SHISHU SAROTHI

Centre for Rehabilitation & Training For Multiple Disability

Off Ramkrishna Mission Road, Birubari, Guwahati-781016, Assam, India; Tel: (0361) 2478912, 2470990, 9207049810;

Email: shishu_sarothi@yahoo.com; Website: www. shishusarothi.org

ANNUAL REPORT 2010-11

ANNUAL REPORT OF ACTIVITIES FOR 2010-11

ORGANIZATION Shishu Sarothi, Centre for Rehabilitation and Training for Multiple Disability, is a registered non-profit voluntary organization working in the Northeast region of India since 1987. We have been serving the cause of disability and catering to the many special needs of persons with disabilities for over twenty years. From education and rehabilitation, to training and employment, to the protection of rights – we are dedicated and equipped to meet all the needs and concerns of persons with disabilities. The main services of Shishu Sarothi are: § A Day Care Centre for Special Education (CSE), which is run for

Guwahati-based children to provide child specific programs through all-round educational and therapeutic inputs. At present our Centre for Special Education is providing education and therapeutic inputs to over 100 children with disabilities through a regular curriculum.

§ A Diagnostic Clinic and Outdoor Service Department (OSD), attended by

children from all over the North East region, and which screens children and provides Home Management Programs, Early Intervention, Counselling and Demonstration of Physiotherapy. Every year, our Outdoor Service Department provides these services to about a 1000 children, including infants, from all over the North East.

§ A Training / Human Resource Development Division (HRD) where we

run training programs approved by Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), Government of India, with the aim to create a pool of trained rehabilitation professionals in the region. During the year 2007-08, our Human Resources Department has trained over 5000 teachers, special educators, doctors, and other professionals.

§ Disability Law Unit advocates for the rights of persons with disabilities through litigation, policy change and sensitization programs. It provides legal assistance and information to people from all over the Northeast.

§ Vocational Training for Disabled Youth trains youths with disabilities to secure employment. Training is imparted in catering and hospitality-related services in association with the Indian Institute of Hotel Management.

§ Disability Employment Initiative has been launched to secure the

economic empowerment of people with disabilities through employment opportunities, self-employment activities, and livelihood both in the public and private sector.

§ Shishu Sarothi is the State Nodal Agency Centre (SNAC) for the National

Trust, a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It is also the Zonal Coordination Committee-North Eastern Zone for the Rehabilitation Council of India, a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

List of governing body members:

Name/Designation Occupation Address Satyamrit Kagti, MBA Chairperson

Businessman Director Luit Valley Company (P) Ltd. Assam Hospitals Ltd. Partner Blueflame Agencies Goodwill Tea Warehouse

C K Agarwala Road, Ambari Guwahati-781001

Dr. Santwana Bordoloi, M.D (Pediatrician), Vice Chairperson

Pediatrician Dispur Hospitals

Dispur Hospitals, Dispur Guwahati-781006

Angira Mimani MBA Secretary

Entrepreneur Partner Royal Business School

K R Choudhary Road, Bharalumukh Guwahati-781009

Arman Ali BIT Executive Director

Executive Director Shishu Sarothi

House No-4, 3rd Bye Lane, Natun Sarania, Gandhibasti Guwahati-781003

Kavita Patwari BA Joint Treasurer

Parent Patson Travels, Near Dispur College, Ganeshguri Guwahati-781005

Mira Kagti BA Member

Founder Member Ex Executive Director Shishu Sarothi

Hem Chandra Road, Uzanbazaar Guwahati-781001

Maya Choudhury B.Ed. Member

Educationist and School Principal Maria’s Public School

Ganesh Mandir Road, Noonmati Guwahati-781020

Anju Talukdar LL.M Member

Executive Director, MARG Delhi

House No-40, Mandir Path Geeta Nagar Guwahati-781024

Tajkur Rahman Member

Entrepreneur Allied Services Ganeshguri Chariali

IV Floor, Block B, Bharalu Apartment, D K Chakraborty Path, Zoo Road Guwahati-781005

CSE ACTIVITY REPORT 2010-11

April 2010

· Pre-Bihu function celebrated in the school · Inter-school cricket match organized in Shishu Sarothi

May 2010

· Celebrated Foundation Day with a variety of programs · A group of students from the Functional and Functional

Academic (Jr.) class visited the Guwahati Planetarium · A group of volunteers from the colleges of Delhi University

came and worked with the children of CSE for a month

June 2010

· Parents of Neha, a student of LLU, donated a water-cooler to the CSE

· Students of Academic and Functional Academic (Sr) classes visited the state museum

· 1st term assessment reports were given to parents · The movie 3 Idiots was screened for students at the Shishu

Sarothi auditorium · Dental and ENT medical camps held at CSE

July 2010

· Summer Vacation

August 2010

· New students from OSD took admission in different classes of CSE

· A new class named ALLU (Adult Leisure Learning Unit) was started at the CSE to give pre-vocational training to 18+ students

· Meeting and discussion took with parents of ALLU

September 2010

· Teacher’s Day celebrated by students of CSE · Students of Gauhati University’s Psychology Department

visited CSE for exposure trip with relation to their course currilulum.

· A group of students from the Play Group went to the State Zoo for an exposure trip

· A group of students went to Sarusajai Stadium to join in the plantation program organized by the Government of Assam

· A group of students of ALLU went for an exposure trip to “The Dhaba” restaurant

· Teachers’ meeting held to discuss achievements and problems of the students of CSE.

October 2010

· Students of Academic class participated in the quiz competition at a Book Fair organized by Anwesha

· Students participated in the Peace Marathon Rally organized by the Lions Club

· A parents’ workshop was held on the expectations of parents from their children at Shishu Sarothi.

· Pre- Durga Puja celebrations held on 26th October,2010. · A group of students from the Regional Nursing College visited

CSE as a part of their syllabus · A group of three students with two teachers went to

Dibrugarh to join in the Special Olympic competition · Teachers from Sarba Shiksha Abhiyan visited CSE · District-level art competition organized by the ICCSW was

held at Shishu Sarothi · Students from STU and LLU class went for an exposure trip to

the Nehru Park

· Students with teachers took part in a crafts exhibition organized by the HSBC Bank, Guwahati

November 2010

· Pre-Diwali celebrations sponsored by S C Johnson Private Limited was held at the school

· Students with teachers took part in an exhibition organized by Don Bosco School on Diwali-eve

· Exhibition on craft items and diyas made by Shishu Sarothi at Nedfi Haat

· Students from MSW Guwahati organized an art competition and a cultural program on the eve of Children’s Day

· Function of Badhte Kadam of National Trust held at the Shishu Sarothi auditorium

· Two CSE students -- Nikhil Bansal and Vishal Sengupta -- won state-level prizes in an art competition organized by the Social Welfare Department, Assam

· Students from Nursing College ,Kolkata worked with parents of the students of CSE for their Phd thesis

· Students of the Mass Communication department of Cotton College shot a documentary on the students of CSE

· Children’s Day was celebrated by organizing a magic show and a grand lunch

· A fresh flower show was organized by the Academic class of CSE

· Vocational Rehabilitation Centre and Lions Club distributed four wheelchairs to four needy students of CSE

December 2010

· World Disabled Day celebrated in Shishu Sarothi with a variety of cultural programs and games. Students from Sanskriti, Gurukul, School also participated in the program

· 2nd term assessment and reports of CSE were given to parents

· Pre-Christmas celebrations with children and teachers of Sarla Birla School

· A group of five students and teachers went to Delhi Public School, Guwahati to participate in their Carnival Festival

· Winter vacation from 16 December to 17th January

January 2011

· School reopens · Flag-off of a new Winger Car by the Deputy Commissioner,

Kamrup Metro · Republic Day celebrated with NCC cadets from Arya

Vidyapith College · Axis Bank donated four wheelchairs to students of CSE

February 2011

· Celebrated Saraswati Puja · Workshop on “Teachers’ effectiveness on training and

counseling” organized by Mind India Positive Mental Health, Guwahati.

· Sports week and quiz competition was held at Shishu Sarothi.

March 2011

· Students from the Indian Institute of Management, Guwahati held different programs like art competition, cultural programme with the students of CSE as their exposure trip.

· 10 officials from the Indian Oil Corporation came and visit the CSE

· Paents Meeting was held to make them aware of the activities done in the class

OSD ACTIVITY REPORT: 2010-2011

Achievements:

· Due to higher levels of awareness of early intervention, 42 students were admitted in the age group below 6 months

· 14 children from OSD have been included in mainstream schools in different places

· OSD has a strong network of referral services such as prosthetic and orthotic centers, hostel facilities, specialists, nearest resource centers as per needs of each student

· Total number 1028 children/families attended therapy, counseling and advisory sessions compared to last year’s 642

· Total number of sessions attended by children/families was 13200 in comparison to last year’s 12705 sessions

· In the current year the age wise breakup showed that 99 children attending OSD are in the age group of 0-1 year YEAR SESSIONS

2009-10 11923

2010-11 12705

2011-12 13200

APRIL 2010

In the month of April 2010 there were 17 working days and 138 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below:

New students: 29 Amongst them OSD: 15 (Male: 13, Female: 02) BC: 14 (Male: 05, Female: 09) Referred cases: 03 Downs Syndrome: 03 Drop-Out Return: Nil High Risk Baby: 03

· 05 months · 05 months · 2yrs six months

MAY 2010 In the month of May, 2010 there were 20 working days and 170 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below: New students: 23 Amongst them OSD: 15 (Male: 10, Female: 05) BC: 14 (Male: 06, Female: 02) Referred cases: Nil Downs Syndrome: 02 Drop-Out Return: 01 High Risk Baby: 03

On observation: 02 · 01yrs 05months · 01yrs 06months

JUNE 2010

In the month of April, 2010 there were 22 working days and 165 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below: New students: 17 Amongst them

OSD: 7 (Male: 05, Female: 02) BC: 10 (Male: 06, Female: 04) Referred cases: 02 High Risk Baby: Nil

On Observation: 02

· 8 months · 1yr 6 months

JULY 2010

In the month of July, 2010 there were 16 working days and 118 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below: New students: 14 Amongst them OSD: 09 (Male: 07, Female: 02) BC: 05 (Male: 01, Female: 04)

Referred cases: 05 Drop-Out Return: 02 Downs Syndrome: Nil Referred Cases: 05 High Risk Baby: 01 (3 months)

On Observation: 01 (5 months)

AUGUST 2010

In the month of August, 2010 there were 19 working days and 142 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below: New students: 23 Amongst them OSD: 8 (Male: 04, Female: 04) BC: 15 (Male: 10, Female: 05) Referred cases: Nil Downs Syndrome: Nil Drop-Out Return: 1 High Risk Baby: 03

· 4 months 15 days · 3 months 15 days · 1 month 20 days

On Observation: 01 (3 months) Below one year: 11 (Male: 08, Female: 03)

September 2010

In the month of September, 2010 there were 19 working days and 130 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below: New students: 18 Amongst them OSD: 14 (Male: 11, Female: 03) BC: 04 (Male: 03, Female: 01) Referred cases: 04 (2 to Destination and 2 to CSE) Downs Syndrome: Nil Drop-Out Return: Nil High-Risk Baby: Nil

On Observation: Nil Below one year: 03 (Male: 02, Female: 01) Remarks: Overall, good progress is seen in all the developmental areas. One issue of significance is that children come to our institute through self-referral which means there has been an increase in awareness among the people.

October, 2010

In the month of October 2010 there were 17 working days and 102 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below: New students: 11 nos Amongst them OSD: 09 (Male: 06, Female: 03) BC: 02 (Male: 02, Female: 00) Referred cases: 01 (M) Downs Syndrome: Nil. Drop-Out Return: 03 High Risk Baby: 01

On Observation: Nil Below one year: 02 (Male)

November 2010

In the month of November 2010 there were 18 working days and 145 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below: New students: 27 (Male:-15, Female:- 12) Amongst them OSD: 12 (Male: 05, Female: 07)

BC: 15 (Male: 10, Female: 05) Referred cases: 02 Downs Syndrome: 01 Drop Out Return: 01 High Risk Baby: 01

On Observation: 02 Below one year: 14 (Male: 10, Female: 04)

December 2010

In the month of December 2010 there were 21 working days and 183 sessions were given on those working days.

The statistics are given below- New students: 30 (Male:16, Female:14) Amongst them:- OSD: 22 (Male: 12, Female: 10) BC: 8 (Male: 04, Female: 04) Referred cases: 03 Downs Syndrome: 02 Drop Out Return: 01 High Risk Baby: 02

On Observation:

Below one year: 05 Remarks: Good progress is seen in all the developmental areas.

January, 2011

In the month of January 2011 there were 18 working days and 113 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below: New students: 23 (Male:14, Female: 09) Amongst them OSD: 19 (Male: 10, Female: 09) BC: 04 (Male: 04, Female: 00) Referred cases: 07 Downs Syndrome: Nil Drop-Out Return: Nil High-Risk Baby: Nil

On Observation: 01 (Male) Below one year: 01 Remarks: Overall, good progress is seen in all the Developmental areas. One important significance is that children come to our institute through self referral. Public awareness has increased.

February 2011

In the month of February 2011 there were 20 working days and 140 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below: New students: 28 (Male:-14, Female: 14) Amongst them OSD: 16 (Male: 08, Female: 08) BC: 16 (Male: 8, Female: 8) Referred cases: 04 Downs Syndrome: 04 Drop-Out Return: 03 High Risk Baby: 02

On Observation: Nil Below one year: 10 Remarks:- Overall, good progress is seen in all the Developmental areas. One important significance is that children come to our institute through self referral. Public awareness has increased.

March 2011

In the month of March 2011 there were 23 working days and 185 sessions were given on those working days. The statistics are given below:

New students: 26 (Male: 19, Female: 07) Amongst them OSD: 16 (Male: 11, Female: 5) BC: 10 (Male: 8, Female: 2) Referred cases: 04 Downs Syndrome: Nil Drop-Out Return: 01 High Risk Baby: 02

On Observation: 03 Below one year: 10 Below one Month: Nil Remarks Good progress is seen in all the Developmental areas.

HRD ACTIVITY REPORT: 2010-11

Diploma in Special Education (DSE–CP)

The Diploma in Special Education – CP started in August 2010. This year the total enrolment was nine. The DSE-CP course (as approved by RCI) was completed within the stipulated time and the term end practical examinations were held between 26th and 30th April, 2011. Theory exams under IGNOU were scheduled from 25th June to 30th June, 2011. The classes were held regularly and students were placed in the classrooms during morning hours in order to give them first-hand experience in working with children with disability. In the afternoon sessions, theory classes were held. The students were given practical demonstrations on how to assess children with cerebral palsy and identify their needs and strengths. They have learnt to select appropriate goals and write behavioral objectives and individual educational programs. Besides this, the students learnt about different types of disabilities, classroom management, daily living skills, speech and language disorders and many more. Most of the classes were conducted by internal faculty members. External faculties were invited from Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy and other local organizations to cover some of the topics in the syllabus. Exposure Visit: The students were taken to Shillong to visit some reputed institutions which gave them exposure to management of different disabilities. FC SEDE: During 2010-11, the FC SEDE programs under NEHU and RCI were held twice. The theory classes and practical classes were held at Shishu Sarothi as shown below:

1st Contact

Sessions Batch No. of

Candidates 1st Contact Session 20.04.10-30.04.10

Batch – 1

29 candidates

2ND Contact Session 21.06.10 – 1.07.10

51 candidates

1st Contact Session 1.04.2011-

Batch-1

77 candidates

Most of the topics in the syllabus were covered by the internal faculty members. For some topics, external faculty members were invited from the Composite Regional Centre. The candidates were IED volunteers (SSA), Resource Teachers of SSA, and Elementary School Teachers from government as well as private schools. B.Ed SEDE (under NEHU): Twenty students are enrolled in the B.Ed. SEDE under NEHU. The students came for contact classes for theory and practicals for 45 days at Shishu Sarothi. The students are mostly from Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur. The term end examination will be held in July 2011. Post Graduate Professional Diploma (PGPD): This is a nine-month distance mode course for students who have already completed their general or special BEd under NEHU.

In 2010 numbers of students admitted were 10 and contact classes for this group were held for a month. Apart from theory classes, the students were made to do field work as well as classroom transaction and other practical works. This batch appeared for its term end examination in December 2010 and is now awaiting results. Certificate in Early Childhood Education Enabling Inclusion (Cerebral Palsy): This is a course for those students who have passed their class ten examination under IGNOU. The study materials are provided by IGNOU. The total number of students enrolled are 45. The number of students in the January session were 20 and the number of students in the July session were 25.

DISABILITY LAW UNIT-NORTH EAST ACTIVITY REPORT 2010-2011 The Disability Law Unit - North East (DLU – NE) has with time continued to work with great keenness and vigour in generating awareness among the masses on various issues and concerns pertaining to persons with disabilities and generally facilitating towards bringing about a more disabled friendly environment with regard to such important areas as education, employment, accessibility and awareness. The biggest hurdle which remains in the way of absorbing the persons with disabilities in the mainstream of life is the abysmal level of awareness among the people, societal prejudice and attitudinal barriers faced by persons with disabilities which has time and again marginalized them and relegated them to the sidelines. Much has been done to mitigate such circumstantial disadvantages faced by persons with disabilities but a lot still needs to be done and continues to be done in this field.

OBJECTIVE I AWARENESS ABOUT THE LAWS AMONG STAKE HOLDERS AND THE SOCIETY AT LARGE Means proposed: 1. State Level Sensitization Seminar

Activities: Contractual obligation of holding 3 State Level Sensitization Seminars has already been successfully completed in the preceding period.

2. Sensitization Programmes for Judicial Officials, Bank Officials,

Govt. Officials etc.

Activities: The fourth Sensitization Programme for the corporate sector was held on the 23rd of June, 2010 at Shishu Sarothi, Guwahati on “Corporate Sector and Disability Issues.” The workshop served as a platform for voicing ideas to ensure and advocate employment for persons with disabilities both in the public as well as private sector. Presentations were made by Ms. Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit-NE, Mr. Arman Ali, Executive Director of Shishu Sarothi & Ms. Saswati Barman, Asstt. Project Coordinator, Disability Employment Initiative of Shishu Sarothi. There were around 42 corporate participants present in the workshop from entertainment sector, insurance companies, banks, hospitals and other industrial units.

3. Sensitization Programmes at the District and Sub-District level for the community to remove social prejudices Activities: The fourth seminar on “Disability Rights” was held at the district level at Shillong in the State of Meghalaya by the Disability Law Unit-North East of Shishu Sarothi in partnership with the Bethany Society of Shillong on the 22nd of June, 2010 from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. The Workshop saw a candid deliberation on thr rights available to persons with disabilities and their sources and the authorities to be approached in case of violation of such rights. There was also a dialogue on the basic provisions and features of the four disability related legislations in India. Ms. Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator and Ms. Emilly Dey, Project Officer of DLU participated as resource persons in the said Workshop which was attended by about 40 participants from the students’ community including law students, representatives of various non-governmental organizations, advocates and persons with disabilities.

The fifth seminar on “Disability Laws” was organized at the sub-district level at Pathsala by the DLU- NE in association with the Students Welfare Mission, Pathsala in the Barpeta District of Assam on the 28th of August, 2010 from 11 A.M. to 3 P.M. Ms.

Aparna Ajitsaria, Project Coordinator, Ms. Amvalika Senapati, Asstt. Project Coordinator, Ms. Emilly Dey, Project Officer of the DLU-NE and Mr. Biplob Parashar Khound, Project Coordinator of National Trust participated as resource persons and gave a brief overview on disability, its causes etc. and relevant legislations in this field in India. The Workshop which had a heartening response from the people present with their active participation and enthusiastic queries was attended by over 80 participants from diverse sections of the society including participants from the local Disability Association, local Teachers’ Unit, representatives from the Press, Police personnel, members of the Pathsala Youth Committee and All Assam Students Union, students and others.

4. Publication of literature on disability laws for distribution

among stakeholders and the community Activities: (i) 500 Posters on the salient features of various Disability Laws

were printed in the vernacular in April, 2010 and distributed amongst the stakeholders and the society at large, including various Government Schools, public institutions, Village Panchayat areas and Government Offices, especially in the Sub-District levels.

(ii) Work on printing of 500 copies of the “Handbook on Disability” has commenced and is scheduled to be finished by the end of October.

5. Other activities (not specified in contract) Activities:

· On May 10, 2010 Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit- North East, participated in a training programme for Assam Civil Service (ACS) officers as a resource person and took an in-depth session on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

· On May 29, 2010 J.P. Gogoi Asstt. Project Coordinator, DLU-NE and B.P. Khound, Project Officer, National Trust participated as resource persons in a workshop organized by ADP College at Nagaon on Disability Issues.

· On 24th & 25th June, 2010 Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator participated in a state level consultation on review of National Policy on Children, 1974 as a resource person.

· On 6th and 7th July, 2010 Aparna Ajitsaria, Project Coordinator, DLU-NE and Emilly Dey, Project Officer, DLU-NE, participated in a two day workshop on Child Rights organized by National Law School University, Bangalore in association with UNICEF. There were around 45 participants attending the workshop representing various NGOs in the State of Assam.

· On August 3, 2010, Aparna Ajitsaria, Project Coordinator, DLU-NE participated as a resource person in a training programme for Assam Civil Service Officers (Above 18 years) in the Staff College at Khanapara, Guwahati. She took a session on “Our responsibilities towards Persons with Disabilities”. There were around 40 participants.

· On August 11, 2010, Ketaki Bordoloi, Adviser, Shishu Sarothi, along with Amvalika Senapati, Asstt. Project Coordinator and Emilly Dey, Project Officer, Disability Law Unit-NE and Biplob P. Khound, Project Coordinator, National Trust, conducted a training programme for Assam Civil Service Officers on the topic “Human Rights in relation to Mentally Challenged & Physically Handicapped People & Role of NGOs in Assam”. There were around 15 participants present in the training programme.

· On 27.08.2010, Amvalika Senapati, Asstt. Project Coordinator, DLU-NE along with Emilly Dey, Project Officer participated in an interactive session with members of other NGOs and Government officials like the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities and the Deputy Director, Department of Social Welfare in the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Group Meet with North East Partner States. Said programme organized by Swabhalambhi, an NGO working for the rehabilitation and training of persons with multiple disabilities, was attended by around 65 participants from all the north-east States.

Indicators of achievement for April 1, 2010 – September 30, 2010:

· Printing of posters (500 posters): 500 Posters on various

Disability Laws were printed in the vernacular in June, 2010 and distributed]

· Printing of handbook on disability laws and schemes (500 copies): [Proofreading of the “Handbook on Disability” has commenced and Handbook is scheduled to be completed by October, 2010]

· Publishing articles in newspapers, magazines, etc (3 articles): [Abstracts of Papers submitted on “Empowering persons with disabilities vis-a-vis UNCRPD” and “Empowering persons with disabilities: the challenge ahead” were published in the souvenir of the University Grants Commission sponsored National Seminar held on 4th and 5th November, 2008 on “Empowering Physically and Mentally Challenged Persons in India with special reference to the North East”; Second article scheduled to be published in December, 2010; third article scheduled to be published in January, 2011]

· Plans for next phase - October 1, 2010 – March 31, 2011: · Fifth Sensitization Programmes for Judicial Officials scheduled

to be held in November, 2010; Sixth Sensitization Programmes for Bank Officials, Govt. Officials etc. scheduled to be held in February, 2010.

· Sixth community sensitization programme at the district /sub-district level scheduled to be held in December, 2011.

· “Handbook on Disability” to be ready and print by end of October, 2010 & the same to be distributed amongst stakeholders and various Authorities at regional, state, district and sub-district levels.

· Second and third articles scheduled to be published in newspapers in December, 2010 and January, 2011 respectively.

OBJECTIVE II PROVIDING LEGAL AID TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE REGION

Means proposed: 1. Providing legal assistance to persons with disabilities whose

rights have been violated Activities: Legal assistance has been provided to the following on issues concerning the rights of persons with disabilities: Sl. No.

Date Name of Person seeking

information

Issue

1. 23.04.2010 Abu Taher from Nagaon District

Came in person to ask about what could be done to expedite the proceeding of his case where the accused is usually absent thereby delaying the entire proceeding.

2. 28.04.2010 Akhil Das from Nalbari District (locomotor disability)

Came in person to enquire about non-compliance of a Consumer Court’s direction passed in his favour & filing of appeal by the respondents & also regarding engaging a lawyer on his behalf.

3. 4.05.2010 Noor Zaman Kazi from Dhubri District (locomotor disability)

Came in person to request for a copy of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995

4. 4.05.2010 Nashim Ali from Silchar in Cachar District

Came in person to ask whether the transfer order by which he was transferred out of his

(locomotor disability)

hometown could be stayed on ground of his disability.

5. 31.05.2010 Vinita Kashyap from Guwahati

Came in person to request for a copy of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.

6. 9.07.2010 Pranabjyoti Gogoi from Sibsagar District

Came in person to ask whether he could claim 3% reservation under the PwDs Act for the post of clerk-cum-record keeper in the Jorhat Medical College.

7. 28.07.2010 Mr. Sarania from Guwahati

Came in person to request for a copy of the order passed in PIL No. 61 of 2006 in the Gauhati High Court.

8. 2.08.2010 George Abraham from Tinsukia district

Sent a mail seeking information on behalf of one Mr. Prabhakar who is blind with regard to his inheritance of immovable property.

9. 10.08.2010 Piarun Nessa from Sonapur, Kamrup District

Came in person to ask about what her 12 year old disabled daughter could inherit from her late father’s estate.

10. 23.08.2010 Khagendra Nath Das from Guwahati (100% locomotor disability)

Sought information telephonically on what can be done regarding non-payment of his salary from August 2009 till date because he has been unable to attend office due to his disability.

11. 31.08.2010 Pallabi Saikia from She is a lecturer in Sociology

Golaghat District (locomotor disability)

from Borpathar College (Non-Deficit). Said college has come under Fix-Pay Scheme under University Grants Commission (UGC) from April, 2010 & though she is entitled, her name has not been included in the list of eligible lecturers for said pay scale. Enquire as to her remedies in this regard.

12. 2.09.2010 Debabrata Goswami Hatigaon, Guwahati (Right hand & leg – 50%)

Sought advice telephonically regarding his divorce proceeding and his apprehension regarding his visitation rights with his twin children aged 2 and a half years.

13. 2.09.2010 Prabin Chandra Das, Wireless, Beltola, Guwahati (Left-side hemiphlagia – 55% disability)

Came in person to enquire about provision of ousting the 2 grown up children from his wife’s first marriage, from his house as they have become a financial burden on him and often harass him too. The said children, aged about 25 and 28 years who are still living with them are now independently earning.

14. 2.09.2010 Mridula Baruah (husband P. C. Baruah is a Parkinson’s patient)

Came in person. Her husband is being pressurized by his Department (Public Health & Engineering) to take voluntary retirement just about 5 months before he is due to retire on ground that he has difficulty in

discharging his office duties. He has been asked by his Department to appear before the Medical Board scheduled to sit on 6th Sept to ascertain his disability. Conference scheduled with Aparna, Project Coordiantor, DLU & Advocates S.S. Dey & Rakhee Choudhury.

15. 3.09.2010 Himani Pathak Geetanagar, Guwahati (19 year old son has Bipolar Affective Disorder)

Mrs. Pathak who is working as an Instructor, Secretarial Practice, Industrial Training Institute for Women, Rehabari, Guwahati sought advice on what steps she can take to stay her contemplated transfer out of Guwahati as she would be faced with grave hardship in taking care of her son who is completely dependent because of his mental disability.

16. 3.09.2010 Ruby Devi Village: Arikuchi District: Nalbari (Orthopedic disability 45%)

Came in person to ask about her eligibility in the B.Ed Course. General qualification mark for said course is 50% & for SC/ST quota there is a relaxation of 5%, i.e. 45% is required. She got 49.32% & her case is that the relaxation for quota should also be available for PwDs.

17. 7.09.2010 P.C. Baruah (Movement disabled – 45%)

Mr. Baruah had appeared before the Medical Board on 6th Sept as advised by DLU- NE and desired his Deptt. and he

informed DLU that he was asked to appear again on the 25th of Sept and sought advice thereon.

18. 15.09.2010 Pallabi Saikia from Golaghat District (locomotor disability)

Called telephonically. Said that the Principal of her College had asked her over phone not to attend College and sought advice on what she ought to do.

19. 16.09.2010 P.C. Baruah (movement disabled – 45%)

Wanted assistance to draft a response to the Department’s letter asking him to reply to their Show Cause.

20. 22.09.2010 Pallabi Saikia from Golaghat District (locomotor disability)

In continuation of her case, she consulted with Aparna regarding the documents relating to the financial grant given to her by the Barpathar College.

21. 22.09.2010 Bipul Sarania Ganeshguri, Guwahati

Came in person to enquire about the list of persons who have actually benefited from the favourable directions issued by the Courts in respect of various litigations filed by DLU vis-à-vis education and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

2. Facilitating pro bono litigation for economically vulnerable stakeholders Activities:

New Cases filed during April 1, 2010 – September 30, 2010:

(i) W.P(C) No. 5385 of 2010 [Khagendra Nath Bhuyan – vs - State of Assam & Ors.] Filed on behalf of Khagendra Nath Bhuyan who is an Upper Division Assistant in the office of the Commissioner of Excise, Assam and who has suffered from vertebral body collapse since 2006 and has been unable to attend office. His salary which was regularly paid earlier has now been stopped since August, 2009. The Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 provides, inter alia, that “if an employee, after acquiring disability is not suitable for the post he was holding, could be shifted to some other post with the same pay scale and service benefits; provided further that if it is not possible to adjust the employee against any post, he may be kept on a Supernumerary post until a suitable post is available or he attains the age of superannuation, whichever is earlier,” the Petitioner’s services ought to be protected and, as such, the Petitioner who is entitled to all his salary has filed the instant case through the Disability Law Unit who is conducting this case on a pro bono basis. Notice has been issued in the matter returnable in a month’s time and meanwhile the Standing Counsel of the Excise Department has been directed to obtain necessary instructions. However, it has been observed by the Hon’ble Court that pendency shall not be a bar for the Respondents to consider the case of the Petitioner.

Status of pending cases during April 1, 2010 – September 30, 2010:

i) W.P. (C) No. 4004 of 2008 [Sushmita Kar - vs - State of Assam]: In a special recruitment drive for persons with disabilities, the Government of Assam advertised for filling the posts of Lower Division Assistant in various Government Departments. The Petitioner, a woman with locomotor disability applied for the same and was placed at serial no. 5 of the Select List. However, despite the lapse of more than a year, she was not given appointment. On facilitation by DLU-NE, she made applications under the Right to Information Act and was informed that her

position was at serial no. 6. The matter has been admitted by the Hon’ble High Court. The matter was last listed on 29.06.2010 and is pending final hearing.

ii) W.P. (C) No. 2100 of 2008 [Bishnu Prasad Haloi - vs – Khadi & Village Industries Commission]: The Petitioner who is a fourth grade employee of Khadi & Village Industries Commission has been repeatedly denied promotion. On 28.05.2008, the Court had given an interim direction to the Authorities to keep vacant one post of Lower Division Clerk in their office and not to fill up the same without leave of the Court. The Authorities have filed their affidavit in the matter. The matter was last listed on 4.02.2010 and is pending final hearing.

iii) W.P. (C) No. 2798 of 2009 [Prakash Baishya - vs - State of Assam]: On 28.02.2006, a Select List of persons who had been selected to various posts under different Department s of the State Government was put up on the Notice Board of the Office of the Director of Social Welfare. Inspite of the Petitioner’s name figuring at serial no. 2 of said List for the post of Lower Division Assistant under the Directorate of Employment & Craftsmen Training Wing, no response was forthcoming for many months and the Petitioner was not appointed. Hence this petition challenging the impugned actions of the Respondent Authorities in not appointing the Petitioner in the Grade – III. The matter was last listed on 29.06.2010 and is pending final hearing.

iv) W.P.(C) NO. 1161/2010 [Akhil Das Vs State of Assam & Ors]: The petitioner is a person with locomotor to the extent of 50%. On 16.08.2010 the director civil & Food supplies & Consumer Affairs published an advertisement for filing up of 145 nos of posts through direct recruitment in the cadre of sub inspector of civil supplies. The petitioner appeared in the written examination and though he fared well his name did not find place in the list of successful candidates. The petitioner filed various applications under the right to information Act. The petitioner however learnt that the lowest cut of mark was 39 and that he has obtained 55 ½ marks in the written examination. Hence he filed a writ petition in the Gauhati high

court with the assistance of Disability Law Unit-NE. The matter was last listed on 19.04.2010 and is pending final hearing.

v) W.P.(C) NO. 4561/2005 [Arman Ali - vs - Indian Airlines & Ors]: The petitioner, a person with locomotor disability, had booked a ticket with Inidan Airlines well ahead of time for traveling to Mumbai and though placed at first in the awaiting list, his ticket was not confirmed. The Authorities kept assuring him that arrangements would be made but none were done and the Petitioner was left with no choice but to purchase a ticket on a private Airlines to reach Mumbia in time for a seminar on disability. Pursuant to this, the Petitioner approached the High Court alleging, inter alia, that Indian Airlines follows the practice of issuing waiting list tickets to persons with disability regardless of how well in advance the tickets are booked and not confirm them till the time of departure so as to accommodate passengers paying full fare, thereby discriminating against persons with disabilities. Notice has been issued to the Union Civil Aviation Minister and the Indian Airlines in the matter by the Hon’ble Court and the case is pending final consideration. The matter is pending final hearing.

Cases disposed during the period April 1, 2010 to September 30, 2010: i) Mat Appeal No. 33 of 2009 [Mrs. Pranati Sarma Purkayastha - vs -

Dr. Dipankar Purkayastha] In this appeal directed against a part of the judgment and decree passed by the learned District Judge, Jorhat in Title Suit (Marriage) No. 27 of 2000 by which permanent alimony had been ordered to be paid by the Respondent husband at the rate of Rs. 6,000/- per month, the Hon’ble High Court, disposed the matter by judgment dated 27.07.2010 thereby enhancing the amount of alimony to Rs. 8,000/- per month and further observing, inter alia, that the appellant may approach the State Legal Services Authority or the District Authority for any legal aid she may require in this regard.

3. Filing Public Interest litigations for the enforcement of disability legislations and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities

The Status of the Public Interest Litigations pending during the period April 1, 2010 to September 30, 2010:

i) PIL No. 10 of 2010 [Anju Talukdar - vs - State of Assam & Ors.] This PIL is filed by the Petitioner complaining that in the advertisements issued by the Respondent Authorities for various posts in the State of Assam like Assam Civil Service, Superintendent of Taxes etc., no reservation has been made in favour of PwDs. Hence, the Petitioner has prayed for judicial intervention of the Hon’ble Court in order to afford opportunity to PwDs. On 24.02.2010, a stay order had been passed in this case by the Hon’ble Court. The matter was last listed on 23.06.2010 and is pending final hearing.

ii) PIL NO. 78/2009 [Anju Talukdar Vs State of Assam]: An educational notice was issued for admission to 3 years diploma course in Medicine and Rural Health care in the Medicine Institute , Jorhat. It provides for 3% reservation but only for persons with disabilities between 50%-70% of lower limbs only which is in violation of the law. On 23.09.2009 a public interest litigation was filed in the Gauhati High Court challenging this restrictive view of Disability and the Hon’ble Court passed an interim order directing the authorities not to fill up 3% of the available seats until further orders of the Court. The matter was last listed on 23.09.2010 and is pending final hearing.

iii) PIL NO. 18/2009 [Shishu Sarothi Vs state of Assam]: Pavement dwellers in Guwahati were facing a severe crisis as a serial killer had attacked and killed around 8 of them in just one month. Around 40% of these pavement dwellers are persons with disabilities. The PIL was filed to secure the protection of pavement dwellers in Guwahati. The Court has also been urged

to look into the wider issue of their rehabilitation, particularly, those with disabilities as they are specially vulnerable. The matter was last listed on 13.03.2009 and is pending final hearing.

Public Interest Litigations disposed of during the period April 1, 2010 to September 30, 2010:

(i) PIL No. 62 of 2009 [Anju Talukdar - vs - State of Assam] The

Director of Social Welfare Department, Assam published an advertisement inviting applications in respect of 430 posts of female supervisors. Though there were reservations for other categories in the said advertisements, there was no reservations for persons with disabilities and hence a PIL was filed in this regard. By judgment and order dated 18.08.2010, the Hon’ble High Court was pleased to observe, inter alia, that as the Respondents have, vide their Affidavit filed in the case, agreed to grant 3% reservation on all posts in the Social Welfare Department, Government of Assam as per the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, the matter can be accordingly disposed of.

(ii) PIL No. 35 of 2008 [Anju Talukdar & Anr. - vs – Union of India & Ors.] PIL was filed with regard to advertisement issued by the Commander Works Engineers (Air Force), Military Engineering Services for 10 posts of mazdoors (workers) without making necessary reservations for persons with disabilities. By order dated 29.06.2010, the Hon’ble High Court observed, inter alia, that there is no error in the advertisement issued by the Respondents as reservations had been made for physically handicapped persons under the 100 points roster and the impugned recruitment is in respect of serial nos. 151 to 160 as per 200 points roster. However, while passing the said judgment the Hon’ble Court gave a further direction to the Respondents to continue to fill up vacancies in future in accordance with the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.

(iii) PIL No. 55 of 2008 [Rakhee Sirauthia Choudhury - vs - State of Assam & Ors.] In this PIL filed against the Authorities in the Directorate of Economics & Statistics Department for not keeping 3% reservation for persons with disabilities while advertising for the post of Sub-Inspector of Statistics and Primary Investigator / Field Assistants, the Hon’ble Court by its order dated 29.06.2010 disposed of the matter observing, inter alia, that as the Respondents had issued a corrigendum in the advertisement thereby keeping 3% reservations for eligible candidates with disabilities, no further order was required in the matter. However, while passing the said judgment the Hon’ble Court categorically directed the Respondents to comply with the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 in all future recruitments.

(iv) PIL No. 32 of 2008 & PIL No. 33 of 2008 [Rakhee Sirauthia Choudhury - vs - State of Assam & Ors.] These 2 PILs are against non-reservations of posts for persons with disabilities in various posts advertised under the Office of the Inspector General of Police / Deputy Inspector General of Police. Pursuant to the filing of these PILs, the concerned Authorities have issued Corrigendum in the matter duly notifying 3% reservation for persons with disabilities and, as such, the relief sought for in these PILs have been adequately met.

Indicators of achievement for April 1, 2010 – September 30, 2010: · Providing legal assistance to persons with disabilities whose

rights have been violated (as per requirement)…..legal assistance has been provided in 21 cases affecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

· Facilitating pro bono litigation for economically vulnerable stakeholders (as per requirement) ….. 1 New case filed during this period and 6 other pending cases which had been filed on behalf of economically vulnerable stakeholders duly monitored / followed in the Gauhati High Court

· Filing Public Interest litigations for the enforcement of disability legislations and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities (as per requirement)…. All PILs pending in the Gauhati High Court are being attended to as and when the same is listed before the Hon’ble Court and 5 PILs have been disposed of with favourable orders in this period.

Plans for next phase [October 1, 2010 – March 31, 2011]: To continue providing necessary assistance and filing cases in Courts of Law where appropriate.

OBJECTIVE III ADVOCACY FOR POLICY CHANGE AND LEGISLATIONS Means proposed: 1. Ensuring that the Indian Disability Laws are brought into

conformity with the UNCRPD Activities:

· In an endeavour to bring the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 and the other legislations on the subject in harmony with the provisions of the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a comprehensive draft of amendments necessary in the Act have been formulated and circulated to the State Governments / Union Territories. Said drafts have also been posted on the Ministry’s website for public comments. In April, 2010 a Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, New Delhi to examine the responses and to draft a new legislation to replace the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.

Pursuant thereto, a two-day Disabled People’s Conclave was organized by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and the Disability Rights Group (DRG) in May, 2010 which saw participation of 50 top-notch disabled leaders from across the country including, Arman Ali, Executive Director of Shishu Sarothi, Guwahati, wherein a Charter of non-negotiable demands were agreed upon. This was followed by Meetings of the Committee to Draft New Legislation for Persons with Disabilities in July and September, 2010 which have all been attended by Arman Ali. After detailed deliberations on the drafts in light of the UNCRPD, the Indian Constitution and other relevant domestic laws, the final draft of the new legislation is proposed to be submitted to the Ministry by the end of December, 2010. DLU is actively involved in the entire endeavour.

· On 12.06.2010, Emilly Dey, Project Officer, DLU-NE was communicated by Amita Dhanda, Nodal Officer, Country Report that she has been nominated as a member of the Country Report Team. Thereafter, Emilly met with the Commissioner & Secretary, Department of Social Welfare, Assam and the Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities, Assam, in connection with the aforesaid work. She has been actively involved in the work of collection of data and relevant statistics required for preparation of the Country Report on the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The particulars sought for and the statistics required to be collected from various Departments inter- alia are as follows:-

a) information on number of persons with disabilities

registered with Special Employment Exchange to be obtained from the Employment Exchange, Rehabari, Guwahati.

b) information on number of persons with disabilities segregated by gender, types, age and geographical coverage to be obtained from the Directorate of Census Operations, Bora Service, Guwahati.

c) information on number of persons with disabilities receiving scholarships and persons with disabilities in higher

education to be obtained from the Department of Education, Kahilipara, Guwahati.

d) information on what initiative, if any, has been taken by the State Human Rights Commission and the State Women’s Commission with regard to persons with disabilities.

e) information on number of registered organizations working with persons with disabilities and other relevant disability related statistics like unemployment allowance, disability pension etc. to be obtained from the Office of the Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities, Assam.

f) Particulars on specific schemes / policies / programmes in the State for persons with disabilities.

The myriad data collected from various sources are now being compiled into a comprehensive report for the State. Emilly from DLU is now effectively engaged in the work of final compilation of the State Report.

2. Ensuring access to education by advocating for inclusive

education Activities: · On June 16, 2010, Arman Ali, Executive Director, Shishu

Sarothi and Emilly Dey, Project Officer, DLU-NE participated in a Meeting of Sarba Siksha Abhijan (‘Education For All’), Assam, wherein the main objective was to deliberate on the issues relating to spread of the concept of inclusive education to the grassroots level in the rural interiors of the State and to constitute a State Resource Group (SRG) by involving personnel from different organizations / institutions and individuals whose support is expected to strengthen existing resources and to provide necessary technical support as and when required.

· On July 30, 2010, Emilly Dey, Project Officer, DLU-NE, participated as a resource person in a discussion on the importance and need of inclusive education as a basic right of

children with disabilities, organized by the Office of the Directorate of Social Welfare, Assam and held in the Deaf & Dumb School, Kahilipara, Guwahati. Emilly took a session on the main provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. There were around 200 participants in the said programme representing various Government Department.

3. Ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all poverty alleviation schemes framed by the Government Activities: Concentrated efforts are being made by the DLU team in each of its Sensitization Workshops and discourses as resource persons to spread awareness about the various Poverty Alleviation Schemes made available by the State Government and the manner and mode in which persons with disabilities can avail of the same. Persons calling in for information about various Schemes were duly guided by DLU team during this period.

4. Ensuring opportunities for employment for the disabled in the

region. Activities: DLU – NE has always strived to ensure that adequate opportunities are afforded to persons with disabilities with regard to employment. DLU takes a keen interest in this by way of filing litigations where appropriate and by lobbying with the Government, to ensure that persons with disabilities are given opportunities for employment in the region. The DLU team also actively monitors all job openings in government offices which are advertised in newspapers and employment papers to ensure that adequate reservations of 3% are provided for persons with disabilities wherever appropriate. Whenever, there has been lacuna in identifying the 3% reserved posts for persons with disabilities, DLU has promptly filled appropriate petitions before the concerned authorities and / or the court of law.

Besides, the team has consistently sought to bring to the fore the issue of Employment opportunities besides creating awareness about the same in the region.

5. Other activities (not specified in contract) Activities: · The process of Census 2010-2011 is underway in India.

Census 2001 included only a basic question on disability. This time as a result of consistent lobbying and efforts on the part of the stakeholders, the questionnaire of Census 2010-11 includes a detailed query in this regard. Now the endeavour is to ensure that the enumerators sensitively put forward the said question so as to get the ---- optimum result as in reality the stigma attached to the disability is so deep rooted that people often are reluctant to disclose this information. DLU-NE made representation to the Commissioner of Census, Assam requesting him to specially look into the matter and volunteering assistance in the training programme to be conducted for the enumerators in the State of Assam.

In August-September, 2010, DLU-NE has assisted NCPEDP in formation of the core groups of master trainers for the eight North Eastern States of India who will in turn train the enumerators in their respective States. Further, DLU is now actively involved in the process of organizing a one-day workshop in the month of December, 2010 for the master trainers.

Indicators of achievement for April 1, 2010 – September 30, 2010: · Advocacy for ensuring Indian laws are in conformity with the

UNCRPD…. o Participated in the series of Meetings held at New Delhi and

deliberations in respect of formulation of new legislation in

place of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 and the other legislations on the subject to bring the entire law in this regard in conformity with the UNCRPD

o Ensuring completion of collection and compilation of disability data in respect of the State of Assam for onward transmission to the Nodal Officer, Country Report Team to prepare the First Country Report on UNCRPD.

· Ensuring a barrier free environment in educational

institutions……. · 3 sensitization programmes in educational institutions….. First

programme held in Dispur Law College, Guwahati on June 10, 2008; Second programme held in the University Law College, Gauhati University, Guwahati on November 4, 2009; Third programme held in the Darwin Institute of Management, Guwahati on January 8, 2001.

· Ensuring opportunities for employment for persons with disabilities by facilitating vocational training….. Workshop held for advocating for the employment of persons with disabilities both in the public and private sector. DLU is assisting the DEI in coordinating for the job fair scheduled to be held at Guwahati for persons with diabilities.

· To lobby for accessible workplaces…. Representation preferred by DLU-NE to the Office-in-Charge, Office of the Accountant General, Assam, for and on behalf of Kishore Kakoti requesting for allowing him access through its premises.

Keeping in view that Persons with Disabilities face numerous barriers in respect of access in the built-in environment in most public buildings / places as a consequence of the unintentional and inadvertent discriminatory and uncaring attitude of the society at large which forces persons with disabilities to the sidelines and segregates them from the mainstream of life, an endeavour has been made by DLU to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to public places. DLU-NE is striving to bring about a public consciousness among the masses, and more

particularly amongst the various Authorities who are in a position to bring about concrete changes in this regard and thereby ensure a Barrier Free Built-In environment in all public places which will, in the long run, ensure that Persons with Disabilities can live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life. DLU-NE has conducted a detailed survey in respect of the current facilities at the Guwahati Airport, Railway Stations and Inter-State Bus Terminus.

· Formation of 3 self-help groups……… DLU-NE facilitated in setting up of the First Self Help Group in August 9, 2009. This Self Help Group was for the formation of an Association of Disabled Employees (Central & State). Second Self Help Group was set up by DLU on January 9, 2010 in association with the NGO, Swabalambi in Sonapur, Assam for taking loans from banks to aid in various productive livelihood activity. Third Self Help Group was set up by DLU on August 28, 2010 in Pathsala who have decided to work for the rights of the disabled in their localities and to assist women entrepreneurship.

Plans for next phase [October 1, 2010 – March 31, 2011]: · To continue to partner with other stakeholders to ensure that

the new legislation for persons with disabilities which is being drafted is in conformity with the UNCRPD while keeping the Indian perspective in view.

· To continue to work towards a barrier free environment in Government schools in Assam in collaboration with Sarba Siksha Abhijan (‘Education For All’ Programme) of the Government.

· To ensure through propagation / litigation / sensitization etc. that various Poverty Alleviation Schemes framed by the Government reaches the grassroot level and that the benefits under the Schemes reaches the targeted groups.

· To ensure right to employment of persons with disabilities through representations / litigations etc.

· To continue to strive towards providing accessibility at workplaces, public places.

OBJECTIVE IV CENTRE FOR INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE TO STAKEHOLDERS Means proposed: 1. Providing information and assistance to the community on

disability matters Activities: Information provided to: Sl. No.

Date Name of Person seeking information

Issue

1. 3.04.2010 Mr. C. Das Nagaon District

Wanted the contact details of Mr. S. Dhar, who is the hostel warden of the Respite Home where children of Shishu Sarothi stay.

2. 5.04.2010 Alakananda Deka from Duliajan in Tinsukia District

Contacted telephonically to ask whether Alzheimer’s Disease is a recognized disability under the law.

3. 20.04.2010 Manjula Gogoi Shreenagar, Guwahati

Wanted to know if Shishu Sarothi takes admission of blind students.

4. 20.04.2010 Suren Medhi, Beltola (Daughter is a mentally retarded person)

Enquired if Shishu Sarothi deals with rehabilitation of grown up retarded people.

5. 10.05.2010 Barnali Ghosh, Paltanbazar,

Asked over phone the contact number and address of the

Guwahati Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities, Assam.

6. 12.05.2010 Maria Begum from Geetanagar, Guwahati (low vision)

Came in person to ask how she can obtain a Below Poverty Line Card which she required to show to avail of concessional rates in doing an operation.

7. 19.05.2010 Akhil Poddar, K.P. Road, Dibrugarh Town

Wanted information on behalf of his nephew who is a child with mental retardation and asked if there is a day boarding facility in Shishu Sarothi.

8. 31.05.2010 Thomas Ngully, Dimapur, Nagaland

Wanted information on where he can get good crutches and the approximate costs for the same.

9. 14.06.2010 Pranjeet Chakraborty from Dhubri District

Came in person to ask about facilities regarding bank loans, what rates of interest are applicable, if any concessional rates are given to persons with disabilities etc.

10. 17.06.2010 Anika Gupta Gurgaon, Delhi

Wanted to know if Shishu Sarothi deals with the work of rescue of children employed in illegal physical labour.

11. 21.06.2010 Junki Rajput from Ghaigaon in Tezpur District (daughter is a mental illness

Wanted to know if her daughter who was undergoing some psychiatric problem could be brought to school here in Shishu Sarothi.

patient) 12. 5.07.2010 Pradeep Pal,

Geetanagar, Guwahati

Came in person and wanted to know what steps he should take to remove two unauthorized roadside shops that had come up right in front of his residence gate on top of the footpath and were generally causing a nuisance with littered garbage and unsociable elements hanging about his house.

13. 27.07.2010 Mr. Duwarah from Guwahati

Came in person to ask where tactile tiles are manufactured.

14. 29.07.2010 Sandeep Jindal Shillong, Meghalaya

Sought information telephonically regarding what are the provisions for treatment of juvenile delinquents who have disabilities.

15. 13.08.2010 Lalit Saikia, Guwahati

Wanted to know about the various courses / training programmes under Shishu Sarothi.

16. 17.08.2010 Kishore Kakati from Beltola, Guwahati (locomotor disability)

He informed telephonically that previously, with the help of Anju Talukdar, ex-Project Coordinator of DLU-NE, he had got permission for access through the premises of the AG office near his house which was a more convenient and shorter route for him than the alternative road which was in a

pitiable condition. However, recently, he was, without any reason, stopped from using the path. Now he again wants another letter to be issued by DLU in this regard to help him get the right of way through the said premises.

17. 17.08.2010 Sahari Deka, Narangi, Guwahati

Wanted to know about the services offered by the Outdoor Services Department of Shishu Sarothi and its timings etc.

18. 19.08.2010 Charu Das, Bamunimaidan, Guwahati

Wanted assistance to draft affidavits for herself and her husband with regard to their salary amounts which was required in connection with her son’s scholarship application.

19. 31.08.2010 Gitika Choudhury from Helana in Barpeta District (locomotor disability 45%)

Wanted to know the process for availing railway ticket concession and any forms etc if required to be filled up in this regard.

20. 6.09.2010 Golap Thakuria Mirza, Kamrup District

Wanted advice regarding change of his name in the Life Insurance Corporation Policy of his father, Munindra Thakuria, wherein he was named as the nominee, “Golap Das” instead of “Golap Thakuria”.

21. 13.09.2010 Nochir Uddin Mazumdar, Chandrapur in

Had applied for a Grade IV post in the establishment of the Directorate of Health Services,

Hailakandi District (Orthopaedic – 45%)

Assam in Hailaknadi District wherein last date of submission of form was August 17, 2010 and now he is apprehensive whether he will get the job and wanted to know if we could be of any assistance to him.

22. 20.09.2010 Kishore Kumar Kakoti Beltola, Guwahati (locomotor disability)

Wanted us to file a complaint with the Airlines Authorities who give concession to senior citizens when booking an e-ticket reservation but who do not extend the same facility for persons with disabilities. To be noted that when booking the airline ticket over the counter, concession is made available to persons with disabilities. In a recent journey taken by him, he was denied concession when booking an e-ticket and due to his inconvenience, Mr. Kakoti had to forgo the concession rather than going a long way to book the ticket over a counter to avail the said concession.

23. 20.09.2010 Kishore Kumar Kakoti Beltola, Guwahati (locomotor disability)

Brought information showing that the Reserve Bank of India, Guwahati Branch has installed a Stair lift in its building pursuant to the directive issued by the Delhi High Court to comply with the provisions of section 46 of the Persons with Disabilities Act regarding installation of ramps in public buildings etc. Mr. Kakoti

wanted us to enquire as to why all public buildings are not made to follow these guidelines and why there are no consequential measures / punitive provisions for not following these directives.

24. 20.09.2010 Tapajit Dutta (locomotor disability)

A wheelchair bound person, his main concern is how to take care of himself. He wanted to know if he can adopt someone who will, with time, become a support for him. He specifically wanted information about adoption of a grown child and from what institutions / agencies the same can be made and the formalities involved therein.

25. 23.09.2010 Tapajit Dutta (locomotor disability)

Wanted information on Shelters / Homes available in Guwahati for people like him who are dependent on others for taking care of their everyday needs.

2. To act as a focal point between primary stakeholders and various Govt and Non Govt authorities Activities:

a. Himani Pathak (her 19 year old son has Bipolar Affective

Disorder): Mrs. Pathak who is working as an Instructor, Secretarial Practice, Industrial Training Institute for Women,

Rehabari, Guwahati sought our assistance to draft a letter on her behalf to stay her transfer process on the sympathetic ground that her mentally disabled son needs constant care and looking after and that her contemplated posting outside Guwahati would seriously hamper her in taking care of her son. Pursuant to DLU’s intervention, her transfer has been stayed.

b. Mr. Jayanta Kalita, Amching sought advice as to the method of

dealing with the Village Headman who habitually rebuked a villager who had a disabled child. The same has now been stopped pursuant to DLU’s advice to organize a community meeting and ensure immediate solution in this regard.

Indicators of achievement for April 1, 2010 – September 30, 2010: · Providing information to the community on disability laws and

issues….information provided to 25 persons · To act as a focal point between primary stakeholders and the

various government and non-government agencies…actively helped in 2 cases

· Fostering partnerships with other NGOs in the region to work as a cohesive unit for fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities….partnership forged with (a) UNICEF, Guwahati, and local NGOs - Human Rights Law Network, Snehalaya and Action Aid for a State Consultation on National policy on Child and (b) World Vision India, to help in sensitization of its staff, volunteers and other community based organizations in their Amri Area Development Programme situated in Sonapur in Kamrup District in Assam and to further collaborate with them in their other divisions in the north-east qua disability laws and rights and spreading awareness in this regard.

Plans for next phase [October 1, 2010 – March 31, 2011]:

To continue to assist stakeholders by providing various information as are sought for and to act as a crucial

intermediary between Govt and non-Govt agencies. To strengthen existing network of disability NGOs in the region and set up a forum of self-advocacy among persons with disabilities.

The summary of the activities and agenda of Disability Law Unit - North East as delineated here portrays that DLU - NE has indeed forged a path ahead for dissemination of information and spreading awareness amongst various segments of the society and sensitizing them regarding the needs and rights of persons with disabilities. DLU-NE also continues with its endeavor of assisting the stakeholders and the public at large with their individual queries and problems. Special efforts are made by DLU-NE to ensure that persons with disabilities, who face numerous barriers, both physical and attitudinal, are not relegated to the sidelines and segregated from the mainstream of life. DLU has taken the initiative to file Public Interest Litigations and have also conducted other litigations on behalf of economically vulnerable persons with disabilities as and when necessary. Though DLU-NE has been successful in breaking new grounds vis-à-vis disability laws and rights, a lot more needs to be done to lobby for and create a barrier free environment - in education, access and employment. PROJECT OBJECTIVE I AWARENESS ABOUT THE LAWS AMONG STAKE HOLDERS AND THE SOCIETY AT LARGE Means Proposed:

1. Organising workshops for persons with disabilities and their families

Activities stipulated in the project:

(A) REGIONAL LEVEL: (i) A Regional Level Consultation was held at Guwahati in

Assam, in the premises of Shishu Sarothi on the 20th of February, 2010 in association with, and partial support from, the National Centre for Promotion & Employment of Disabled People. A total number of 60 participants attended the programme, representing different States of the Northeast. The consultation focused on the issue of a new statute to replace the present Persons with Disabilities Act to ensure conformity with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People.

(ii) The Disability Law Unit – North East, Shishu Sarothi organized a one day North Eastern Zonal Consultation on the First Working Draft of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2010 on November 30, 2010 to ensure that while the said law is in conformity with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), it also voices the north-east perspective. The consultation was held in lieu of 2 seminars / workshops for judicial officers / corporate / government officials and 1 community level workshop.

The Consultation which was an interactive deliberation on the highlights of the Draft of the New Law saw participation from representatives of various organizations from different parts of Assam and also from other North Eastern States of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. There were around 45 participants attending the said Consultation. The participants for the Consultation were from a myriad background with primary stakeholders, representatives from NGOs working in various fields and many representatives from Community Based Rehabilitation Centers working in the grass root level of the community, who are essentially aware of the practical

shortcomings of the law when it comes to actual implementation of the same in the ground level.

(B) STATE LEVEL:

i) The first State level workshop was held in Dimapur, Nagaland on ‘Empowerment of Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ on the 2nd of March, 2010 in association with Prodigal’s Home, Dimapur. The workshop which was attended by around 35 participants from all over Nagaland included representatives from NGOs, educational department, professionals, lawyers and media personnel. This workshop was conducted with support from the Rehabilitation Council of India. In the workshop various issues related to disability rights were discussed.

ii) The second State level workshop was conducted at Aizawl, Mizoram on ‘Empowerment of Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ on the 5th of March, 2010 by Spastic Society of Mizoram in association with Disability Law Unit-North East and it was sponsored by the Rehabilitation Council of India. Around 50 participants from various NGOs, students, special educators and police personnel attended the workshop. Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator & Emilly Dey, Project Officer, Disability Law Unit- North East attended the workshop as resource persons and spoke on various provisions of law related to persons with disabilities.

Additional Workshops: Towards fulfilling its obligations of bringing the Indian laws on disability in conformity with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Government of India formed a Committee for drafting the new law and the said Committee submitted the revised Working Draft of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act in

the second week February, 2011. States all over the country were required to hold State Consultations on the Working Draft to garner inputs and comments which would be a feed back to the Committee for appropriate incorporation in the final draft. Mr. Arman Ali, Executive Director of Shishu Sarothi was appointed as the Coordinator and given the responsibility to see that 6 (six) consultations were held in the Northeastern states within a short time frame of about just two-three weeks. Consequently, the DLU team worked tirelessly to ensure that effective consultations take place in the Northeastern States. Contacting partners, requesting officials in government department, arranging for resource persons, ensuring translation of summaries in local languages to the extent possible, arranging for special equipments like Braille boards etc, ensuring wide participation etc within the short time span available was a challenging proposition which nevertheless was achieved with active and enthusiastic support from one and all. Separate consultations were held in the States of Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, and Nagaland. A joint consultation for the States of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam was held at Guwahati. The 6 State Level Consultations were held between the 4th of March, 2011 and the 15th of March, 2011. It is pertinent to mention herein that support for holding the said consultation was received from the Government of India.

2. Sensitization Programmes for Judicial Officials, Bank Officials, Govt. Officials etc.

Activities:

i) The first Sensitization Programme for the corporate sector was held on the 23rd of June, 2010 at Shishu Sarothi, Guwahati on “Corporate Sector and Disability Issues.” The workshop served as a platform for voicing ideas to ensure and advocate employment for persons with disabilities both in the public as well as private sector. Presentations were

made by Ms. Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit-NE, Mr. Arman Ali, Executive Director of Shishu Sarothi & Ms. Saswati Barman, Assistant Project Coordinator, Disability Employment Initiative of Shishu Sarothi. There were around 42 corporate participants present in the workshop from entertainment sector, insurance companies, banks, hospitals and other industrial units.

ii) With due prior permission from Light for the World, the funds sanctioned for the second and third sensitization programme were utilized towards holding the regional level consultation on the first draft of the new law on persons with disabilities being drafted in India which had been held on November 30, 2010.

3. Sensitization Programmes at the District and Sub-District level for the community to remove social prejudices Activities:

(i) The first seminar on “Disability Rights” was held at the district level at Shillong in the State of Meghalaya by the Disability Law Unit-North East of Shishu Sarothi in partnership with the Bethany Society of Shillong on the 22nd of June, 2010 from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. The Workshop saw a candid deliberation on the rights available to persons with disabilities and their sources and the authorities to be approached in case of violation of such rights. There was also a dialogue on the basic provisions and features of the four disability related legislations in India. Ms. Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator and Ms. Emilly Dey, Project Officer of DLU participated as resource persons in the said Workshop which was attended by about 40 participants from the students’ community including law students, representatives

of various non-governmental organizations, advocates and persons with disabilities.

(ii) The second seminar on “Disability Laws” was organized at the sub-district level at Pathsala by the DLU- NE in association with the Students Welfare Mission, Pathsala in the Barpeta District of Assam on the 28th of August, 2010 from 11 A.M. to 3 P.M. Ms. Aparna Ajitsaria, Project Coordinator, Ms. Amvalika Senapati, Assistant Project Coordinator, Ms. Emilly Dey, Project Officer of the DLU-NE and Mr. Biplob Parashar Khound, Project Coordinator of National Trust participated as resource persons and gave a brief overview on disability, its causes etc. and relevant legislations in this field in India. The Workshop which had a heartening response from the people present with their active participation and enthusiastic queries was attended by over 80 participants from diverse sections of the society including participants from the local Disability Association, local Teachers’ Unit, representatives from the Press, Police personnel, members of the Pathsala Youth Committee and All Assam Students Union, students and others.

(iii) Though the target of holding six seminars / awareness programmes under this head had been achieved, the DLU had funds available for one such workshop (as the district level workshop at Arunachal Pradesh was sponsored), and with due prior permission from Light for the World, utilized the same towards the regional level consultation on the first draft of the new law on persons with disabilities being drafted in India which had been held on November 30, 2010.

4. Publication of literature on disability laws for distribution

among stakeholders and the community Activities:

(i) 500 Posters on the salient features of various Disability Laws were printed in the vernacular in April, 2010 and distributed amongst the stakeholders and the society at large, including various Government Schools, public institutions, Village Panchayat areas and Government Offices, especially in the Sub-District levels.

(ii) Printing of 500 copies of the “Handbook on Disability Laws & Schemes” in January, 2011.

(iii) Ms. Amvalika Senapati, Assistant Project Coordinator, recorded a programme with Red FM, a private radio channel operating in Assam, where she talked of the essence and importance of having every disabled person counted in the upcoming Census, 2011 and also appealed to the masses to shed the superstitions and myths often associated with disabilities and to understand the problem for what it is. The said program was aired on the 9th of February, 2011, the first day of the Population Enumeration of Census 2011.

Additional Activities:

i. On May 10, 2010 Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit- North East, participated in a training programme for Assam Civil Service (ACS) officers as a resource person and took an in-depth session on the myriad rights of persons with disabilities.

ii. On May 29, 2010, J.P.Gogoi, Assistant Project Coordinator, DLU-NE and B.P. Khound, Project Officer, SNAC participated as resource persons in a workshop organized by ADP College at Nagaon on Disability Issues.

iii. On the 24th and 25th of June, 2010, Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator participated in a state level consultation on review of National Policy on Children, 1974 as a resource person.

iv. On the 6th and 7th of July, 2010, Aparna Ajitsaria, Project Coordinator, DLU-NE and Emilly Dey, Project Officer, DLU-NE, participated in a two day workshop on Child Rights organized by National Law School University, Bangalore in association with UNICEF. There were around 45 participants attending the workshop representing various NGOs in the State of Assam.

v. On August 3, 2010, Aparna Ajitsaria, Project Coordinator, DLU-NE participated as a resource person in a training programme for Assam Civil Service Officers (Above 18 years) in the Staff College at Khanapara, Guwahati. She took a session on “Our responsibilities towards Persons with Disabilities”. There were around 40 participants.

vi. On August 11, 2010, Ketaki Bordoloi, Adviser, Shishu Sarothi, along with Amvalika Senapati, Asstt. Project Coordinator, Emilly Dey, Project Officer, Disability Law Unit-NE and Biplob P. Khound, Project Coordinator, National Trust, conducted a training programme for Assam Civil Service Officers on the topic “Human Rights in relation to Mentally Challenged & Physically Handicapped People & Role of NGOs in Assam”. There were around 15 participants present in the training programme.

vii. On August 27, 2010, Amvalika Senapati, Assistant Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit-North East along with Emilly Dey, Project Officer participated in an interactive session with members of other NGOs and Government officials like the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities and the Deputy Director, Department of Social Welfare in the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Group Meet with North East Partner States. Said programme, organized by Swabhalambhi, an NGO working for the rehabilitation and training of persons with multiple disabilities, was attended by around 65 participants from all the North-East States.

viii. On November 27, 2010 a meeting on care and treatment of destitute and mentally ill persons was held in the premises of Shishu Sarothi. The entire exercise was aimed at ensuring

that the concerned authorities take up the issue forthwith & help in ensuring the basic requirement of food, shelter & medical treatment for destitute people, particularly those who are mentally ill.

ix. Census is a snapshot in time of the country’s population status, elucidating information on demographic and other key characteristics of its people like their age, sex, ethnic background, marital status and income. In the Census operations conducted in the past in India, adequate amount of importance was never laid on the question on disability and data collected on disability by no means reflected the true picture. Painstaking lobbying by stakeholders and civil societies prior to the Census 2011 operations, ensured that there was a detailed question on disability in the Census Questionnaire, and now the onus clearly lies upon the stakeholders to ensure that the said question is suitably put across by the enumerators and that it is correctly answered by the public at large. Towards this end, the DLU-NE team launched an extensive campaign to raise awareness on the need to divulge correct information on disability and also the importance on the part of the officials to correctly record such data. Besides conducting training of over 7500 enumerators / supervisors in 24 blocks in 15 districts in the State of Assam and holding awareness campaigns in different districts for the benefit of the community at large, the team also spread word through radio programmes and awareness jingles. A detailed

x. On October 12, 2010, Amvalika Senapati, Assistant Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit-North East along with Emilly Dey, Project Officer participated in a one day Regional Consultation on National Policy for Children organised by National Institute of Public Cooperation & Child Development (NIPCCD) at Khanapara. On November 15, 2010, Amvalika Senapati, Assistant Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit-North East along with Emilly Dey, Project Officer participated in the City Makers Caravan, a nation-wide campaign for homeless (Urban Poor) at riverbank Brahmaputra organised

by sSTEP. There were around hundred participants attending the said campaign.

xi. On November 24, 2010, Amvalika Senapati, Assistant Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit-North East along with Emilly Dey, Project Officer took a training session on the “Rights of differently abled persons - Overview of the relevant Act” at the Assam Administrative Staff College, Khanapara, Guwahati. It was a part of the six week induction course for newly recruited Assam Civil Services Officers (2010 batch). On December 20, 2010, Arman Ali, Executive Director Shishu Sarothi and Amvalika Senapati, Assistant Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit-North East participated in a meeting on “Child Rights” at Snehalaya, Centre for Child Rights. The discourse in the said meeting was delivered by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur, Chief Justice of the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court. On March 9, 2011, Emilly Dey, Project Officer, Disability Law Unit-North East took a session on the Persons with Disabilities Act for the students of Diploma in Special Education for Cerebral Palsy (DSE-CP) under the Human Resource Department of Shishu Sarothi.

xii. On March 10, 2011 Amvalika Senapati, Assistant Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit went as resource person & Emilly Dey Project Officer attended a workshop cum training on “Inclusive Education-Methodology and Implementation” for the teacher educators of D.I.E.T, B.T.C & N.S at the S.C.E.R.T Conference Hall. She took a session on the legal provisions for children with special needs and facilities/provisions for the children with special needs. Around 35 participants attended the said workshop

xiii. On March 21, 2011, Ms Amvalika Senapati, Assistant Coordinator attended the First Consultative Committee Meeting on Mental Illness formed vide Notification issued by the Department of Social Welfare, Government of Assam on 8.11.2010. The meeting was held at the Assam Secretariat Building, Dispur, Assam. Elections invariably bring up the question of accessibility. Prior to the Assam Assembly Elections, 2011 which was conducted in two phases, the DLU-

NE thus aspired to create widespread consciousness amongst the community so that every person with disability could exercise his or her vote in an accessible and barrier free polling station. Endeavour was also made to make people aware in general that an accessible polling booth was a matter of right and that they had to assert their right o franchise.

Besides writing to the State Election Commissioner and contacting the Deputy Commissioners of the various Districts of Assam highlighting the need to ensure that adequate provisions / facilities are made in all polling booths across the State, steps were also take to spread awareness amongst the community at large on the right to vote for all persons with disabilities specially highlighting on the facilities that ought to be provided for in the polling stations. A week prior to the elections, the DLU team went on extensive visits all over Kamrup district covering many villages and towns meeting local people and having informal discussions on their rights and what they needed to be aware of. We were assisted by our acquaintances and contacts in these places who helped in gathering people around for the same. In some of the villages / towns, we had discussions in more than one venue. The overwhelming response of the public at large to know about their rights and in some instances their earnest gratitude for making them aware of the same was indeed gratifying.

Moreover, our partners in the districts of Jorhat, Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Chirang, Nalbari, Bongaigaon and Barpeta were also contacted to help in creating awareness in their respective districts covering various towns and villages. Our partners were also instrumental in giving us relevant data on the actual provisions / facilities available in the polling booths on the actual dates on which elections were held.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE II PROVIDING LEGAL AID TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE REGION Means proposed: 3. Providing legal assistance to persons with disabilities whose

rights have been violated Activities: 1. 23.04.20

10 Abu Taher, Nagaon

Came in person to ask about what could be done to expedite the proceeding of his case where the accused is usually absent thereby delaying the entire proceeding.

2. 28.04.2010

Akhil Das, Nalbari (locomotor disability)

Came in person to enquire about non-compliance of a Consumer Court’s direction passed in his favour & filing of appeal by the respondents & also regarding engaging a lawyer on his behalf.

3. 4.05.2010

Noor Zaman Kazi, Dhubri (locomotor disability)

Came in person to request for a copy of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995

4. 4.05.2010

Nashim Ali, Silchar, Cachar, (locomotor disability)

Came in person to ask whether the transfer order by which he was transferred out of his hometown could be stayed on ground of his disability.

5. 31.05.2010

Vinita Kashyap, Guwahati

Came in person to request for a copy of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.

6. 9.07.2010

Pranabjyoti Gogoi, Sibsagar District

Came in person to ask whether he could claim 3% reservation under the PwD Act for the post of clerk-cum-record keeper in the Jorhat Medical

College. 7. 28.07.20

10 Mr. Sarania, Guwahati

Came in person to request for a copy of the order passed in PIL No. 61 of 2006 in the Gauhati High Court.

8. 2.08.2010

George Abraham, Tinsukia

Sent a mail seeking information on behalf of one Mr. Prabhakar who is blind with regard to his inheritance of immovable property.

9. 10.08.2010

George Abraham, Tinsukia

Sent a mail seeking information on behalf of one Mr. Prabhakar who is blind with regard to his inheritance of immovable property.

10. 23.08.2010

Piarun Nessa, Sonapur, Kamrup

Came in person to ask about what her 12 year old disabled daughter could inherit from her late father’s estate.

11. 31.08.2010

Khagendra Nath Bhuyan, Guwahati (100% locomotor disability)

Sought information telephonically on what can be done regarding non-payment of his salary from August 2009 till date because he has been unable to attend office due to his disability.

12. 2.09.2010

Pallabi Saikia, Golaghat District (locomotor disability)

She is a lecturer in Sociology from Borpathar College (Non-Deficit). Said college has come under Fix-Pay Scheme under University Grants Commission (UGC) from April, 2010 & though she is entitled, her name has not been included in the list of eligible lecturers for said pay scale. Enquire as to her remedies in this regard.

13. 2.09.2010

Debabrata Goswami Hatigaon, Guwahati (Orthopedic)

Sought advice telephonically regarding his divorce proceeding and his apprehension regarding his visitation rights with his twin children aged 2 and a half years.

14. 2.09.2010

Prabin Chandra Das, Wireless, Beltola, Guwahati (Left-side hemiphlagia – 55% disability

Came in person to enquire about provision of ousting the 2 grown up children from his wife’s first marriage, from his house as they have become a financial burden on him and often harass him too. The said children, aged 25 and 28 years who are still living with them are now independently earning.

15. 2.09.2010

Mridula Baruah (husband P. C. Baruah is a Parkinson’s patient)

Came in person. Her husband is being pressurized by his Department (Public Health & Engineering) to take voluntary retirement just about 5 months before he is due to retire on ground that he has difficulty in discharging his office duties. He has been asked by his Department to appear before the Medical Board scheduled to sit on the 6th of Sept, 2010 to ascertain his disability. Conference scheduled with Aparna, Project Coordinator, DLU & Advocates S.S. Dey & Rakhee Choudhury.

16. 3.09.2010

Himani Pathak Geetanagar, Guwahati (19 year old son has Bipolar Affective Disorder)

Mrs. Pathak who is working as an Instructor, Secretarial Practice, Industrial Training Institute for Women, Rehabari, Guwahati sought advice on what steps she can take to stay her contemplated transfer out of Guwahati as she would be faced with grave hardship in taking care of her son who is completely dependent because of his mental disability.

17. 3.09.2010

Ruby Devi, Arikuchi, Nalbari (Orthopedic disability 45%)

Came in person to ask about her eligibility in the B.Ed Course. General qualification mark for said course is 50% & for SC/ST quota there is a relaxation of 5%, i.e. 45% is required.

She got 49.32% & her case is that the relaxation for quota should also be available for Persons with Disabilities.

18. 7.09.2010

P.C. Baruah (Movement disabled – 45%)

Mr. Baruah had appeared before the Medical Board on 6th September as advised by DLU- NE and desired his Department and he informed DLU that he was asked to appear again on the 25th of September and sought advice thereon.

19. 15.09.2010

Pallabi Saikia, Golaghat (locomotor disability)

Called telephonically. Said that the Principal of her College had asked her over phone not to attend College and sought advice on what she ought to do.

20. 16.09.2010

P.C. Baruah (movement

disabled)

Wanted assistance to draft a response to the Department’s letter asking him to reply to their Show Cause.

21. 22.09.2010

Pallabi Saikia, Golaghat (locomotor disability)

In continuation of her case, she consulted with Aparna regarding the documents relating to the financial grant given to her by the Barpathar College.

22. 22.09.2010

Bipul Sarania Ganeshguri, Guwahati

Came in person to enquire about the list of persons who have actually benefited from the favourable directions issued by the Courts in respect of various litigations filed by DLU vis-à-vis education and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

23. 10.11.2010

Hangsa Dev Rabha

Came in person to know how to file an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005. He was told by the DLU team as to how to file RTI and was also given a RTI form.

24. 1.12.201 Tapan Deb Mr. Deb fell sick due to massive brain

0 stroke on December 23, 2005 resulting in partial paralysis of left hand due to which he was served with a notice of termination of services. He thus came in person to Shishu Sarothi seeking help as to how he can retain his job.

25. 4.01.2010

Mustafa Kamal Tender was floated by the Nagaon Zilla Parishad for the settlement of market. The said market was settled with Mr. Kamal who was the successful bidder. However, inspite of this, one Mr. Lukman Hikim is still running the market. He thus came to DLU seeking advice as to what he should do about it.

26. 4.01.2011

Abdul Salam Tender was floated by the Nagaon Zilla Parishad for the settlement of market. The said market was settled with Mr Salam who was the successful bidder. However, inspite of this the said market was not handed over to him and one Mr. Prahlad Barua is still running the market. Thus he came to DLU seeking advice as to what he should do about it.

27. 5.01.2011

Tania Banik Ms. Tanik Bania who is a person with disability came with her mother to Shishu Sarothi as she wanted to know if she is eligible to get scholarship to study as due to financial hardship she is unable to pursue her studies.

28. 10.01.2011

Nilamool Haque An advertisement was published in the Assam Tribune dated 7.01.2011 for recruitment of Post Graduate Teacher/Graduate teacher and demonstrator in provincialised higher Secondary/ High School. He sought advice because though it was

mentioned in the said advertisement that the reservation of vacancies shall be governed by the Assam Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes Rules, 1983, yet no reservation has been made for persons with disabilities.

29. 14.01.2011

Ranjit Hazarika Mr. Hazarika, a person with disability is working as Deputy Manager, State Bank of India Morigaon Branch. He is a resident of Guwahati. Mr. Ranjit’s contention is that there is a government order which puts restriction on the transfer of a person with disability to a place other than his hometown. He thus came in person to Shishu Sarothi seeking DLU’s assistance in this matter.

30. 7.02.2011

Prakash Baishya Mr. Baishya, a person with visual impairment called up Shishu Sarothi as he wanted to inform that a list has been taken out by the Social Welfare Department and that his name did not show in the said select list. He thus called up seeking DLU’s advice as to what he should do now.

31. 8.02.2011

Prakash Baishya Mr. Baishya again called up seeking DLU’s help in getting a copy of a petition.

32. 28.02.2011

Sangeeta Saha Bhowmick (for Anjan Sharma)

Mr. Anjan Sharma appeared in an interview of M.E. School for the post of teacher at Hojai. However, inspite of his faring well in the interview he was not selected. Thus Sangeeta bhowmick came to Shishu Sarothi on behalf of Mr. Anjan Sharma Seeking DLU’s assistance in this regard.

33. 21.03.20 Meena Joshi Meena Joshi Sengupta came in person

11 Sengupta to Shishu Sarothi seeking DLU’s help as she wanted to take transfer from Dibrugarh to Guwahati so that she can take care of her son who is a person with disability studying in Shishu Sarothi.

34. 12.04.2011

Dr. Bela Cintury Bela Cintury called up Shishu Sarothi as she wanted the contact details of an organisation working in the field of Child rights.

35. 12.04.2011

Debabrata Goswami

Mr. Goswami, a person suffering from locomotor disability called up DLU team seeking advice as to how to get the ancestral property of his father who is alive and is living with his elder brother after his divorce.

4. Facilitating pro bono litigation for economically vulnerable stakeholders Activities:

i) Akhil Das -Vs- State of Assam& Ors [W.P.(C) No. 1161/2010] The Writ Petition was filed on 16.2.2010 in the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court and notice was issued on 18.02.2010.The petitioner is a person with disability having locomotor disability to the extent of 50%. On 16.8.2009 the Director Civil &Food Supplies &Consumer Affairs published an advertisement for filing up of 145 number of posts through direct recruitment in the cadre of sub inspector of civil supplies. The petitioner appeared in the written examination and though he fared well his name did not find place in the list of successful candidates.

The petitioner filed various applications under the Right to Information Act. The petitioner however learnt that the lowest cut of mark was 39 and that he has obtained 55 ½ marks in the written examination. Hence he filed a Writ Petition in the Gauhati High Court with the assistance of Disability Law Unit-North East of Shishu Sarothi.

ii) Khagendra Nath Bhuyan – vs - State of Assam [W.P(C) No. 5385 of 2010] Filed on behalf of Khagendra Nath Bhuyan who is an Upper Division Assistant in the office of the Commissioner of Excise, Assam and who has suffered from vertebral body collapse since 2006 and has been unable to attend office. His salary which was regularly paid earlier has now been stopped since August, 2009 which is a direct contravention of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. As such, the Petitioner who is entitled to all his salary has filed the instant case through the Disability Law Unit who is conducting this case on a pro bono basis. Notice has been issued in the matter returnable in a month’s time and meanwhile the Standing Counsel of the Excise Department has been directed to obtain necessary instructions. However, it has been observed by the Hon’ble Court that pendency shall not be a bar for the Respondents to consider the case of the Petitioner

3. Filing Public Interest litigations for the enforcement of disability legislations and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities

Activities:

PIL No. 10/2010: (Anju Talukdar - vs.- State Of Assam & Ors.) filed on 23.2.2010 in the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court. The Writ Petition is filed by the petitioner complaining that in the

advertisements issued by the respondents for filling up various posts in the State of Assam, like Assam Civil Service, Superintendent of Taxes etc no provision is made for reservation of any of the posts in favour of the physically challenged persons. Hence the petitioner has prayed for judicial intervention of the Hon’ble Court in order to give appropriate opportunity to the persons with disabilities. On 24.02.2010 stay order was passed by the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court.

It is pertinent to mention herein that the litigations filed prior to the year, 2008 and pending in the Hon’ble High Court is being attended to as and when the same is listed before the Court and the same shall be monitored until they reach their logical conclusion.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE III ADVOCACY FOR POLICY CHANGE AND LEGISLATIONS Means proposed: 2. Ensuring that the Indian Disability Laws are brought into

conformity with the UNCRPD Activities:

i. Draft prepared for submission to department of Social Justice and Empowerment for amendment of Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, to bring it into conformity with the UNCRPD.

ii. On 15.10.2009 Recommendations were sent to the Joint Secretary (Disability Division) Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment on proposed amendment of Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.

iii. A Regional Level Consultation was held at Guwahati, Assam, at Shishu Sarothi premises on the 20th of February, 2010 in association with the National Centre for Promotion & Employment of the Disabled. The consultation focused on the issue of a new statute to replace the present Persons with Disabilities Act to ensure conformity with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

iv. A meeting was held on March 26, 2010 in the office of Commissioner of Disabilities in preparing a report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in Assam. Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator Disability Law Unit- North East participated in the meeting along with Emilly Dey, Project Officer, DLU-NE.

v. In May, July and September, 2010 Arman Ali, Executive Director of Shishu Sarothi, Guwahati attended the meetings of the Committee to Draft New Legislation for Persons with Disabilities at New Delhi.

vi. Emilly Dey, Project Officer, DLU-NE, nominated as a member of the Country Report Team in June, 2010, successfully coordinated between various authorities to ensure that work of collection of data and relevant statistics in respect of the State of Assam required for preparation of the Country Report on the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was collected, complied and send to NALSAR,

Hyderabad in October, 2010.

vii. DLU-NE has also coordinated with Pavan Muntha, Country Project Coordinator, Hear Our Voices and other partners of the Northeast to send personnel for the Training Workshop on Disability Rights Monitoring held at the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped (NIMH) at Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh from the 25th of February, 2011 to the 4th of March, 2011.

3. Ensuring access to education by advocating for inclusive education:

i) A meeting to discuss the issue of the “Need for trained manpower for Inclusive Education” was organised by the DLU-NE under the banner of Rehabilitation Council of India on 2nd February, 2011 at Guwahati. It was a platform for the stakeholders to interact with Mr J.P Singh, Member Secretary, Rehabilitation Council of India, New Delhi, Ms L.S. Changsan, Commissioner & Secretary, Government of Assam, Education Department, Directors of Education, Government of Assam etc.

4. Ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all poverty alleviation schemes framed by the Government.

Activities:

i) Representations made for inclusion of persons with disabilities in the following Government schemes:

· Randhanjyoti Scheme….providing stoves and gas cylinders to vulnerable sections.

· Indira Awas Yojana….providing housing for vulnerable sections.

· Loans by Government banks for self-employment opportunities.

· Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Scheme…..providing loans to persons with disabilities under the said scheme without any discrimination.

· The Chief Minister’s Development Programme (Self-Employment Generation Scheme) in Tourism Sector for grant of tourist vehicle under the said scheme.

· Representation made before U.C.O Bank on behalf of M. Ali, a person with disability to secure sanction of his loan for self employment from the bank.

· Representation to Central Bank of India to grant loan under S.G.S.Y. Scheme to Kiran Kalita, a person with disability.

· Representation to National Handicapped Financial & Development Corporation for granting educational loan to person with disability.

· Representation to Assam State Housing Board for allotment under Housing scheme person with disability.

4. Ensuring opportunities for employment for persons with disabilities by facilitating vocational training:

Activities: · The team actively supported the Vocational Training

Programme for Disabled Youths supported by the Foundation for Social Transformation. The disabled youths did a one year training programme in baking and cooking in the premises of Shishu Sarothi from November, 2009 to November, 2010.

· DLU team assisted the Disability Employment Initiative in successfully holding the Career Access, 2010, a job fair for Persons with Disabilities held on November, 19, 2010 at Guwahati.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE IV CENTRE FOR INFORMATION & ASSISTANCE TO STAKEHOLDERS Means proposed:

1. Providing information and assistance to the community on disability matters

Activities: 1.

11.01.2010

Malik Ali Ahmed Advice sought for 12 years old Mentally Retarded son who is making slow progress in school.

2. 24.02.2010

Mr. Choudhury Wanted to know about the activities undertaken by the Disability Law Unit-North East.

3. 3.03.2010

M.K. Das Wanted to know about the various services offered by Shishu Sarothi

4. 3.04.2010

Mr. C. Das, Nagaon

Wanted the contact details of Mr. S. Dhar, who is the hostel warden of the Respite Home where children of Shishu Sarothi stay.

5. 5.04.2010

Alakananda Deka, Duliajan

Contacted telephonically to ask whether Alzheimer’s Disease is a recognized disability under the law.

6. 20.04.2010

Manjula Gogoi Guwahati

Wanted to know if Shishu Sarothi takes admission of blind students.

7. 20.04.2010

Suren Medhi, Beltola, Guwahati

Enquired if Shishu Sarothi deals with rehabilitation of adult retarded people.

8. 10.05.2010

Barnali Ghosh, Paltanbazar, Guwahati

Asked over phone the contact number and address of the Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities, Assam.

9. 12.05.2010

Maria Begum, Geetanagar, Guwahati (low vision)

Came in person to ask how she can obtain a Below Poverty Line Card which she required to show to avail of concessional rates in doing an operation.

10.

19.05.2010

Akhil Poddar, K.P. Road, Dibrugarh Town

Wanted information on behalf of his nephew who is a child with mental retardation and asked if there is a day boarding facility in Shishu Sarothi.

11.

31.05.2010

Thomas Ngully, Dimapur, Nagaland

Wanted information on where he can get good crutches and the approximate costs for the same.

12.

14.06.2010

Pranjeet Chakraborty, Dhubri

Came in person to ask about facilities regarding bank loans, what rates of interest are applicable, if any concessional rates are given to persons with disabilities etc.

13.

17.06.2010

Anika Gupta Gurgaon, Delhi

Wanted to know if Shishu Sarothi deals with the work of rescue of children employed in illegal physical labour.

14.

21.06.2010

Junki Rajput, Tezpur (daughter is a mental illness patient)

Wanted to know if her daughter who was undergoing some psychiatric problem could be brought to school here in Shishu Sarothi.

15.

5.07.2010

Pradeep Pal, Geetanagar, Guwahati

Enquired about what steps he should take to remove two unauthorized roadside shops that had come up right in front of his residence gate on top of the footpath and were generally causing a nuisance with littered garbage and unsociable elements hanging about his house.

16.

27.07.2010

Mr. M. Duwarah, Guwahati

Came in person to ask where tactile tiles are manufactured.

17 29.07.20 Sandeep Jindal Sought information telephonically regarding what are the provisions

. 10 Shillong, Meghalaya

for treatment of juvenile delinquents who have disabilities.

18.

13.08.2010

Lalit Saikia, Guwahati

Wanted to know about the various courses / training programmes under Shishu Sarothi.

19.

17.08.2010

Kishore Kakati, Beltola, Guwahati (locomotor disability)

Informed that earlier, assisted by Anju Talukdar, ex-Project Coordinator, DLU-NE, he had got permission for access through the premises of the AG office near his house which was a more convenient and shorter route for him than the public road which was in a pitiable condition and that recently, he was, without any reason, stopped from using the path. Now he wants another letter to be issued by DLU in this regard to help him get the right of way through the said premises.

20.

17.08.2010

Sahari Deka, Narangi, Guwahati

Enquired about the services offered by the Outdoor Services Department of Shishu Sarothi and its timings etc.

21.

19.08.2010

Charu Das, Bamunimaidan, Guwahati

Wanted assistance to draft affidavits for herself and her husband with regard to their salary amounts which was required in connection with her son’s scholarship application.

22. 31.08.2010

Gitika Choudhury, Helana, Barpeta (locomotor disability)

Wanted to know the process for availing railway ticket concession and any forms etc if required to be filled up in this regard.

23. 6.09.201 Golap Thakuria, Wanted advice regarding change

0 Mirza, Kamrup District

of his name in the Life Insurance Corporation Policy of his father, Munindra Thakuria, wherein he was named as the nominee, “Golap Das” instead of “Golap Thakuria”.

24. 13.09.2010

Nochir Uddin Mazumdar, Chandrapur, Hailakandi (Orthopaedic – 45%)

Had applied for a Grade IV post in the establishment of the Directorate of Health Services, Assam in Hailakandi District wherein last date of submission of form was August 17, 2010 and now he is apprehensive whether he will get the job and wanted to know if we could be of any assistance to him.

25. 20.09.2010

Kishore Kumar Kakoti Beltola, Guwahati (locomotor disability)

Wanted help in filing a complaint with the Airlines Authorities which gives concession to senior citizens when booking an e-ticket reservation but does not extend the same facility for persons with disabilities. To be noted that when booking the airline ticket over the counter, concession is made available to persons with disabilities. In a recent journey taken by him, he was denied concession when booking an e-ticket and due to his inconvenience, Mr. Kakoti had to forgo the concession rather than going a long way to book the ticket over a counter to avail the said concession.

26. 20.09.2010

Kishore Kumar Kakoti Beltola,

Brought information showing that the Reserve Bank of India, Guwahati had installed a Stair lift in its building pursuant to the

Guwahati (locomotor disability)

Delhi High Court directive to comply with the provisions of section 46 of the Persons with Disabilities Act regarding installation of ramps in public buildings etc. Mr. Kakoti wanted us to enquire as to why all public buildings are not made to follow these guidelines and why there are no consequential measures/punitive provisions for not following these directives.

27. 20.09.2010

Tapajit Dutta (locomotor disability)

A wheelchair bound person, his main concern is how to take care of himself. He wanted to know if he can adopt someone who will, with time, become a support for him. He specifically wanted information about adoption of a grown child and from what institutions / agencies the same can be made and the formalities involved therein.

28. 23.09.2010

Tapajit Dutta (locomotor disability)

Wanted information on Shelters / Homes available in Guwahati for people like him who are dependent on others for taking care of their everyday needs.

29. 11.10.2010

Anjana Goswami, Ashadeep, Guwahati

Mrs. Goswami called to ask the name of the Registrar of Gauhati High Court Legal Services Committee.

30. 22.10.2010

Plabon Sharma, Guwahati

Wanted to know the name of an adoption centre in Guwahati.

31. 25.10.2010

Plabon Sharma, Guwahati

Wanted to know the procedure relating to adoption.

32. 25.10.2010

Pooja Medhi, Hatigaon, Guwahati

Wanted to know the name & contact details of a divorce lawyer and the grounds on which a divorce can be filed.

33. 13.10.2010

Bobidita Gogoi, Guwahati

Wanted to know whether there is any Psychiatric Nursing Home in Guwahati and if yes, the name & address of the same.

34. 21.10.2010

Dipali Borpujari Enquired about the court marriage procedure.

35. 26.10.2010

K.Chakraborty, Guwahati

Wanted to know the procedure for taking out a permanent resident certificate. (PRC).

36. 6.10.2010

Suman Medhi, Guwahati

Wanted information on how to file a case under the Domestic Violence Act.

37. 3.02.2011

Abhinay, Guwahati

Abhinay contacted telephonically enquiring whether Shishu Sarothi provides hostel facilities for the children with disability studying in the school.

38. 1.03.2011

Bhrigu Das, Guwahati

Bhrigu, an advocate practising in the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court called as he wanted to know the services offered by Shishu Sarothi.

39. 17.03.2011

Bibhash Roy, Guwahati

Wanted to know whether disability can be considered as a ground for seeking divorce and whether the persons with disability can file a divorce petition.

40. 2.03.2011

S. Chakraborty, Guwahati

Ms. Chakraborty came in person to Shishu Sarothi as she wanted to know if a caregiver/nurse could be provided for her ailing mother.

41. 2.03.2011

Arundhati Goswami, Guwahati

She called to enquire about the various services rendered by Shishu Sarothi.

42. 25.02.2011

Arpita Das, Guwahati

Arpita Das called up as she wanted to know the difference between a mentally ill & mentally retarded person.

43. 18.03.2011

Prakash Baishya, Nalbari

Wanted to know if there is a Braille Press in Nalbari or near about and if not the address of such press in Guwahati.

44. 24.03.2011

Bipul Handique, Cinnamara, Jorhat

Wanted to know if there is concession in bus tickets for persons with disabilities and whether it was available only for State run buses or all buses.

45. 29.03.2011

Tuleshwari Ahom, Kakopathar, Tinsukia

Wanted information on how to apply for disability pension.

46. 6.04.2011

Sharmistha Bhattacharjee, Guwahati

She came with her mother to ask if she could find a job as an interpreter in Guwahati and possible places where she could apply

47. 20.04.2011

Hiranya Patar, Morigaon

He called as he was thinking of buying an apartment in Guwahati and wanted to know if we could information on any bookings / openings for buying or reserving apartments in such buildings with accessible features like, provisions of ramps, elevators, wide doors, proper bathrooms etcetera.

48. 26.04.20 Pallavi Baruah, Came in person to know whether

11 Rehabari, Guwahati

Shishu Sarothi has hostel facility.

49. 29.04.2011

Tara Sharma, Biswanath Chariali, Tezpur

Wanted information on whether there were any special institutions working for persons with disabilities in Tezpur.

2. To act as a focal point between primary stakeholders and various Government and Non Government authorities

Activities:

i. Kishore Kakoti: Orthopedically disabled, Kishore had several accessibility and communication problems in and around his residential area, due to bad roads full of potholes. DLU-NE met several Government Authorities to redress his difficulties. The Chief Executive Officer, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Corporation and the Commissioner, Public Works Department assured that steps would be taken immediately to make the roads communicable and the Accountant General, Assam assured access to Kishore through the premises of his Office.

ii. B.P. Haloi: Several representations/ lobbying efforts were made on his behalf to the authorities under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Mumbai and Guwahati offices for ensuring his promotion.

iii. Akhil Das: Sent recommendation letters for him under the Indira Awaas Yojna and the Rahdhan Jyoti schemes formulated by the Government of India.

iv. Sushmita Kar: Lobbied with the State Information Commissioner to provide the necessary information to the stakeholder. In pursuance of DLU – NE’s efforts, the

Commissioner held a meeting and provided the details of the information to her.

v. Archana Ojha: She has bipolar disorder (mental illness) and was facing marital problems and had nowhere to go. Assistance was given to arrange accommodation in Government shelter, facilitated psychiatric treatment, and also provided legal assistance.

vi. Kishore Kakoti: Orthopedically disabled, Kishore had applied under the Chief Ministers’ Development Programme (Self- Employment Generation Scheme in Tourism Sector). DLU-NE lobbied to have his application accepted by the relevant authorities.

vii. Sri Ratumoni Das, a person with disability (50% lock knee), had applied for compassionate appointment against any vacant post concurrent with his qualifications, consequent to the demise of his father in harness as the Superintendent of Taxes, Tezpur, which is a policy being followed by the Government of Assam in all establishments. DLU-NE facilitated Ratumoni by approaching the Commissioner of Taxes, Assam for appointing him to the post of Lower Divisional Assistant.

viii. Hemanta Nayak, with 45% orthopedically disability had applied for a loan under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Scheme which was denied to him on the ground that he needs to annex a certificate from either a Member of Parliament (MP) or a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). DLU-NE wrote letters to the concerned authority (i.e., the General Manager, District Industries and Commerce Centres) for this illegal and unconstitutional act.

ix. Representation filed on behalf of Khagendra Nath Bhuyan, a person who had acquired disability while in service in the office of the Department of Excise, Government of Assam to allow him to work from home and to release his pay.

x. Representation made to the Branch Manager, HDFC for granting educational loan to Mr. Hemanta Nayak (locomotor disability).

xi. Representation made to the Chairperson, Assam State Housing Board on 11.01.2009 for allotment order of housing scheme under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) to Mr. K.K. Kakati who is a person with disability.

xii. A Representation was made to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Dhaligaon for Ms. Prativa Lahkar, a person with locomotor disability and a crutch user, regarding her transfer and difficulty due to her inaccessible workplace.

xiii. Himani Pathak (her 19 year old son has Bipolar Affective Disorder): Mrs. Pathak who is working as an Instructor, Secretarial Practice, Industrial Training Institute for Women, Rehabari, Guwahati sought our assistance to draft a letter on her behalf to stay her transfer process on the sympathetic ground that her mentally disabled son needs constant care and looking after and that her contemplated posting outside Guwahati would seriously hamper her in taking care of her son. Pursuant to DLU’s intervention, her transfer has been stayed.

xiv. Mr. Jayanta Kalita, Amching sought advice as to the method of dealing with the Village Headman who habitually rebuked a villager who had a disabled child. The same has now been stopped pursuant to DLU’s advice to organize a community meeting and ensure immediate solution in this regard.

xv. Pallabi Saikia, faculty member of the Department of Sociology in Barpathar College, District: Golaghat approached us for advice as the college authorities had not recommended her name for receiving UGC scale of pay. Her contention was that the qualifying marks of 55% to get UGC scale of pay was not applicable to her and she ought to be given the benefit of relaxation of 5% under clause 3.4.1 of the UGC Regulations. In perusal of her credentials, it transpired that her appointment was not made by following

the due procedure of law. Ms. Saikia fairly admitted that in fact she had not appeared before any selection committee and her appointment was merely an adhoc appointment. Having understood the ground realities, she decided not to challenge the decision of the college authority and instead make an endeavour to get herself duly selected in accordance with law.

xvi. Himani Pathak (her 19 year old son has Bipolar Affective Disorder): Again approached us sometime in February, 2011 and sought a copy of the circular issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Personnel & Training, Government of India, to the effect that parents / guardians of persons with disabilities should be given the preference of place of posting, as her employer was once again attempting to transfer her. Copy of the same was duly provided to Ms Pathak.

The Disability Law Unit – North East has over the years grown from strength to strength by firmly cementing its working principles with a rights-based approach for persons with disabilities. Though the objectives set forth in the project agreement has been achieved to a large extend, our experience through workshops in small towns and villages has made us realise that there are a lot more to be done in the rural areas as the level of awareness in these areas is extremely low. However, the enthusiastic response of the people in the rural setting as indicated by their active interaction has been an encouraging indicator as to their yearning to learn and understand more about the rights available to them under the law. Particularly, dissemination and sharing of the legislations in the vernacular has gone a long way in percolating the rights based approach to the interiors. Inspite of rigorous activities of the DLU-NE for the last many years, the diversity and the hugeness of the terrain of the northeast itself makes our efforts look like a drop in the ocean and is a constant reminder to us that a lot more needs to be done and lots can be achieved in this sector, especially in the remote and rural areas.

ZONAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE OF THE REHABILITATION COUNCIL OF INDIA Shishu Sarothi is the Rehabilitation Council of India’s Zonal Coordination Committee, a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, for the North East. Activities for the year 2010-11 are:

1. Meeting on need for trained manpower for inclusive education

On February 2, 2011 at NEDFi House, Guwahati a meeting on the need for trained manpower for inclusive education was organized by Shishu Sarothi and was supported by Rehabilitation Council of India. Invitees for the meeting were:

1. Shri J.P.Singh, Member- Secretary, Rehabilitation Council of India

2. Ms. L Changsang, Commissioner & Sacretary, Government of Assam, Education Department and the Mission Director : Sarva Siksha Abhiyan Mission, Assam

3. Director: Primary Education, Assam 4. Director: Secondary Education, Assam 5. Lanu W. Aimol, Director-in-Charge, Composite Regional

Centre, GMCH Campus 6. State Project Officer: Inclusive Education: SCERT, Assam 7. State Council for Education, Research and Training 8. Regional Director, National Institute for Public Cooperation

and Child Development, Guwahati 9. Smt Sunita Seshadri, NIPPCD 10. Regional Director, IGNOU, Anandnagar, Guwahati 11. Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Panbazar

12. Director: Prerona , Jorhat 13. Director: Manovikash Kendra, Guwahati 14. Director: Bethany Society, Shillong 15. Director: Ashadeep, Guwahati 16. Director: Aid-et-Action 17. Director: Mondfort

Mr Arman Ali initiated the session by informing the members that the prime object of the meeting was to discuss issues with regard to inclusive education and the need for trained manpower and other related issues. He called upon the participants to share their experiences, discuss the difficulties and to freely talk about the support which we all require from each other and as well as from the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). The meeting was a step to discuss how we can improve the situation in terms of manpower development for children with disabilities and in the context of inclusive education. Mr. Ali further observed that the meeting was designed to be held in a small and informal manner so as to arrive at definite action points and drive the same forward in a focused manner. Mr. J.P Singh, Member Secretary, RCI, said that at the outset children with disabilities needs to be identified and placed in regular schools. The RCI was pressurizing the Government to assimilate children with disabilities in regular schools and there is tremendous pressure to train teachers for the same and provide necessary facilities in schools and unless these are in place, children with disabilities cannot be educated in a regular school system. He said that Assam must be having its own figure of children with disabilities, teachers, schools etc. While he observed that appointment of special teachers/ educators under the Sarba Siksha Abhijan was also being undertaken, the Commissioner & Secretary, Department of Education, Government of Assam and the Director, Sarba Siksha Abhijan (SSA) informed that Resource Teachers were being appointed under the SSA.

To deliberate on how we could improve the situation for manpower development and inclusive education, a small and close group is required to identify the action points and achieve the same with determination. He said that there was lot of pressure on the Government to identify children with disability and place them in regular schools on one hand and on the other, to train teachers and provide corresponding facilities in regular schools for children with disability. Unless all are done simultaneously, he said, it will be difficult to attain the goal of educating such children in regular schools. Lot of emphasis is to be laid on teaching of teachers through courses like foundation course, orientation courses etc. Once the teachers are trained they are to be appointed. He said that the need of the hour is to identify NGOs and upgrade their capacity so that they can take up the assignment of training of manpower. States like Andhra Pradesh, Orissa etc. have with great success collaborated with NGOs and the same has shown effective results. Teachers already in service can be deputed to take training in such organizations and once they are trained they can go back to their respective schools. Depending on the requirement, such organizations can be requested to conduct two batches simultaneously. He informed the gathering that efforts were being made to conduct the training online which was likely to commence from April, 2011 so that the number of days such trainees have to attend class physically is reduced. Participating in the deliberations, Mr. Kumar Raja, Consultant (IE), NE-cell informed that various immediate and long term steps were being undertaken at present in the State. He said that as an immediate step, training in foundation course to at least one teacher in each school was being given. As there aren’t many resource centers at present, training was being imparted through IGNOU ( Indira Gandhi National Open University). Over the period of time, course curriculum needs to be developed further. The subject ought to be compulsorily incorporated in the B.Ed. Courses so that separate training is not required for the prospective teachers who would get appointed after such B.Ed. courses. Mr. Singh said the list of centers for training of special educators and such special educators is being prepared and would be

available in the RCI site. There was huge shortage of Resource Teachers. The Delhi High Court in its landmark judgment has made it mandatory to provide two special teachers in each school and the said judgment is being implemented with great vigor in Delhi. Laying emphasis again on training, he said that teacher training was being targeted in the first phase and in the second phase, target was to establish resource centers. If we do not have trained teachers and if trained teachers are not appointed in regular schools, it will be like dumping of children in regular schools without proper infrastructure and support system. Ideally, each Block should have one resource center and every resource centre should have qualified personnel from all areas. It may be difficult for the Universities in various States to immediately start such training programs. At present Universities such as NEHU (North East Hill University), IGNOU, MP Bhoj Open University are universities recognized by the RCI. Reading materials in these Universities are one and the same which are duly approved by the RCI. Multi-disciplinary curriculum has been formulated by RCI, he said. Therefore collaboration with NGOs for conducting various courses / programmes like B.Ed. is the need of the hour. Small NGOs, he said, cannot start courses of their own. If programmes are conducted in batches with such collaboration, it could be possible to train around 15,000-16,000 specialists annually. Requirement though is to have about 100,000 such trained manpower. Thus we need to encourage NGOs who are capable to run such programmes. Apart from classroom training, special educators have to be sent to practical centers to have practical experience of handling children. As far as appointment of teachers are concerned, he said that States should plan in such a way that when there arises any vacancy in school, special teachers ought to be appointed. Mr. Raja, sharing his experience said that permanent vacancies is coming up in States like Rajasthan, Delhi and endeavor should be made to impress upon the Authorities to see that special teachers are appointed in permanent posts. Mr. Singh said that we could start by appointing one special teacher and make a small resource room. Resource Rooms could be established from SSA grants at the

Block level. Ministry of Homan Resource Development too sanctions amounts for construction of resource rooms, he said. Over the period, Block Resource Centers, so established, could be utilized as training centers. On an observation made by the Commissioner of Education, Assam to the effect that there were not many composite schemes in Asssam, Mr. Singh said that in order to formulate its own scheme, data should be collected as to the number of schools and teachers required in an area. Once the latter is identified, NGOs should be selected and RCI should be approached for approval of the NGOs, if not already approved. Universities like NEHU which are already approved by RCI could also approve training centers. Ms. Changsang, the Commissioner of Education re emphasized the need to sensitize all teachers. She said professional training of teacher and a separate 9 days training for them seems to be tall order in Assam. Latest curriculum of B.Ed. courses, said Mr. Singh would include different components of the subject, which should in future lessen the need to separately provide for foundation course to future generation teachers. Foundation course is beneficial for persons who have already been appointed as teachers. Even in B.Ed. Colleges we need to have at least one Special Educator so that they can cover the subject on disability. Once a programme is started, he said, it takes about 10 years to see the effect of the programme. Mr. Singh said that Block level centers should cater to children in regular schools, that is, children who are already in regular schools can come to these centers to overcome their problem. This is being followed all over the world. We have just imbibed only10% of the concept of inclusive education. Lot more needs to be done. Parents Sensitization Programmes should also be undertaken by the States. Sarva Siksha Abhiyan has the budget, he informed and the same could be utilized in such areas. Ms. Sunita Sheshadri, NIPPCD shared her experiences while working in the sector in the State of Orissa. Agreeing to the suggestions put forward by Mr. Singh, she reiterated that the same ought to be given effect to Mr. Carmo Noronha, Director,

Bethany Society, Shillong was of the view that as far as the State of Meghalaya was concerned, reaching out to the interiors of the State was still a distant dream and lots needs to be done in this regard. Though schemes were available in and around the capital city of Shillong, practically it was not feasible for the people from the rural areas to have access to the same. Concluding the deliberation Mr. Arman Ali called upon everyone to work towards better coordination and interaction amongst all stakeholders so that maximum possible benefits could be reaped out of the existing system and to ensure that all future course of action / schemes / plan caters to the ground realities and is based on the present experiences. Mr. Singh in his concluding observations said that the day’s deliberation were in fact an eye opener to the various fallouts of the system in place in the Northeast and he encouraged the gathering to work in tandem to make all future endeavor a success. Report of one day state level workshop on Sensitization of Government official on Inclusion of Persons with disabilities RCI Member Secretary Dr. J.P. Singh and Deputy Director of National Centre for Disabilities Studies IGNOU Dr. Hemlata were part of this workshop,along with the One day Sensitization workshop on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities which was held on 4th February 2011 at State house Sanjenthong Imphal. 2.Sensitizing of Government Stakeholder Departments Spastic society of Manipur organized the sensitization workshop on Inclusion of persons with disabilities sponsored by Rehabilitation Council of India, RCI which is a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. It takes care of Human Resource Development for comprehensive rehabilitation of PWDs to meet rehabilitation needs of entire life cycle. The mission of RCI is to provide the high

quality trained human resources in the field of rehabilitation and special education. Its vision is to reach the rehabilitation services to the majority of PWDs, particularly those living in rural areas in a shortest possible time utilizing all the available resources in the country. In this era of voluntary segregation, where by choice we prefer to live in nuclear families, have poor tolerance towards our aged parents, we think of self and not community, living such a self centered life where you don’t want to be `involved`, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ( UNCRPD) has become an International law and which has given the disabled persons rights to live in inclusive family, study in inclusive schools, work in inclusive workplace, participate equally in society and community at par with others. The Convention re-affirms existing human rights in the context of disability and focuses strongly on the discrimination that disabled people worldwide face on a daily basis. Countries that sign up to the Convention and then ratify it are obliged to implement it at the national level. India too is one f the signatory to the convention. Signing this convention, disability issues is no longer the baby of Dept. of Social Welfare, but all depts. are stakeholders and have to do their bit in providing quality of life to disabled persons. Dr. J.P Singh who is the founder Member Secretary of RCI delivered on Roles of various stakeholders depts.. in empowerment of disabled persons. Dr. Hemlata, Deputy Director, National Center for Disability Studies, IGNOU delivered on Human resource development through distance mode education. Mr. Laishram Tokendra Ricky, Secretary, Spastic Society of Manipur delivered on various Rights of disabled persons as mentioned in the articles of UNCRPD. Mr. Sadananda, a visually impaired person spoke on his life experiences and how the law has helped him achieve in Society. 42 Officials from various Govt. Dept. such as DIC, SCERT, SSA, Labour and Employment, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj were present in the workshop and their representative also

delivered on what their respective departments were doing presently to empower the disabled persons in the State. 3.Report of RCI workshop on Deaf Blindness Date: 5th February 2011 Venue: State Guest House, Sanjenthong, Imphal Participants: Special educators from SCERT, SSA and Non Government Organization

Children with Deaf Blindness face unique problems in an individual’s daily living skills, communication, education etc. With the objective to help teachers gain better understanding, explore the challenges so that the educators take initiative to mainstream the children in the regular schools. Participants were given training in Braille reading and writing, Finger Spelling, Calendar box system and other mode of communication for children with deaf blindness. Issues raised were-

1. Role of appointed special educators in SSA. 2. Age bar in SSA for appointment of special

educators 3. Upgrading skills in other areas through PG

diploma courses. 4. Delay in declaration of examination result

by NEHU 5. Placement of DHSL when the RCI has

recognized them as technicians 6. Remuneration of special educators by MSJE

Important topics discussed were-

1. It is important to provide a reactive or responsive environment for a child who is deafblind rather than a directive environment

2. Everyone around the child contributes to a responsive environment by providing situations which encourage him to explore him , communicate, solve problems and make choices

3. When working with children who are deafblind, begin by developing an emotional bond with them

4. The child with deafblindness needs to be encouraged to use his residual vision and/ hearing, and then receive positive reinforcement for his attempts

5. Routines are important and help the child anticipate what is going to happen.

4.Seminar on MGNREGA vis-à-vis persons with disabilities A one day state level seminar on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NGNREGA) vis-à-vis persons with disabilities was held at the Bethany Society complex in Shillong on 17 February 2011. The seminar was organized by the Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) of Shishu Sarothi, Guwahati and Bethany Society, Shillong and supported by the Rehabilitation Council of India under its sensitization program for government officials of the department of Rural Development (Panchayati Raj does not exist in Meghalaya). The seminar drew participants from the following:

· Government officials and gram sevaks who work at the grass roots

· Representatives of civil society bodies working in the disability sector

· Representatives of disabled peoples’ organizations from all diustricts of Meghalaya, and

· Representatives from the media

The main resource persons for the seminar were:

· Pawan Muntha, Director, Swadhikar, Andhra Pradesh · I C Marak, Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities,

Government of Meghalaya and Officer on Special Duty, Rural Development Department, Government of Meghalaya

· Tarun Bhaetya, Right to Information (RTI) activist and Advisor to the Commissioner Supreme Court on the Right to Food, Government of Meghalaya

· Arman Ali, Executive Director, Shishu Sarothi, Guwahati · Carmo Noronha, Executive Director, Bethany Society, Shillong

Morning Session The first session of the day started with a speech by Pawan Muntha who reminded persons with disabilities of their rights, duties, and responsibilities and how it is important to be included in society as equals. He said that following the Time and Work Motion Study for Persons with Disabilities comducted by Swadhikar, under the National Rural Employment Gaurantee Act, 2005, the state government of Andhra Pradesh agreed to the following recommendations:

· A person with disability will work for eight hours per day, with three interim breaks which may stretch for about 2 1/2 hours.

· Groups of persons with disabilities will be given work, irrespective of their participation as labor, in different groups.

· Groups of persons with disabilities are assumed of all works from the Shelf of Works identified under the Act.

· Each person with disability will be assumed of wage payment per day as per the scheme.

· The State Government will come out with a government order which may set itself as a model to other states of India.

· Persons with disabilities will be paid travel allowances which will be paid travel allowance which will be 10 per cent of their daily wages if the work site is beyond ½ a kilometer.

· Families with Children with disabilities below 18 years and severe / multiple disabled will get 150 days of work as against the 100 days guaranteed in the Act and scheme. This was followed by a film on the implementation of MGNREGA in Andhra Pradesh which was made by Swadhikar in order to create awareness aong the people, including government officials of relevant departments, on the right of persons with disabilities to gain employmentunder this Act. Pawan Munthha’s presentation was followed by a talk by I C Marak, Commissioner for persons with Disabilities and Officer on Special Duty, Rural Development Department of the Government of Meghalaya. She observed that the scheme is demanded- driven and that persons with disabilities must demand work under the Act. She also emphasized that persons with disabilities must demand work under the Act. She also emphasized that persons with disabilities themselves must take responsibility to create awareness of their rights. The Commissioner also highlighted the importance of the ongoing census exercise and livelihood issues of persons with disabilities, especially in the rural areas. I C Marak’s speech was followed by a round of translation into Khasi and Garo languages of the proceedings till then, and questions and observations from the audience. Carmo

Noronha then requested Tarun Bhartya to place his opinions on the Right to Information (RTI) and implementation of the MGNREGA in Meghalaya. Tarun Bhartya began by emphasizing that one needs to understand the difference between a simple scheme of the government and an Act. He said that while a scheme could be discontinued, an Act gives the people rights which cannot be discontinued. He said that this is more so in case of MNREGA which guarantees the rights to livelihood. He also reiterated that the Act has created a situation where people have the right to choose what they want to do and implement. He concluded by saying that transparency is the need of the hour and we need to come together at the block, district, and state levels to strengthen and encourage one another. POST- LUNCH SESSION: At the post – lunch session, Arman Ali, Executive Director of Shishu Sarothi spoke about the Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) project of Shishu Sarothi which was begun in order to facilitate the economic empowerment of persons with disabilities. He said that one of DEI is to advocate for wider inclusion of persons with disabilities under the MGNREGA program, especially in a neglected states like Meghalaya and Assam. He lauded the success of implementation of the MGNREGA program in Andhra Pradesh among persons with disabilities through the efforts of Pawan Muntha and his team and appealed to government officials and gram sevaks to keep the Andhra Pradesh model in mind while formulating strategies for wider inclusion of persons with disabilities under MGNREGA activities. He added that persons with disabilities under MGNREGA have been working fairly well in Meghalaya in comparison to Assam. He urged all

disabled peoples’ organizations in the Northeast to learn from Pawan Muntha’s experience in Andra Pradsh on how to influence the government to incorporate clauses vis-à-vis persons with disabilities like in Andhra Pradesh: 1. 150 days of guaranteed employment under MGNREGS for

persons with disabilities 2. Separate job cards for persons with disabilities

POST-TEA SESSION: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 6 February 2006 from Andhra Pradesh and came into force on 2 February 2006. It is a first step towards realizing the right to work, which is included in the constitution as one of the directive principles. With this in mind, the state-level seminar discussed all aspects of the Act vis-à-vis persons with disabilities. Members of the Association of Challenged People, Meghalaya, other NGOs working on disability issues, and all who participated in the seminar decided during this session to present a list of resolutions to the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya, Department of Social Welfare for necessary action. VOTE OF THANKS: The vote of thanks was given by Benister Kharpor, President of the Association of Challenged People, Meghalaya, on behalf of the organizers and participants. He thanked all for participating in the seminar and the support given by the Government officials and NGOs working in the disability sector. On a very special note he thanked: Pawan Muntha, Director, Swadhikar, Andhra Pradsh

I C Marak, Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Government of Meghalaya and Officer on Special Duty, Rural Development Department, Government of Meghalaya Tarun Bhartya, RTI Activist and Advisor to the Commissioner Supreme Court on the Right to Food, Government of Meghalaya Arman Ali, Executive Director, Bethany Society, Shillong.

SNAC ACTIVITY REPORT-2010-11

Liaison with Directorate of Social Welfare, Government of Assam

The Project Coordinator of SNAC Assam, is one of the member of the Committee, that is, Committee for “Shelter/Treatment and Rehabilitation to the Mentally Retarded Persons”, which was formed on 06.07.10 under Directorate of Social Welfare, Assam. It is pertinent to mention herein that the said Committee has been formed pursuant to the order dated 13.05.09 passed by the Hon’ble Assam Human Rights Commission in connection with AHRC Case no. 4923/2004- Purnima Sarma and Ors- Complainant.

The operating part of the order is to provide shelter, treatment and rehabilitation to the Persons with Mentally Retarded who have none to care. The Hon’ble Commission further recommended to the State Government in the Social Welfare Department to examine the matter regarding setting up of Independent Care Rehabilitation Centre exclusively for Persons with Mental Retardation who have none to take care of them and take necessary action in this regard on its own or in association with some Non Governmental Organization. Output: As immediate intervention to address the pathetic condition of Mentally Retarded persons the Committee decided that NGOs i.e. Ashadeep- Guwahati, Destination-Guwahati, Prerona-Jorhat, Dhula Regional Physically Handicapped Development association-Darang, Shishu Sarothi- Guwahati and Parents Association of Shishu Sarothi-Guwahati ( all are NGOs and registered under National Trust) will take initiative for care and protection of the Mentally Retarded Persons within the resources available with them. Social Welfare Department shall assists NGOs named above by financial, technical and logistic support.

Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction

On 27th May 2010, Mr. Biplob Parashar Khound, Project Officer, SNAC-National Trust deliberated on the topic ‘Disaster Risk Management vis-à-vis Person with Developmental Disability’ before the students of Tata Institute of Social Science, North East Regional Centre. The deliberation was a part of their course, that is, Diploma Programme in Community Organization and Development Practice. The Course consists of a batch of 30 students, who, after successful completion of the course, are expected to work at the community level in their own districts in the North East India. Output: Participants shared their experience with regard to their dealing with persons with disabilities in course of their work. They stressed on the importance of correct attitude in dealing with the PwDs. In the letter of appreciation issued by the organisers after the event, Mr. Victor Narzary, programme officer of TISS expressed his indebtedness to the Project Coordinator, national Trust and hoped to avail his help and expertise in future too.

All India Radio Programme Biplob, as the Project Officer of SNAC- National Trust attended an All India Radio Programme on 2nd April 2010 where he spoke about the Disabilites under the National Trust, Objectives of National Trust, various schemes under National Trust and UNCRPD.

Output: After the programme several stakeholders are making contacting him to know about the various issues under National Trust and have assured their cooperation in stepping ahead, hand in hand with SNAC, Assam.

Sensitization Programme on Disabilities Rights Conducted by: Disability Law Unit, North East and SNAC- Assam In association with: Student Welfare Mission (registered under National Trust), Patshala Dated: 28th August 2010 Venue: Harimandir, Patshala, District- Barpeta No of Participants: 80 A Community based Sensitization Programme on the Disability Laws was organized by the Disability Law Unit for the North Eastern region and SNAC, Assam under Shishu Sarothi, a Centre for Rehabilitation and Training for Multiple Disability on the 28th of August, 2010 from 11 A.M. to 3 P.M. in Pathsala in the Barpeta District of Assam. The said Workshop was conducted with the help and active co-operation of its local partner, Students Welfare Mission, a non-governmental organization in Pathsala. The Community Workshop was attended by participants comprising of a wide spectrum of the public. There were participants from the local Bajali Disability Association, representatives of the local Teachers’ Unit and the Inspector of Schools, Bajali in Pathsala, people from the Press, Police personnel, various members of the Pathsala Youth Committee, Pathsala Bazar Committee, Students Welfare Mission and members of the Pathsala Unit of the All Assam Students Union. The Workshop was also attended be around 20 students from local Schools and also from the Blind School in Pathsala. There were around 80 participants in the said Workshop.

The working session of the Workshop saw a detailed deliberation on the various Disability related legislations in India viz. National Trust Act’ 1999, Rehabilitation Council of India’1992, PwD Act’1995 and Mental Health Act’ 1987. Output:

· Meeting was held in remote area. · At a time we create awareness among the govt. authorities,

parents of PwD, PwDs, gaonpanchayat members, SSA volunteers, school teachers, community members etc.

· Areas covered in the meetings are causes, early identification, management, NT’s disabilities, acts for PwD & schemes of NT etc.

· Open house discussion with the participants. · Covered legal issues.

Human Resource Development in collaboration with other NGOs

· IDeA (Institute for Development Action) is a pioneer Non Government Organization conducting various short term courses time to time in Assam on human resource development. On 8th September 2010 they invited our SNAC coordinator as a resource person for course of ‘Right Base Approaches’ in terms of disability rights. There he had spoke about National Trust act, RCI act, PwD act in front of 22 participants including Persons with Disabilities.

Output: Participants shared their experienced in dealing with person with disabilities in course of their work. They stressed on the importance of correct attitude in dealing with the PwDs.

· Gramya Vikash Mancha (GVM) is another Non profit organization based at Nalbari district of Assam. GVM exists to empower the rural community, particularly the underprivileged. GVM follows a participatory approach with SNAC- Assam to provide professional support and enable rural people to manage their resources in terms of disability. As our joint venture we conducting awareness programme, developing Disaster Risk Reduction Manual for Person with Disability. As SNAC of Assam we provide handholding support to them.

SNAC activity in Inclusive Transport Facilities Assam might have made some strides in the field of transportation, but a section of people it offers no opportunities to travel in a mode that is safe, comfortable and dignified. The physically challenged who have specific physical needs, find the going tougher than ever. There is absence of ‘universal design’ in almost all major modes of transport resulting in serious inconvenience to disabled people. A lack of basic facilities in buses, trains and transit points is apparent.

An accessibility-on-field audit of the Railways, along with persons with disabilities is contemplated to be organized in the month of October, 2010 where SNAC, Assam will be an active participant.

Activities vis-à-vis Census, 2011 Rational for undertaking awareness campaign: Census is a snapshot in time of the country’s population status, elucidating information on demographic and other key characteristics of its people like their age, sex, ethnic background, marital status and income. India has the proud history of holding a census every ten years uninterruptedly since the year 1872 and Census 2011 is the 15th in the series.

Though collection of disability related data dates back to the very inception of Indian Census 1872, the practice was discontinued from 1931. It again made a comeback after a gap of almost 50 years in 1981 at an opportune time when United Nations declared the “International Year of the Disabled”. However, the question put forth was a very rudimentary one asking only about blindness, physical handicap and dumbness. In the next couple of census too the question was there but very basic again. The figures in the census 2001 reflects a disability population in the country of only a meager 2.1% and perhaps this is because the question on disability was not given due importance. Painstaking lobbying over the last decade by stakeholders ensured that a detailed question on disability was incorporated in the Census 2011 questionnaire. The major hurdle of ensuring proper head count of person with disabilities during the ongoing census,2011 having been overcome by incorporation of the aforesaid detailed question as Question No. 9 in the questionnaire, the onus now once again lay on the stakeholders to ensure that the said question was suitably put across by the enumerators and that it was correctly answered by public at large. Awareness campaign: With this aim, the State Nodal agency Centre, Assam in association with Disability Law Unit - North East met Shri Roben Kr. Das, IAS, the Director of Census operations, Assam on the 18th of August, 2011 and submitted a representation requesting him to share information as to the steps taken by the Authorities with regard to the issue of disability vis-à-vis the census operation. A special request was made to ensure adequate publicity and awareness about the same. The positive response from the Director of Census Operation, Assam was an encouraging support to us to move ahead and work with further determination for the cause.

We once approached the Director of Census operations, Assam informing him that we would be glad to assist in conducting the training of Master Trainers/Enumerators on the issue of disability. A series of communications and interaction with the office of the Directorate of Census Operation, Assam saw us being given the responsibility of conducting training for enumerators in the entire districts o the state of Assam. It not being humanly possible for the SNAC-Assam and DLU-NE team to personally visit each and every training centre in every district of Assam to conduct the said training of the enumerators which was being held simultaneously, we contacted our partners spread over the various districts, sent them the training materials via email/post and request and guide them to conduct the training sessions. It is satisfying to report that all the hard work and perseverance shown by all our partners and also other colleagues at Shishu Sarothi who also trained enumerators in a couple of districts yielded unimaginable results, in as much as, we successfully covered the training of 7,740 (seven thousand seven hundred & forty) numbers of enumerators in 24 blocks of fifteen districts of Assam. Just before the commencement of the House to House Census Operation the SNAC of Assam and DLU-NE team put another effort on awareness rising for promotion consciousness amongst the masses at large regarding the importance of sharing of accurate information in the Census. Towards this end, slogans were prepared and after having it duly approved by the office of Directorate of Census, Government of Assam, the same were given to All India Radio. The slogans which were in simple language so that even the uneducated masses and people from rural areas could understand.

Awareness Campaign for Accessible Polling Booths in the Assembly Elections

Elections invariably bring up the question of accessibility. Prior to the Assam assembly Elections, 2011, the State Nodal Agency Centre –SHISHU SAROTHI thus aspired to create widespread consciousness amongst the community at large so that every person with disability could exercise his or her vote in an accessible and barrier free polling station. Endeavour was also made to make people aware in general that an accessible polling booth was a matter of right and that they had to assert their right to franchise. In the election conducted in the state of Assam in the past, it has been seen that awareness of the public at large to assert their to have accessible polling booths was extremely low and, in fact, it was widely seen that a person with disability often could not cast his/her vote and e or she usually did not raise voice respect of such issues. In this backdrop, our endeavour in the election was to reach out to as many people of the community as we could and spread consciousness on the issue at hand. Shishu Sarothi, SNAC of Assam began by contacting the State Election Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioners of the various Districts of Assam highlighting the need to ensure that adequate provisions/facilities are made in all polling booths across the state to make it accessible for person with disabilities . The response was mixed, some assured that the same would and is being taken care of and others responded by saying that they knew about their obligations and need not be reminded of the same by an entity such as ours. Undaunted nevertheless we continued to remind the officials, encourage the local partners to take up the issue and be vigilant and on the whole monitor to the extent possible. The Election in the state of Assam was conducted in two phases. The first phase was scheduled on the 4th of April, 2011 comprising of over 13 districts of Upper Assam and the second phase of

elections was scheduled on the 11th of April, 2011 which included the other 14 districts of Lower Assam. Prior to the elections in Assam, we contacted our partners in few of the respective districts to spread word and awareness amongst the community at large on the right to vote for all persons with disabilities specially highlighting on the facilities that ought to be provided for in all the polling stations. Moreover, the partners were specially requested to do extensive survey of the actual facilities provided for in the polling stations on the day of the election. It was heartening to see the enthusiastic cooperation of our partners who readily extended all help that we required to gather information on the ground realities in the first phase of elections so that any discrepancies which occurred and any instances of polling booths without the requisite accessible norms could be promptly reported before the relevant Authorities and also brought to the notice of the media. Some of the districts covered were Dibrugarh (Mrinaljyoti Rehabilitation Centre), Jorhat (Prerona), Golaghat (Upper Assam Handicapped Centre), Lakhimpur (Pratay Centre), Dhemaji (Rabindranath Vocational Centre). Before visiting the various places, some local persons in the respective localities were contacted by us to help us to gather a group of around 30-40 people for informal group meetings. It was specifically requested by us to have gathering of such persons like parents or other family members of PwDs, school and college teachers, social activists working in the locality, village headman etc. Through these group sessions, the team aspired to reach out to the community at large so that there was proper awareness on the issue. The overall assessment of the disabled friendly scenario during the current elections could be summed up by recording that awareness about the needs of various facilities for the disabled seemed to have trickled down to a large extent. Though, adequate infrastructural facilities in each polling booth still seems to be far cry, the same was however countered to a large

extent by the cooperation of the personal manning the booths. It has been reported and experienced that physically challenged electors were, in fact, given priority for entering the polling station, without having to wait in the queue like other electors and they were necessary assistance at the polling station and allowed to be accompanied by an escort where necessary. Though some solace could be gathered from the same, nevertheless one cannot rest at, in as much as, bare minimum like Braille EVMs and proper ramps etcetera ought to have been in place for the benefit of persons with disabilities.

SNAC and SNAP Meet

Dates: 19th October’2010 and 1st February’ 2011 Venue: Prerona, Jorhat Participants: SNAC & SNAP coordinators and 5 registered organization viz. Mrinaljyoti, upper Assam Handicapped Centre, sanjewani, Pratay and Sri Sri Sewa Ashram Objectives:

· To planning for Badhte Kadam. · To provide hand holding support to the National Trust

registered organizations. · To create awareness about schemes and provision provisions

of National Trust Act among stakeholders. · To activation/formation of LLCs. · To register new NGOs under National Trust. · To coordinate among SNAC, SNAP & ROs

Out Comes:

· Have a very good coordination between SNAC & SNAP · SNAC & SNAP put tremendous effort to create awareness

among different department of Govt. of Assam · We conducted Badhte Kadam in Assam in a great success

manner. · Keep in touch with LLCs in a regular basis. · Provide technical support to the NGOs

Badhte Kadam 2010

Badhte Kadam 2010 was organized as an innovative disability sector awareness raising campaign on road under National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability and took place from November 20th to 26th 2010. Badhte Kadam team consisting of seven state level recruited volunteers, including one person with Disability and one driver, travelled on different road routes, during the 7 day period, covering a total of 1820 km in 10 districts. Eight (8) meals were held at different National Trust partners. National Trust provided a multitude of written information and also included a series of 25 posters, mobile exhibition, highlighting provision under the UNCRPD. The local media coverage was superb, bringing a large reach to this initial effort. BK 2010 was flagged off by Commissioner for Person with Disability of Assam, Srimati Malabika Baruah and renowned Assamese actress Nisihta Goswami and actor Biki Rajkhowa and flagged in by Director of Social Welfare of Assam,Govt. of Assam, Shri Rajiv Lochan Durah, with a special ceremony honouring, for the very first rime, Special Olympian. Both events took place in the premises of Shishu Sarothi. We had held different types of programmes in the melas. The programmes we did were: art competition, dance, street play, songs, processions and in each mela we held an open session meeting.

In all the Badhte Kadam programmes we witnessed the audience of different age, gender, sector like. State Govt. Officials, Doctors, Advocates, Gaon Panchyat representatives, Parent of PwDs, College students, Police Officials, High Schools Teachers, Self help Groups, Senior Citizens, Other non registered organizations under National Trust, Pwds, Media Persons, SSA Personnel, Anganwari workers, Supervisors and CDPOs, Members of Ladies Club, Religious organizations etc. So we tried to fulfil the target of one objective of Badhte Kadam that is “celebrate the diversity”. In all our programmes we included three items, they are:

· Badhte Kadam Assamese song · Various schemes under National Trust · Concept and proper implementation of UNCRPD

Some materials were used in Badhete Kadam progreme which we have received on 18th November 2010 from National Trust i.e. T-Shirt (30), Cap (25), Key ring (1000), Jacket(6), Bag (1000), Paper soap (1000). Among these some materials were for the BK volunteers and Resource persons and others were distributed among the audience. In this Badhe Kadam program we partnered with 6 organizations namely

I. Student Welfare Mission, Pathsala, Barpeta on 20th November II. Assam Mental Health Society, Malikuchi, Nalbari on 21st

November III. Sanjeevani, Tezpur, Sonitpur on 22 November IV. Upper Assam Handicapped Centre, Bokakhat, Golaghat on

23rd November V. Prerona, Jorhat on 24th November

VI. Mrinaljyoti Rehab Centre, Duliajan, Dibrugarh on 25th November

And we had a gathering of 5000 people over there. Lastly we have flagged in on 26th November at Shishu Sarothi. *In recognition of its achievements, Shishu Sarothi the State Nodal Agency Centre received the National Award for ‘Outstanding

Contribution to the Success of Badhte Kadam’ from the National Trust in 2010.

Workshop on Capacity Building Conducted by: SHISHU SAROTHI In Association with National Trust Date: 9th to 11th December 2010 Venue: shsishu sarothi, Guwahati Key Person: Micheal J. Rosenkrantz Aim: The aim of the workshop is to discuss the best practice in

· To writing a communication plan · To fundraising planning · To grant proposal writing · To grant proposal budget planning · To staff development, retention and team building · To sustainability planning · To build standard evaluation plane

State Level Network

Meeting held on various occasions with other NGOs at Cachar, Barpeta, , Lakhimpur, Kamrup(metro)

Meet more than 10+ persons. Common issues, was need for greater awareness about the nature and needs of the NT specific disabilities among parents, community and district administration and Govt. authorities.

Contacts with LLCs

Active contact made with 7 LLCs including Barpeta, Lakhimpur, Kamrup (metro), Baksa, Morigaon, Sonitpur and Nagaon.

Contacted DCs in Barpeta, Kamrup (metro), Lakhimpur and Baska to initiate formation of LLCs there.

More support needed form National Trust to highlight importance of legal guardianship issue.

DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE ACTIVITY REPORT- 2010- 2011

Economic empowerment of people with disabilities is one of the main concerns of the disability sector in India. Societal prejudices and physical barriers pose the greatest hurdle and have turned even the idea of empowering disabled persons into an illusion. The Government of India initiated the policy of three per cent reservation in jobs for disabled people more than three decades ago in 1977, albeit the reservation then was only for lower-ranking jobs. In 1995, when the Persons with Disabilities (PD) Act was passed, the reservation was extended to higher-ranking jobs as well. However, according to a World Bank report prepared in 2006-07 on the request of the Government of India, even now only 10.2 per cent of all posts in ministries/departments and public sectors has been identified as suitable for disabled people. The Eleventh Five-Year Plan of the Government of India (2007-2012), in its chapter on Employment Perspective and Labour Policy, has informed that 58 million job opportunities will be created during the Plan period that will lead to reduction in the unemployment rate to below five per cent. But, how can the goal of bringing down the unemployment rate be achieved without addressing the employment issues of people with disabilities, who constitute about five to six per cent of the population? Again, as far as the private sector is concerned, there are no strict statutory obligations regards employing persons with disabilities. It can only be a self-fuelled goal, as part of a value system, equal opportunity, and inclusive society. And here too, while at a micro-level it might appear that there has been progress since several corporate houses are taking proactive measures to employ disabled people, at the macro-level the ground reality is quite contrary. In the Northeast especially, where economic growth is stunted, the picture is quite bleak. It is in this backdrop that the Disability Employment Initiative (DEI), intended to make useful interventions in employment for

persons with disabilities in the Northeast, and funded by Christtofel Development Cooperation, was launched in March 2010. Thus, the DEI, intended to make useful interventions in employment for persons with disabilities in the Northeast, has begun work in a focused and structured manner on:

· Creating awareness on employment opportunities for the disabled, and removal of social barriers

· Creating a study on the employment scenario for persons with disabilities in the Northeast

· Facilitating their employment · Advocating for employment opportunities for the

disabled in both private and government sectors

OBJECTIVE 1:

CREATION OF AWARENESS ON EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

AND REMOVAL OF SOCIAL BARRIERS

Activities in this period:

· A sensitization meet for the corporate sector was held on 23 June, 2010 at Shishu Sarothi in Guwahati on “Corporate Sector and Disability Issues”. The workshop, held in association with the Disability Law Unit – North East (DLU-NE), was intended as a platform for sensitizing the private sector to the rights of people with disabilities and advocating employment for them in this sector. The Minister of Industries, Power and Commerce, Government of Assam, Pradyut Bordoloi, was invited to grace the workshop as guest of honor and thereby facilitate in activating the corporate sector to adopt a more proactive role in employing persons with disabilities. Presentations were made by:

Anju Talukdar, Project Coordinator, Disability Law Unit-NE on rights of persons with disabilities vis-à-vis employment

Saswati Barman, Assistant Project Coordinator, DEI, on best practices for corporates vis-à-vis employment of persons with disabilities

Sarat Jain, Managing Director, S M Group of Companies and former Chairman of the Federation of Industries and Commerce of the North Eastern Region (FINER) on exploring the role of the private sector in employing persons with disabilities

Arman Ali, Executive Director, Shishu Sarothi, on disability and employment

Participants at the meet, numbering 42, represented a cross-section of industry sectors ranging from entertainment, insurance, banking, health care, and education to telecom, consultancy, manufacturing, automobiles, and food processing. It was also heartening that representatives from industry federations like the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the Federation of Industries and Commerce of the North Eastern Region (FINER), and the women’s wing of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), i.e., the FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) attended the meet. A news item on the workshop was also published in the leading English-language newspaper in the eastern region of India, The Telegraph.

An important output of the workshop was a request from the Assam Minister of Industries, Power and Commerce to the DEI to submit a paper on how the government could help motivate the private sector to include persons with disabilities in its workforce.

· One district-level sensitization workshop in Darrang district of Assam and one state-level seminar in Meghalaya – both on MGNREGA – were held during this period. The district-level workshop entitled “District-Level Sensitization Workshop on MGNREGA and Persons with Disabilities”, was organized by the Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) of Shishu Sarothi in collaboration with Darrang-based civil society organization Social Action for Appropriate Transformation and

Advancement of Rural Areas (SATRA) at Mangaldai in Darrang district of Assam on January 27, 2011. The workshop was intended to sensitize grass root level stakeholders in the Darrang district of Assam to the rights that flow to persons with disabilities under the government’s flagship rural employment programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). There were altogether 48 participants at the sensitization workshop embracing a cross-section of stakeholders – village council (gaon panchayat) representatives who are actively involved in deciding the category of work for integrated rural development, representatives of disabled peoples’ organizations, Right to Information (RTI) activists, persons with disabilities, and civil society activists. The proceedings of the workshop were conducted by Executive Director, Shishu Sarothi, Arman Ali, DEI Project Coordinator Monideepa Choudhury and Executive Director, SATRA, Nani Saikia.

A state-level seminar entitled, “State-level Seminar on

MGNREGA Vis-a-Vis Persons with Disabilities” was organized by the DEI in association with Bethany Society, Shillong, Meghalaya at the latter’s complex on 17 February 2011, with part-financial support from the Rehabilitation Council of India, a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. There were 55 participants at the seminar comprising government officials and gram sevaks who work at the grass roots, representatives of civil society bodies working in the disability sector, representatives of disabled peoples’ organizations from all districts of Meghalaya, besides representatives from the media. The main resource persons for the seminar were Pawan Muntha, Director, Swadhikar, Andhra Pradesh, I C Sangma, Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Government of Meghalaya and Officer on Special Duty, Rural Development Department, Government of Meghalaya, Tarun Bhartya, Right to Information (RTI) Activist and Advisor to the Commissioner Supreme Court on the Right to Food, Government of Meghalaya,

Arman Ali, Executive Director, Shishu Sarothi, Guwahati, and Carmo Noronha, Executive Director, Bethany Society, Shillong.

· The DEI team has also identified the matter that will go into print for a poster campaign information material on disability employment issues. The reference points for the publicity material have been taken from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), A Value Route to Business Success published by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), and National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC) lending guidelines. The matter for these posters have been translated into Khasi and Assamese and have been divided into three themes for distribution among stakeholders concerned – employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector/corporates, employment of persons with disabilities under MGNREGA and self-employment of persons with disabilities with reference to the NHFDC. In this period only a portion of posters on the MGNREGA theme were distributed among stakeholders. Those on NHFDC and private sector will be timed to run concurrently with concentrated awareness campaigns in these two areas.

OBJECTIVE 2:

AVAILABLE INFORMATION ON EMPLOYMENT SCENARIO AND JOB

OPPORTUNITIES

· A Terms of Reference (TOR) has been signed with the Tata

Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, State of Maharashtra, India, an internationally-renowned institution of excellence in higher education in the Social Sciences, for a needs assessment study on employment among persons with

disabilities in two districts each of Assam and Meghalaya. The study aims at conducting a baseline research to understand the current situation of employment and its potential for persons with disabilities. The study is to be the first of its kind in the North Eastern region and will also be the baseline to design a larger and detailed study on employment for persons with disabilities in the North Eastern part of India. It also can be used to design creative employment options for persons with disability, train employers for implementing solutions and strategies for inclusive employment, influence policy for employment, besides others. Research proposal has been developed and designed and tools of data collection identified and prepared by TISS, Mumbai. Desk survey of employment opportunities, identification of potential participants for the research, and identification of field investigators for data collection and their training at TISS NERC has also been completed by the DEI team.

In order to carry out the above needs assessment study as also in preparation for a job fair for persons with disabilities (in pursuance of the third objective of the project, i.e., Facilitating Employment), a qualification-wise database of literate people with disabilities has been assembled both independently and from government agency sources like the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre, Guwahati, the Special Employment Exchange of the Directorate of Employment and Craftsmen Training, Government of Assam, and the Special Employment Exchange, Government of Meghalaya. Since portions of the data acquired from the government agencies were dated, an update drive was carried out by the DEI. The DEI has also compiled a moderately comprehensive data of industries/commercial units/service sector organizations in the state of Assam which may be identified as potential employers. The moderately comprehensive database of job seekers in the states of Assam and Meghalaya that was created between March and July 2010 was further updated in the run-up to a job fair, this time to include even job seekers from across the seven states of

Northeast India. The data is at present accessible in print and phone. Database of potential employers also updated.

· The DEI Assistant Project Coordinator, Saswati Barman, made a presentation at a one-day workshop on Working with the Differently-Abled organized by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on 27 May 2010. The presentation touched on the need for economic empowerment of persons with disabilities, the stereotype mindsets that act as hurdle in the employment of persons with disabilities, how to make a workplace accessible and how to match skill sets of persons with disabilities with jobs.

OBJECTIVE 3:

FACILITATING EMPLOYMENT

The DEI took the first steps in preparing for a job fair for persons with disabilities in the Northeast by signing a memorandum of association (MOA) with national cross disability organization Ability Foundation, based in Chennai in Tamil Nadu state of India. Ability Foundation, which works for the empowerment and rights of persons with disabilities, has been organizing a job fair f or persons with disabilities for the last six years. The first communication was made by the DEI in this regard on 18 March 2010, and thereafter, consequent to a visit to Chennai to understand about the way such a job fair is conducted, a MOA was signed between Shishu Sarothi and Ability Foundation on 9 August, 2010 on the holding of a job fair on 19 November 2010. It was decided by the DEI and Ability Foundation that the job fair would be christened CareerAccess2010 and would be open to all PwD candidates who are graduates or above or with 15 years+ education. The challenge of assembling private sector employers for an equal opportunity job fair was colossal. A few Pan-India corporate offices had only just set shop in Guwahati, local industry had just begun to gain momentum after years of insurgency, IT and ITeS

companies were conspicuous by their absence, and the concept of equal opportunity generally unknown. It was not surprising then that many corporate representatives mistook efforts to get them aboard an equal opportunity platform like CareerAccess2010 as just another exercise in corporate social responsibility, several turned down requests for participation citing dearth of vacancies, and a few startled ones expressed reservations about the wisdom of holding such an event in the Northeast of India. Pioneering ventures are always hard to explain. But, as both the Ability Foundation and DEI teams believed – nothing is impossible, only a beginning has to be made. The Ability Foundation team impressed upon naukri.com (India’s No 1 job site) to run tickers about the event. Representations for support were made to government departments and federations of industry, and they received fair response. The Federation of Industries and Commerce of the North Eastern Region (FINER) released a circular among its member companies, requesting participation in the novel venture. The FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) too helped both teams to network with industry and government in getting potential employers and candidates aboard CareerAccess2010. Disseminating information about the job fair among candidates across the eight states in the Northeast was a gigantic and costly task and it was realised that the government machinery had also to be involved. The Commissioner of Disabilities, Assam obliged to a request to write to her counterparts in Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, and Sikkim. The Assam Social Welfare Department and Directorate agreed to insert an advertisement in two leading English and vernacular dailies in the Northeast, calling persons with disabilities with 15 years+ education to apply for CareerAccess2010. The Director of Employment and Craftsmen Training, Assam and the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre came forward to issue circulars in this regard to their respective district offices. Enthused by the idea, the Employment Generation Mission of Assam too released a public notice about the job fair in all vernacular dailies. Red FM and Newslive, an Assam-based news channel, were involved as Radio and TV partners. Shishu Sarothi’s partner NGOs in the eight north-eastern states as well disabled peoples’ organisations contributed in distributing posters and spreading

the word. Enquiry calls began to pour in from across the country and the last date for receiving applications had to be extended to 4 November. The Shishu Sarothi office in Guwahati was deluged with applications, of which several had to be rejected since they were either incomplete or from persons who did not suffer from any disabilities. Meanwhile, public sector companies like the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), the Oil India Limited (OIL), and the State Bank of India (SBI) were approached to contribute financially towards the event. The participating companies were also requested to contribute a participation amount since the magnitude of the fair was surpassing the expectation of the project goal. Trepidation however matched enthusiasm and as the date for the fair drew near the CareerAccess 2010 team began to panic about the outcome. A few corporates which had confirmed participation withdrew at the eleventh hour, pleading a hold on recruitment. The team was also unsure about the attendance of the 352 registered candidates (among the more than 550 applications which had come in) on the day of the job fair, travelling as many would be from 11 states and remote areas. On November 17, 2010 at a press meet formally announcing the event it was informed that CareerAccess2010 would bring together a dozen open-minded sensitive employers – representing Telecommunications, Insurance, Retail, Manufacturing, Consultancy Firms, IT and ITES, Cosmetics, and FMCG – and qualified persons with disabilities in a region bereft of avenues of wage employment and at a time when private industry was learning to recognize the talent of disabled people. Finally, at 7:30 am on November 19, 2010, the first of the candidates who had travelled all the way from Tripura, was wheeled in through the gates of Pragjyoti, ITA Centre for Performing Arts in Guwahati, the venue of the fair. By the time the last touch had been given to the corporate stalls, the VIP enclosure, the CareerAccess2010 office, and waiting area for guardians at 9:00 am, 282 registered candidates and 18 non-registered hopeful job seekers had queued up. Between 9:30 and 10 am the human resource executives of the private sector companies also signed in their attendance.

Care was taken to ensure that the venue of the fair was made accessible in all respects. Ramps were built in certain stairwells at the venue and the DEI arranged for several wheelchairs, besides 50 National Cadet Corps (NCC) to help them candidates with disabilities to locate their stalls and comfortably appear for the interviews. A sign language interpreter was also employed for that day in order to help interpret for candidates with severe hearing impairment. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi who was invited to grace the event arrived when interviews at the 22 corporate stalls were on full swing. The Chief Minister took a tour of all stalls, interacting animatedly with the human resource executives and candidates. Finally, addressing all present, the Chief Minister appreciated the efforts of DEI, Shishu Sarothi and Ability Foundation and announced that the government would be keen to set up a skill development institute for persons with disabilities in the state. The last of the candidates and corporate executives left the venue at 5 pm, overwhelmed by a host of emotions – hope, confidence, awe, and a motivation to help make lives brighter. CareerAccess2010 became a milestone in the promotion of equal opportunity and inclusiveness for disabled in the North East. A month later, the 22 participating corporates gave the CareerAccess2010 team figures that spell the final outcome of the first job fair for persons with disabilities in the Northeast: · 300 candidates interviewed · 97 shortlisted by 13 companies · 5 appointed and presently working in two companies – Oja

Hyundai and Emami · 2 job offers turned down · Contact was established with Mr Pavan Kumar of Swadhikar, an

NGO based in Andhra Pradesh state of India, which has successfully impressed upon the government of Andhra Pradesh to adopt its recommendation of: (A) 150 days of guaranteed work in a year to persons with disabilities under MGNREGA, a flagship rural employment guarantee programme of the Government of India; and (B) separate job cards for persons with disabilities since under the scheme one job card is given to each rural household and very often the person with disability

is kept away from this guaranteed work. Mr Kumar has very kindly shared the annual report of his NGO which details the manner in which Swadhikar was able to influence government policy to benefit persons with disabilities.

· The DEI has partnered with SATRA, an NGO working in Sipajhar in the Darrang district of Assam, for economic empowerment of persons with disabilities. It has initiated and is facilitating SATRA’s proposal for microfinance for various commercial activities from the National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC) for 27 persons with disabilities (PwD) beneficiaries in Siphajhar.

· The DEI has facilitated distribution of free mobile Public Call Office (PCO) equipment among 18 PwD beneficiaries of Shishu Sarothi under a Tata Teleservices Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme.

· The DEI also facilitated job interviews for four candidates for telemarketing positions in Guwahati and Tezpur, in partnership with V-Shesh, a placement agency based in Chennai in Tamil Nadu state of India.

· The DEI also aided the submission of a loan proposal to the National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC) for the takeover of a primary school by Ashish Singh, a student of the Functional Academic Class of the Center for Special Education, Shishu Sarothi. Ashish Singh, certified as 100 per cent disabled, is orthopedic following cerebral palsy.

· Ability Foundation, Chennai, which is also a niche placement agency, will continue to advocate and facilitate the employment of the candidates who attended the job fair, CareerAccess2010 among all-India equal opportunity employers. Post-CareerAccess2010, the DEI and Ability Foundation share a list of those candidates who were shortlisted by the various corporates attending the job fair and both have been continuing to follow up with those who shortlisted candidates as well as other potential employers. The DEI has for instance send the names of two candidates to the principal of the NETES Institute of Technology and Science (NITS), Mirza, Assam in response to an enquiry for Masters in Commerce candidates for faculty positions in the college. (The principal was a visitor to the job

fair and was impressed with the abilities of the candidates who were appearing for interviews at CareerAccess2010.)

· The Government of India has set up 17 Vocational Rehabilitation Centres (VRCs) across India for vocational evaluation and adjustment of disabled persons, assessment of the medical, psychological, and rehabilitation needs, assist in developing rehabilitation plans depending upon the specific needs, sponsor disabled registrants against notified/identified vacancies, act as distribution centres for various schemes like scholarship/aids and appliances, and make referrals to financial institutions for funding self-employment ventures. The Vocational Rehabilitation Centre in Guwahati, Assam, obliged to DEI’s request to sharing data of persons with disabilities who are vocationally trained and seeking employment in the state during the first half of the first year of the project. This association was further enhanced during the current period when the DEI sought the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre’s assistance in identification of candidates for CareerAccess2010 that was conducted towards realization of the DEI’s objective of facilitating employment through an accessible job fair. The VRC issued internal circulars across its district units as also to job seekers in its database with regard to participation in the job fair. The DEI has also from time to time been sending persons with disabilities who approach it with queries to the VRC for registration and well as rehabilitation assistance.

OBJECTIVE 4:

ADVOCATING FOR EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR

A beginning was made in the formation of a disability forum at the corporate workshop held on 23 June 2010 wherein a resolution was taken that such a forum would be established. Sarat Jain, Managing Director, S M Group of Companies and former Chairman of the Federation of Industries and Commerce of the North Eastern

Region (FINER) was informally entrusted with the responsibility of convening the forum. Follow-up meetings were held and submissions made to federations of industry like FINER, CII, and ICC.

FINANCIAL REPORT