Sarthak Educational Trust unfolds the road ahead for disability empowerment in the country post COVID 19

by Suman Gupta

• MOU between Sarthak & CII – India Business Disability Network(IBDN) to boost disability inclusion in Corporates

• Highlights ‘urgent need’ to combat COVID-19 to restore the lives of disabled

• Boosts e-learning, with distribution of laptops to the marginalized community

• Special CSR allocation for disability community and Need for Accessible communication

New Delhi, July 2020: This July, Sarthak Educational Trust completes 12 years of its efforts towards empowering persons with disability. The organization has consistently voiced the concern that differently-abled are not disabled by their impairment, but by the barriers in the community that prevent them from gaining equal access and opportunities. Sarthak Educational Trust and National Abilympics Association of India in collaboration with flagged off- Dhristikone: Level up Strategy 2020 for Disability Empowerment to initiate a dialogue with national and international leaders to give an impetus on required initiatives to empower the disability sector. The advocacy campaign focusses on combating the effects of COVID 19 on various segments of disability namely healthcare, Inclusive Education, vocational skilling and Employment. The panel of key speakers from NITI Aayog, NSDC and representative from GOI came together to address 12 years Journey of Inclusion & Empowerment which highlighted the journey of Sarthak Educational Trust and the developments in the disability sector in the verticals of healthcare, inclusive education, vocational skilling, sustainable employment, advocacy and Abilympics.

“People with disabilities can positively contribute to the national economy if they are provided with resources and adequate opportunities to build themselves. The virtual event saw the launch of Laptop Distribution Campaign for people with disability in rural India for taking full advantage of e- learning platform and we also appeal to people to join the campaign and donate old or new laptops for people with disability” expressed Dr. Jitender Aggarwal, Founder CEO, Sarthak Educational Trust as he unfolded the road ahead for disability empowerment in the country across East, West, South and North zone of the country.

Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman Niti Aayog shared, “We are keen to support the social movement started by Sarthak which we all have to drive, with or without any legal bindings. NITI Aayog will support the drive to get laptops by reaching out to corporates and other entities on behalf of Sarthak which will enable PwDs to learn new skills and overcome challenges. We also take into consideration the special requirements for PwDs in the Census 2021 also informative monthly E -newsletter also is needed for more awareness”

Dr Aggarwal further added, “Persons with disability in India face many challenges in gaining meaningful employment. It is a mandate for Government organisations to have three % of the total work force reserved for people with disabilities but NCPEDP survey says it is at 0.05% of total workforce which is all time low.”

“During lockdown phase, Sarthak has been conducting online counselling and therapy session for children requiring early intervention. Sarthak has also facilitated Skill building training of 1200 PwD’s who are now waiting for jobs. Around 50 corporates have openings in customer care executive jobs and are in the process of placements.  A Mobile App is also being developed for PwDs to have easy access to information on schemes, jobs and seek real-time help when required. Additionally, Sarthak is in process of building a global e-learning platform for PwDs and also collaborating with international organising for empowering disability sector globally”, he added.

Major announcements were made on MOU between Sarthak & CII – India Business Disability Network(IBDN) a certificate training course on “Creating Diversity Champions & Leaders at Workplace” specially designed for diversity and Inclusion leaders of corporate houses. The event also saw the launch of Sarthak G5 group, a dedicated group for disability empowerment by involving working closely with Corporate CSR, National & International Employers, Media, CSO, Persons with disability and International Agencies.

Through its Early Intervention and Inclusive Education initiative Sarthak has rehabilitated 1050+ and 425+ children with disability respectively. And, with Sarthak Skill Development Centres, has successfully trained 16000 PwD’s candidates in the sectors of Tourism & Hospitality, Organized Retail, and IT-ITes. Furthermore, 100+ job fairs have been organized in 21 states to provide employment opportunity to those PwD’s candidates who are already skilled. Through Job fairs and skill centers 18000 PwD’s have been provided employment. An appeal was also made to highlight Sarthaks Crowd funding campaign on Impact Guru for raising funds for providing sustainable job opportunities to people with disability who lost jobs in COVID-19.

This 3 month long series of virtual symposiums organized by Sarthak Educational Trust will give the much needed impetus to the problems faced by PwDs during COVID-19. The campaign will highlight CSR support for strengthening disability sector and Global Prospective of COVID-19 on disabled community Era of online Intervention services for Children with Special Needs and Road map to strengthen Inclusive Education and ending with topics like Dharma for Persons with Disability, Parental Role in shaping future of a Person with Disability and RDSM: Collaborative Action towards empowered nation).