your child going to a school that has no class room or washroom signs. Imagine leaving the child to his/her own or dependent on others to figure out facilities in the school. You may call it harassment and abuse. Some of us might even complain and protest against it. There are lakhs of blind and visually impaired students studying in our country in schools that have no signs to help them.
We at Anuprayaas have pledged this year to make 100 schools accessible. Starting with CM Patel & F H Shah College of Commerce Gujarat, that reached out to us for providing them with basic signs in braille. We are looking forward to adopting 99 more schools and colleges this year that have students with visual disability and making them accessible. Reach out to us if you know such schools. Also, reach out to us if you would like to partner for the project.
Funds for these projects are being raised through our braille merchandise initiative “Braillemate” that helps us spread awareness on Visual impairment and contributes to our projects.
Chandigarh Railway Station becomes visually impaired-friendly
On November 29, Team Anuprayaas is happy to share that Chandigarh Railway Station is now a visually impaired friendly railway stations. This project is executed in association with Makemytrip Foundation & IRSDC. Tactile maps, Braille General signs, information booklets and Braille- platform indicators have been installed throughout the railway station. Chandigarh is the Fifth station in India under the Railways to become visually impaired-friendly. The Facility was inaugurated by Shri Gurinder Mohan Singh, Divisional Railway Manager- Ambala Division
