Annual Report 2014-2015
Action for Ability Development and Inclusion

Included a special feature

In celebration of
MITA NUNDY
Founder Chairperson of AADI
Inspiration to manyMita Nundynd22

December 1944 to 28th August 2014

What is to give light must endure burning
Victor Fankl

Dear friends,
Vrikshotsav 2014 was celebrated with a difference. For months the members of the Garden Club
were planning for it and the excitement and energy was palpable. Suddenly a day before on 28th
August we hear the sad news of Mitadi (as Mita Nundy was fondly
called), moving on....There were mixed feelings, whether to go
ahead with the celebration or not. We decided to go ahead with theevent as Mitadi would have wanted us to. We remembered her,prayed for her and through a shared feeling of love and loss weplanted a few rose plants in her memory and continued with theactivities. The plants continue to thrive in the garden.
People with disability, families, friends, and all those connected with Mitadi gathered together toexpress the special connect with Mitadi and shared anecdotes about her Vision, compassion,
humility, brilliance, courage, and above all a spirituality that propelled her to work along with acore team and bring AADI into being some 36 years ago.
A few of Mitadi’s close associates have put together a small tribute in celebration of her life. The
booklet (included as a special feature), with the ZEN symbol explained, tries to capture theuniqueness of Mitadi. We take this opportunity to offer our gratitude to Mitadi.
Robert frost summed up learnings of life in three words – “Life moves on”! Yes, at AADI we too
moved on. We continue to combine our learnings of the past and align them to focus on the future.
Over the years, we have evolved and developed a Vision that promotes an Inclusive Society. Our
programs and activities, detailed in the report, are guided by this Vision and the principles ofUnited Nations Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities, produced in the following
pages.
While it is heartening to see the increasing number of children in mainstream schools, a lot is left tobe desired, as the number drastically reduces in higher education. There have been individual
success stories in the area of training and employment and we are mapping the processes andstrategies so as to maximise the gains from it. During the year, a continuous thrust has been to
improve our documentation systems and move towards evidence based analysis and planning. The
care plan services, community based program, capacity building programs, and work at a policy
level continued with this focus and are detailed in the following pages. The report contains thefinancials along with the details of the human resource involved through the year. We are acutely
aware of the unmet needs of persons with disabilities and hope to address these as part of our futurework.
On behalf of the Board and all at AADI I wish to thank all our friends and supporters who havegenerously shared their knowledge skill and resources. We look forward to a continuous andfruitful exchange.
In peace,

Syamala Gidugu
Secretary/Executive Director
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Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Article 3 - General principles
The principles of the Convention are:a. Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one's own
choices, and independence of persons;b. Non-discrimination;c. Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;d. Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity
and humanity;
e. Equality of opportunity;f. Accessibility;
g. Equality between men and women;
h. Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right ofchildren with disabilities to preserve their identities.
Rights of Persons with Disabilities*The green areas highlight the rights that AADI’s is currently focusing on

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Vision, Mission Statements
Vision:Our strategic objectives are to:

AADI’s vision is of a world in which persons
with disabilities are an integral part ofsociety, participating in the community andliving life to the fullest, with equitable accessto opportunities and services.

•

Our Mission:•

The focus of our work will be to facilitate
enabling environments in the best interest of
the child and the adult thus ensuring
equitable, accessible, quality assured services
using a life span approach. We will be
informed and guided by the needs of persons
with disabilities who are further marginalized
by poverty and gender inequalities.

•

Through our work we will:
•

•

•

•
-

Facilitate,nurtureandsupportopportunities for leadership and greater
involvement of people with disability indecision-making regarding their own
lives and the processes within theircommunity.
Influence and develop systems andprocesses to ensure that there is no
exclusion, exploitation or stigmatizationof the persons with disabilities at thelevels of policy and its implementation
within their community.
Research, develop and implement service
delivery models that can be adapted
according to geographical and cultural
realities/ contexts.
Build technical, financial and humanresource capacities of:
Persons with disabilities
Professionals
Larger Community
Build technical, financial and humanresource capacities of AADI

Annual Report 2014-15••

Reduce the service gap: by increasing
access to services, ensuring quality ofservices, addressing all life domains –education, health, livelihoods, recreation,
shelter, well-being, safety and permanenceof services.
Reduce the inclusion gap: by mapping,sensitizing and building the capacities ofmainstream resources in education, health,
livelihoods, recreation etc.
Reduce the participation gap: byincreasing the participation of users/usergroups in our work, building capacities ofpeople with disability and facilitating
participation in decisions about activities
pertaining to their lives, influencing
membership of people with disability inlocal governance and other leadership
positions within the community.
Reduce stigma and exploitation: byincreasing awareness about rights and needsof people with disability throughinformation dissemination, media watch,social watch, and right to information
activities.
Reduce the resource gap: Technical,
Financial and Human Resource by:increasing revenue streams, improving
knowledge base, and developing need based
and appropriate professional development
programs

Values & Guiding Principles:
Our work is guided by the core human values ofrespect, dignity and the autonomy of persons
with disability and their careers. Strengthening
capacities of all stakeholders will be central to
our work. We will work towards being
collaborative,
participative,
strategic,transparent,
equitable,
non-discriminative,
accessible, and accountable in all that we do.
We will follow the norms of safety and quality
assured services in our work.

3

Abbreviations

AADI

Action for Ability Development and Inclusion

ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

AIIMS

All India Institute of Medical Sciences

ASSOCHAM

Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India

BSS

Bodh Shiksha Samiti

CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility

GEF

Good Earth Foundation

ICF

International Classification of Functioning

MCD

Municipal Corporation Delhi

NCERT

National Council of Educational Research and Training

NCPEDP

National Center for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People

NDMC

North Municipal Corporation Delhi

NGO

Non-Government Organization

NHFDC

National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation

NIIT

National Institute of Information Technology

NIIT-F

National Institute of Information Technology-Foundation

NIPI

Norway India Partnership Initiative

SDMC

South Municipal Corporation Delhi

UNDP

United Nation Development Fund-

UNICEF

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund

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Table of Contents
Executive Director’s Note
Vision, Mission and Strategic Objectives
Abbreviations

I
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
2
2.1
2.2
2.2.1
2.2.2
2.3
3

SAMBHAV: Making Inclusion Possible
Rural Community Based Services
Access to Therapeutic, Rehabilitation/ Functional/Direct Interventions
Capacity Building of Families
Linked to Community Resources
Capacity Building of Other Community Resources
Habilitation and Rehabilitation Program-New Initiatives
Urban Services
Linked to Community Resources
Access to Therapeutic, Rehabilitation/ Functional/Direct Interventions
Access to Skills for Livelihoods and Internships
Access to opportunities through Clubs and Events
Capacity Building of Families
Sambhav: Resource Centre

II
4

CAPACITY BUILDING
Inclusive Educational Resource Development

4.1
4.2

BSS-AADI-GEF Project on inclusive education (BAG: IE)
MCD School Development Project

5
6
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6

Inclusive Employment Resources Development
School Of Rehabilitation Sciences
Advanced Courses for Professionals
Caregivers Training
External Orientations and Presentations
Student Internships
Internal In Service Trainings
Training and Conferences Attended

23
23
23
24
25
25

III.

KNOWLEDGE, POLICY AND ADVOCACY

27

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

28

STAFF LIST

29

GOVERNING BODY

30

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8
8
9
9
11
12
13
16
18
19

20
20
21
22

5

The process of ensuring that people withdisabilities enjoy their human rights is slow anduneven. But it is taking place, in all economic
and social systems. It is inspired by the values
that underpin human rights: the inestimabledignity of each and every human being, theconcept of autonomy or self-determination thatdemands that the person be placed at the centreof all decisions affecting him/her, the inherent
equality of all regardless of difference, and theethic of solidarity that requires society tosustain the freedom of the person withappropriate social supports
Disability and Human Rights – United Nations
Gerard Quinn and Theresia Degener

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S
Section
I: Sambhavv-Making
g Inclusioon Possiblle
Services
1. Rural CommunityCy Based Serrvices
The goal ofo the Ruraal Community Based programpis the creationn of a
responsive community and developpment of incllusive services, which fuulfil therights of peersons with disabilities.Td
The program works acrosss the life sppan andacross disabbilities. Sincce 1982 it iss based in Ballabhgarh
B
block
b
of Farridabad
District in Haryana. It works in 83 villaages which are governned by
65panchayaatsand 9 coloonies in the peri-urbanparreas. Presentlly 953 personns withdisability andatheir fammilies are registeredrw
withthe proggram of whhich 65
percent aree males andd 35 percentt are femalees.This year9
98newpeoplee wereidentified as compared tot 104 identiified last yeaar.
Direct interrventions in thet program focus on woorking directlly with the inndividual. It attempts to link persons
with disabillities to specific inputs foor decreasingg the impact of impairment in differennt domains ofo life.

1.1 Access to Therapeeutic, Rehaabilitation/ Functionaal/Direct Intterventionss







830 persons withh disabilities and their families exp
pressed theirr specific neew needs whhich theywoulld be like too be addresseed through 1700
1
assessm
ments for revviewing proggress and plaan further
intervventions.
107 persons
pwithh disabilities participationn in daily lifee increased thhrough the provision of 119
1 aids140 childrencconttinued makinng progress ini their learnning at school through aftter school sup
pport
68 chhildren at home become moremindepeendent in theiir daily lives through lifee skill training
34 chhildren with hearing imppairment skills to commu
unicate were enhanced byy receiving trraining inusingg hearing aidds
54 people with hearinghimpaairments atteended an ear mould meassurement woorkshop whicch helpedin eaasy access to a service wiithin the com
mmunity. Oth
herwise peopple would haave to travel two
t timesto thee agency in Noida
N
whichh was very faar and expenssive for peopple to reach.

Ear
Mould
Measuremeent
Workshoop: An ear- mould makiing
workshopp was organizedoinDayalpurr village inn collaboratiionwith Staarkey, Noidaa. 54 persoons
with diisabilities with heariing
impairmeent attendedd the workshoop.
A meetinng was orgganized on thetsame daay with thee objective of
informingg parents annd persons withw
disabilitiies about thee importancee ofusing hearinghaiids and thetmaintenaance of hearring aids. 41
Persons with disabiilities receivved
hearing aids
a from staar key in monnthof February 2015.

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Families are one of the primary stakeholders and resource available to persons with disabilities. This aspectof the program focuses on increasing information and building skills of families to address the needs of
persons with disabilities. It also helps families to establish links with each other.

1.2 Capacity Building of Families
Parent Trainings• 97 parents began seeking more information to assist their children in various life domains andaccessing government provisions after attending workshops on health, nutrition, self-care, mobility,
various concessions and resources available in their community.
Parent Sensitization• 100 children’s participation in everyday life increased after families attended a sensitization
workshop on the importance of providing daily opportunities
Parents resolved school issues• 196 families managed to resolve many issues themselves arising at the school level thus supporting
the retention of their children schools• 25 parents became part of School Management. The parents who are part of the SMC took up theissue of making the school premises accessible & to construct a boundary wall and gate in school
Parent Group• An eleven member parents group in Ballabhgarh took up ten advocacy issues and helped otherparents to access various government entitlements.
Emotional Support to Families• 350 stressed families in times of distress and difficulties managed their lives through counselingsupportTo ensure inclusion and participation in the community persons with disabilities are linked to resources in
the community like education, health, employment etc. They are also linked to schemes and provisions
available from the Government.

1.3 Linked to Community Resources
Accessing Early Years Services• 68 children linked to Anganwadis are going regularly to access available services
Access to Education
Out of the 324• 28 new admissions in schools
Pre & Primary: 60%• 324 are going to schools. 196 are regular and others are not so regular Middle: 20%• 55 supported by community tutors
Secondary &• 149 received school scholarships
H. Secondary: 14 %• 81 received caste based scholarships
Higher Education: 5 %• 125 received travel allowance for going to school• 18 are pursuing higher studies
AccesstoWork
andEmployment Accessing Other Government Provisions• 659 have a disability certificate
Opportunities• 76 adults are in open employment and are • 32 acquired a Disability Certificate this year
earning from 5000 to• 268 get a disability pension
18 000 (laborer, teacher, factory worker)• 509 have an AADHAR card
• 16 are in self-employment• 5 received installments of Indira AwasYojana

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•
•
•

15 peoplep
are involvediin agriculture with Acceess to Healthhtheir families• 282
2 linked too various heaalth services
11 area involvedd in other types of faamily • 15
1 linked tot Niramayya Health InsuranceIoccuupation
Scheme.
S
4 peoplepclaimed benefits from this166 area engaged in domestic work
schemes
this yeary

To ensure inclusioniandd participatioon in the com
mmunity therre is a need tot develop thhe available resources toprovide incclusive servicces. Awarenness raising is
i essential forf informatiion disseminnation and crreating morepositive atttitudes towaards disabilitty. Advocacyy becomes essential to bring aboutt long term changes inn
polices and provision.

1 Capacitty Buildingg of Other Community
1.4
Cy Resourcees
Awareneess Raising• Awaareness boothhs were organnized to givee the informaation regardinng different government schemes,
healtth, and hygieene in 4 urbann areas and ini 2 rural areeas. With a foocus of persoons with disaabilities
and familiesftakinng on the aw
wareness raisiing activitiess four boothss were organiized by themmcomppletely.
• 746 peoplepwere sensitized thhrough sensittization work
kshops in thee communityy.
Educatioonal Resourrces• 59 teeachers traineed in effectivve classroom
m teaching thrrough SSA whichw
helpedd them to realize thatthey could teach all children togethert• 442 teachers off 162 schoolls were sennsitized by regularrmeettings to proovide guidan
nce aboutworkking with chiildren with disabilities.
d• 18 scchools toilet were made accessibleaIInclusiveGamesw
were conduccted in 47
sschools
In
Inclusive Games in
SSchools are orrganized inschools with the main
oobjective of sensitizing
teeachers abo
out playbbeing a right of a childw
with disabilityy like any
oother child. Besides
eemphasizingtheimmportanceofpparticipation in play andrrecreation withh the sameaage group childrencitaalso helped too showcase
thhe abilities of childrenwwith disabilitiees

1.5 Habilitatioon and Reh
habilitation Program-N
New Initiattives
To achieeve the objecctives of incllusion and fuull participattion in the cuurrent scenarrio of margin
nalizationof personns with disaabilities, therre was a neeed felt to esttablish a hum
man resourcee cadre at th
he village
level thaat would provvide specificc targeted seervices for persons
pwith disability annd facilitate access toinclusivee services in the
t communnity.

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9In Januaary 2014, affter getting a grant fromm Hans Fouundation, 25 villages weere selected to beginbuilding this cadre off village leveel and commmunity level workers.
w
Theese 25 Villagges were selected fromall three locations; sevensvillagees around MathuraMroad,, twelve villaages aroundd Mohna road and six
villages aroundaTigooan road. Datta base was created for clientscof 255 villages sepparately. To take planforward, it was decidded to link withw all Aagaanwadi and AshaA
workerss and their suupervisors an
nd findingout the possibilities
pt take themtom for communnity work ass they are alrready villagee based, fam
miliar withvillage community,chhave
relationnship and caan conduct thet door to doordsurvey in village too identify
more perrsons with diisabilities.

Meetingss were heldd with the office of Child Deveelopment Prroject Officcer, Integratted Child
Developm
ment Scheme and Deputyy Chief Meddical Officer, Anganwadis and Asha w
workers to ex
xplore theoptions ofo them gettiing involvedd this initiativve. People ap
ppeared opeen and officeers welcomedd the ideaof a dooor to door suurvey and deeveloping viillage level humanhresouurces for adddressing the needs ofpeople withw disabilitties. Trainingg for Angannwadis and AshaA
workerrs was organnized to help
p build anunderstannding of disability and barriersbfaced by persons with disabbilities. An A
Asha workers training
was condducted on 244th July 2014 wherein outt of the 57 AshaA
workers invited 49 ccame. The An
nganwadi
workers trainingt
condducted on 266th July 2014 was attended by 65 of thhe 74 workerrs invited.

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2. Urban Services
In urban services which are centered in Delhi, teams were in contact with
1169 registered families and persons with disabilities, till the end of March2015. The age wise break up of active clients was as depicted in the pie chart.
The distribution across ages remains fairly even with 6 to 12 forming thelargest age group of active clients.
This year 355 new persons registered (106 were females and 247 were males)
as compared to 333 registered last year. The majority were in the 6 to 18
years age group followed by the early year’s age group. Majority of themcame from Delhi(267) followed by Uttar Pradesh (33) and Haryana (17). The
maximum number of new people registered had multiple impairments.

2.1 Linked to Community Resources
To ensure inclusion and participation in the community persons with disabilities are linked to resources in
the community like education, health, employment etc. They are also linked to schemes and provisions
available from the Government.
Access to Educational Resources:• 494 children were going to schools (166 inspecial and 328 in mainstream schools)• 41children were admitted in schools. 22
children
were
supported
forgetting
admissions in schools through 35 school
visits• 90 children were supported to continuelearning in schools through 283 school
visits in 69 schools• 73 were reported to be out of school. 20
dropped out of school• 20 young adults are pursuing higher
education

Access to Health Resources:

Access to financial resource• 132 linkages were made for financial
assistance for transport/care givers salary/for accessing medical services/ Aids/
Appliances/ Educational Fees/transport
assistance through AADI Vehicles/
Personal assistants through AADI Support
staff

Access to government provisions• 25 people with disabilities got legal
guardianship• 73 registered or renewed Nirmaya
membership• 53 acquired a Disability certificate• 27 linked to other government scheme(primarily disability pension)••

175 referrals were made to healthresources in the community:
74 for Mental Health Issues
40 for Epilepsy
26 for orthopedic interventions
8 for surgical interventions
12 for Nutrition guidance
16 for various other health issues
26 people were accompanied tofacilitate access to health resources

Access to Inclusive Work and Employment Opportunities• 24 clients are employed (some in family occupations & some in open employment. One
person joined a bank this year. One person is running his shop successfully)

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A livelihood success story
Vineet Garg, has his own shop and he celebrated his shop’s firstanniversary on 29th November 2014.Last year he had expressed adesire to be a shopkeeper to the team. However his family doubted
whether he would be able to manage a shop. After some persuasion
his family agreed to allow him the use their shop in the busy Laxmi
Nagar Market. Vineet was provided opportunities for learning andpracticing the skills required to manage a shop. The shop wasinaugurated after performing puja on 29thNovember 2013. His father
and younger brother helped him to purchase stock for the shop andVineet organized the display and the shop opened for customers.

2.2 Access to Therapeutic, Rehabilitation/Functional /Direct individual Intervention
Direct interventions focus on working directly with the individual by linking persons with disabilities tospecific inputs for decreasing the impact of impairment in different domains of life. Direct interventions
begin with the care plan process. This process aims to ensure that persons with disabilities have access toavenues to share issues, gather information about resources and working out solutions for increased
participation across life domains. It also provides guidance to persons with disabilities and families about therights of persons with disabilities, using a life span approach.There is an emphasis on specific work withpeople in the early years, school years and with adults at the individual level and a group level.
464 Assessments conducted
for 342 people for reviewing
progress and planninginterventions

2316 Individual reviews
meetings for 492 people forenhancing skills in various
life domains

101 Aids
provided to87 people tofacilitate inclusion in dailylifeGroups were organized across ages and108 people attended 306 groups along with their peersGroup work for early years: Early years (0-6 years) are a crucial time for the overall development ofchildren. To increase access to early learning and development opportunities withpeers, an early year’sgroup was organized this year from July onwards 29 times for approximately 13 children in this age
group.Individual skills such as communicating their needs, identifying people and objects, eating
independently, turn taking were focused upon during these group sessions. Due to this process children wereable to form a rapport with each other and the staff, and were able to stay away for longer periods without
their parents. Some children were admitted in schools.
Group work for school years: Besides supporting children at an individual level and also ensuring accessand retention of children in schools in the community, in the school years age group(6 to 18 years) a need
was realized to provide inputs for children who needed support to begin going to school and for children
who were out of school. While one group was organised 43 times for 15 children to prepare them foradmissions in schools, three separate groups were organised42 times all together for 15 children in the agegroup of 12 to 18 years who were out of school. For this group the focus was on functional education andother life skills like self-care, domestic life skills, social communication and relationships. Seven children
got admission in schools. Families began to recognize the abilities of children. All children learnt skills incommunication, interpersonal skills and self-care. Some children who in the beginning would not even lookat another person began communicating enthusiastically with their peers. Awareness of events in thecommunities and neighborhoods also increased.

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2.2.1 Access to Skills for Livelihoods and Internships
For the adult year’s age group the focus is on creating opportunities for skill development for livelihoods
through Internships, clubs, events which are also a means of increasing opportunities for social interactions
with peers and engaging in community initiatives like the winter campaign. The Jeevika project, Ujala and
NavRang processes aim to create such opportunities for learning skills for persons with disabilities byaddressing various barriers. NavRang and Ujala are social enterprises which aim to provide opportunities forlivelihood and skill development and showcasing abilities. The Employability Program of the Jeevika
project aims at preparing persons with disabilities for the job market by strengthening their abilities andproviding opportunities to rehearse skills.

NavRang-celebrating diverse colors in life

Ujala

NavRang’, is a Hindi term meaning many colors and has been set up asa social enterprise by AADI, Saarthak and The Hans Foundation.
NavRang celebrates the diversity that exists amongst people and, inparticular, believes in the inherent capacity of individual persons withdisabilities. It provides a platform to showcase the individual’s talents,
abilities and skills.

It is a unit where persons
with disabilities produce
block-printed handmade
paper products. It runs incollaboration
withnetwork of people withdisability contributing in
all aspects of productdevelopmentfromsourcing, manufacturing,packaging to marketing.

As a socially conscious enterprise, NavRang links with otherorganizations to create meaningful occupations for people withdisabilities. Some of the organisations linked with this year were
MESH, Navdanya, Green the Gap, Kriti, Jugaad and Janmadhyam.
Interns were involved in the process of linking with these organizations
by getting involved in selection, procurement, in packing, labeling anddisplay. For instance a member received a special order for 35 cloth
bags from Nirantar when they visited NavRang looking for low cost
cloth bags.

This year Ujala reached3500
peoplebyparticipating in 27 melasat 18 different venues.
It launched four new
It provides opportunities for skill development in the retail industry. products and members
NavRang also offers avenues for product development by different also learnt a the skill ofartisans in collaboration with design institutes. Through an annual block printing on cloth.
calendar of events, NavRang celebrates the diverse abilities and talentsof individuals and groups involved in the enterprise.
Jeevika
Skill development: Opportunities were created for a group of members on regular basis to learn the skill of
packing items of different shapes and sizes in NavRang. In the month of August and September, exposureand training in different retail skills-opening the shop, dusting, display, selling, billing and inventory, wasorganized for seven members in NavRang.

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Learning skills for the Retail Industry: Packing and Labeling; Inventory and billing

Jewelry Making: The team took the initiative tolearn the skills and the entire process of creating
jewelry, when members expressed a desire to learn
the skill of making jewelry. Each member began tolearn the skill of creating earrings besides rehearsing
their social and organizing skills in this group
activity. This group met 95 times and approximately
has 35 members. The stipend towards learning theskill added energy and enhanced self-esteem of themembers later.

Annual Report 2014-15

Rakhi Making: Members also decided to follow theidea of making rakhis which were easier to tie for all.
Rakhis were made using velvet and satin ribbons,velcro and magnets, and colored wired strings which
required minimum effort to tie around a wrist. This
group had approximatley 21 members and it met 4times. All the members were very excited to be partof the entire process from making to selling. The
room would be full of the sound of excited chitchatting.

14

Paper Bag Making: In July 2014, as part of NavRang
process, a few members had expressed the desire tolearn the skill of paper bag making. The newspaperbags are much in demand in the open market. The
trainer is a person with disability who has been making
paper bags for a few years now. The trainer is being
paid resource person's allowance which has added toher quality of life and self-esteem. This group had
approximatley 13 members and it met 43 times. Threemembers are able to make small basic newspaper bag
and two of them make them at home as well.

Workshops on Skill Development: Under the Jeevika project this year two employability workshops wereconducted with a focus of: Providing career counseling & work their aspirations for the future, Identifying and addressing barriers in fulfilling these aspirations and the support that they would requirefrom AADI for the same.
 Development of work skills
 Orientation and exposure of clients to different work options, before they could be linked with suitableinternship/work opportunities.
Participants attended a full day workshop at AADI in June 2014 Key consultants in the employment sector,
who were experiential experts and role models, were invited like Ms. Shivani Gupta, Founder Access
Ability, and Mr. Praveen Guru, Voluntary Service Overseas India. They interacted with the participants andshared with them their experiences and insights related to employment of people with disabilities.
One of the key issues that came up was the lack of exposure to the industry to understand the dimensions ofwork and the kinds of jobs available there. Following this visits and interactions were organized withorganizations in the information technology f(NIIT, Cisco), Bank (Kotak Mahindra) and hospitality (Lemon
Tree hotels) sectors. The participants were able to gain a first hand and in-depth understanding about thework in the respective sectors.

Exposure visits to meet leaders at the Cisco office in Gurgaon and the Kotak Mahindra Office in Green Park

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A second workshop was held in January 2015. This workshop helped participants to recognize the value ofwork and understand the different skills required for work. They also identified the skills that they wanted towork on in the next three months to help them learn more skills for the employment sphere.
Internship Program for Adults: The eleven internships that are going on currently are in inventory,
photocopying, gardening, labeling & packing. There are three internships outside AADI. One is in thelibrary of the Delhi School of Social Work, one is in gardening and one is in a grocery shop in thecommunity.
Internship in a grocery shop: Sunil Kumar Das is 33 years old.
Sunil’s family is planning to move to their home town in Bihar
after Sunil’s father retirement and is planning to open a shop
there. He was keen to learn work as an assistant in the shop. A
grocery shop in R.K. Puram, was identified, which is nearby
Sunil’s home. After an initial familiarization with the process andthe products in the shop, Sunil is now learning the inventory ofthe different products stored in the shop. Sunil reaches the shop
everyday ds the support of his mother to reach the shop. The
focus of the internship is also to build his skills in using public
transport, besides assisting in the shop.
Sunil, at a grocery store near his house

2.2.2 Access to Clubs and Events
Clubs create avenues for people to learn life skills like self-care, mobility, communication skills, social
skills, planning, and organizing skills etc. besides providing a therapeutic space. Clubs are also a space for
adult members to pursue their interest. The four clubs, namely the Art Club, the Gardening Club, theCooking and the Music club are organized on a regular basis. Movie clubs happens twice a year. At present
there are a total 73 regular members attending these four clubs.
Music Club
Gardening club
Art ClubCooking club78 meetings were
52 meetings were
52 meetings were
68 meetings were
held; 47 members
held; 38 members
held; 8 members
held; 27 members

EventsEvents are the opportunities for adult members to practice their learned skills as well as means of
showcasing their skills and simply linking up with the larger community. Some events were organized by
the clubs and some were organized by the NavRang team as both have many common members.
338 people participatedin 9 different events

80 persons with disability took the
responsibility of organizing events

Vrikshotsava: The club held its first event of tree plantation called Vrikshotsav in the month of August
where tree saplings donated by Green the Gap, were planted. They also prepared 36 potted plants for saleand got an opportunity to rehearse their skills for selling plants. A stall of information on trees of Delhi wasalso put up by Bombay Natural History Society.

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Khalwat: ThisT
art exhiibition was organized asa a thanksgiving for the art club reesource Prennita, who isrenowned artist.
aThey plannedpand implementedd the three day
d event andd got many oopportunities to practicetheir hospitality skills ass well.
Kalakriti – Meri Abhibyyakti: Membbers preparedd their art wo
ork and plannned for displlay. Memberrs planned tosell their paintings so each paintinng was chrisstened and pricedpwith thet support oof the art cllub resource
person.
Gul-E-Bah
har: The flow
wer show waas held at thee Gulmohar Club in Gullmohar Park.. Members preparedp150
pots and 255 baskets for the show. Special
S
displaays were preepared using old tree trunnks and hangging gardens
with canvass bags
Winter Cam
mpaign – Sankalp2014
S
was organiized this tim
me with fewer older meembers. Man
ny care plannmembers jooined the cam
mpaign to coomplete it suuccessfully. The winter campaigncalso served ann avenue forr
doing assesssment for doomestic workk and learninng skills. This time also members
mdeccided to link withw Ashrayy
Adhikar Abbhiyan.
Rakhi Festtival Mela: A Rakhimelaa was organnized at AAD
DI on 2nd Auugust 2014. T
The NavRanng shop was
opened forr sale to all.. A group of 16 mem
mbers had paarticipated inn making easy to tie rakhis.
r
Theyy
hadalsopackked them and planned thhe display forr selling themm. On the day
d of the Raakhi festival,, the joy anddhappiness ono their facees was seen to be believed when theey talked aboout their conntribution in making therakhis.
Literacy Evvent: The WorldW
Literaccy Day was celebratedcon
n 20th Septem
mber 2014, in keeping withw the true
spirit of liteeracy, that is,, empowerm
ment. At the languagelcorrner, particippants picked up the basics of the signn
language annd had a funn interactionn with each other.
oTheree was a Past Meets Pressent Messag
ge Corner torecall how meansmof commmunicationn have changged over timee. Vinayana, a young wooman with disability who
has authoreed ‘Vinayana’s World’ was presentt to talk abo
out her workk. There wass a display of books inn
accessible formats
flike audio-books, braille books and e-books to openn up the woorld of bookss for people
with disabillity. A stall was
w put up too share the diifferent technnology for coommunicatioon.

Shaaring a recipe bookLearning to say ‘main khuushhoon’ in siign language

Annual Report 2014-15

The Cookking club meembers also
shared thheir very innovative
recipe boooks where they had
jotted dow
wn recipes withw all thesteps illusstrated in picttures.

17

Diwali Mela: The Diwalimela was held at AADI on 18th October 2014. All the stalls in the front lawn of
AADI were manned by members who were enjoying selling the products which were either made by themor sourced by them. They traded in perfumes, candles/Diwali decoration items, cushion covers, Tupperwar,
earrings, block-printed dupattas, and paper products by Ujala. Stalls of tea /coffee /Frooti, biscuits/chips
were put up by the cooking club members. There were potted plants on sale by the gardening club members.
In all, it provided an opportunity to the members to showcase their skills and talent.

People shopping at stalls

Diya painting was a popular activity and with a simple
wooden stand adaptation everybody could paint

Winter Festival: The Winter Festival called, Fun in the Sun, was a collaborative event of all the clubs at
AADI. All the club members had planned various activities for participation in the event. The Food Court
by the Cooking Club was the first endeavor where members had prepared and served food at such a large
scale. They had prepared various delicious and popular food items like pao-bhaji, matar-kulcha, soup,masala papad, idlisambar and rajma-chawal besides tea, coffee. Another major attraction in the front lawn
was a photo booth which had different settings and props. The guests could get their pictures clicked using
any setting or prop. The props were so designed that they could be easily used by all. Stalls selling products
made by members, which included earrings, block-printed cotton-silk dupattas and stoles with beaded
tassels, were also put up.

2.3 Capacity Building of Families
Families are one of the primary stakeholders and resources available to persons with disabilities. This aspectof the program focuses on increasing information and building skills of families to address the needs of
persons with disabilities. It also helps families to establish links with each other.
Parent Meetings and Trainings: Approximately 132 parents attended 17 parent meetings held through theyears across age groups. These were held to identify and address issues which were a priority for parents in aparticular age group and to increase their participation while working with persons with disabilities. For
instance in the meeting for the age group between 18 to 25 years families expressed a need to focus on futureissues regarding their children, residential place for them when they were no more, information on Gharonda
Scheme, skill development and employment opportunities according to individual’s capacity, financial
independence, safety and security, a place for their wards to go to, building social skills and relationships,
accommodations in higher education.

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In all 90 families were linked to 4 parent trainings held across the age groups. The parent training sessions
focus on understanding parenting and the skills of a parent, how learning takes place and the evolving
capacities of the child, a further understanding of different impairments and their impact in daily life,
understanding barriers and their impact, accessing support systems to overcome barriers and providing
opportunities in daily life for further skill development. Once the initial 2 day module is conducted,
individual sessions and further modules based on the needs of the group are planned for.
After the parent training sessions, again the individual focus is carried forward through specific individual
sessions. Parents have found the group interactions useful as it is helpful to hear from other parents. It is also
possible to challenge some of the mind-sets during the two day session more effectively than on an
individual basis.
Parents Feedback about AADI services: Specific parent group feedback sessions were held twice a year.
The aim of the sessions was to take qualitative feedback from parents. Young adults with disability wereencouraged to attend these sessions. Increased levels of participation especially in domestic activities;
progress in life domains and interpersonal relationships were reported. The following emerged as key
suggestions: a strong need for continuous/frequent sessions; transport facility; more opportunities; life skills
training specially for those at home.

3. Sambhav Resource Center
Sambhav is a project of National Trust in collaboration with AADI. Sambhav is a National Resource Centre
that showcases assistive devices, hardware and software for persons with disabilities besides demonstrating
concepts of Universal Design and independent living. It showcases various ways in which the principles ofuniversal design can be applied in different domains of life. In the five years since its inception in February
2010, almost 4100 visitors have visited Sambhav.
About 905 persons visited Sambhav this year. Out of these 457, 78 were students of architecture, 191 were
nursing students and 188 were from other colleges, from the National museum, from Indian Institute Of
Technology, Delhi, from National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, Institute of Home
Economics, Amarjyoti, Special Art School, Amex trainees, form National Association for the Blind, nursing
students from St. Stephen’s hospital Laxmi Memorial College of Nursing, from Mahalaxmi group.
Approximately 164 professionals visited from various organizations like Hans Foundation, National Instituteof Electronics and Information Technology, Delhi Centre. Four Government officers and 24 visitors werefrom foreign countries like Australia, Switzerland and Japan.
The resource center is also utilized by the teams in the care plan process for demonstration and conducting
assessments in various life domains. This year 272 families and persons with disabilities were provided
demonstration, 56 assessments were conducted in the center and was utilized for one client as a space forself-care training. It was also utilized for providing hands on training to twenty six (132 sessions) persons
with disabilities in computer skills.

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Section II: Capacity Building

Education Resources:
BAG Project in Alwar,
Rajasthan
MCD School Project in
Delhi

Employment Resources:
Seminar organized for
employers from various
sectors

School of Rehabilitation
Sciences:
Trainings of various
professionals

4. Inclusive Educational Resource Development
4.1BSS-AADI-GEF Project On Inclusive Education
The BAG project on inclusive education is a collaborative initiative of three organizations, Bodh Shiksha
Samiti (BSS), Action for Ability Development and Inclusion (AADI) and Good earth Education Foundation(GEF). It aims to ensure that all children have access to quality education, including children withdisabilities, within the catchment area of the thirty nine BSS schools.
The project is located in Alwar which is a district in the state of Rajasthan, in India. The district has 12 subdivisions. The total number of children enrolled in schools is 138,179 of which 4,735 are children withdisabilities. This year 316 children have been identified children with disabilities and children facing othermedical issues.

Morning assembly at Shyampura School

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Child Focused School Work
23 schools were visited six times throughout the year
 To make sure children with disability were participating in school activities
 Regular discussions with teachers were held to resolve difficulties they faced, to make them understandinclusion in a practical manner, to train teachers in skills of child based planning, to make teachinglearning material, to share success stories in community meetings.
 Meetings with supervisors were held to plan, review & support their work
Trainings heldTraining was held for 34 principals-All principals need support to include children with disability intheir schools
School level processes and systems by ERC and coordinator
Training of 42 new teachers to support in identifying children with disabilities and teaching strategies
77 teachers were trained to make teaching - learning material

4.2 MCD School Development
AADI is working on a 5 year project in 5 schools run by the Municipal Corporation Delhi (MCD), 2 in thepurview of the South MCD (SDMC) and 3 with the North MCD(NDMC). Work in these schools involves
classroom observations and teacher training for capacity building of teachers for addressing the diversity intheir classrooms.
South MCD
Teacher Training: In the South MCD, two day training for teachers was held on 4th and 5th April 2014. It
was attended by eleven teachers on the first day and six teachers on the second day. The training focused onunderstanding perspectives towards disability as well as provided information about different impairments.
A discussion based on the book Divyaswappan was part of the training.
Admission Drive: On 11th June a meeting was called at a short notice by the chairman of the Remunerative
Project Cell (R P Cell) SDMC, Mr Ashish Sood. It was a meeting of all NGOs working in MCD schools andsought their participation in an admission drive for out of school children from 14th to 30thJune. AADI took
on the support work for the two Sangam Vihar schools where it was working in. Later the team met Mr.
Ashish Sood, and shared a report of the admission drive in South MCD. He was pleased to get a report andhear about the teams experience and showed an interest in addressing the physical access issues in SouthMCD schools.
North MCD
Third teacher training: The third teacher training for the North MCD schools was held for two days on
May 15 and 16, 2014. The focus of the first day training was on multi-level teaching in the classroom andaddressing behavior issues in classes on the second day. The training started with the recap of previous
trainings and learnings.

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On the second day a panel discussion was also organized. Ms. Bimla Bharti and Mr. Rajender Chaurasia, ofNorth MCD were the panelist and an extensive discussion took place between officials the principals and theteachers. It helped to resolve many administrative blocks and highlighted the importance of dialogue forclarifying issues. For instance it was clarified that only if the child has 65 % attendance in the year, he or sheshould be promoted to the next class. If the child has 75 % attendance only then he / she should be given
money for minority benefits.

5. Inclusive Employment Resources Development
Through the Jeevika project, AADI is working towards challenging and changing mindsets, creating more
avenues for participation of persons with disabilities in the job market and providing the necessary support
to do so. A primary aim of the project is to develop and promote a diversity and inclusion policy.
In pursuance of this aim a Seminar on Inclusive Employment was held of 30th October 2014. The 45 people
who attended the workshop included persons with disabilities, representatives from the industry,organizations and activists in the field of disability and representatives from AADI. It was well attended andhelped in fostering linkages with the industry. The event was managed in participation with persons withdisabilities. Kusum Kanswal, a person with cerebral palsy, was the compere for the day. Jalaj, a person withintellectual impairment and Kshitij, a person with cerebral palsy, handled the registration. The refreshments
were overlooked by Shekhara, a person with vocal cord palsy. There was a sign language interpreter, who
was able to interpret the day’s proceedings to the participant with hearing impairment and also convey histhoughts to the audience. The panel representing people with disabilities and their aspirations had a crossdisability focus. As part of the preparation, there was a focused group discussion with participants prior to
the workshop to highlight different issues in their journey to gain open employment.
Similarly, while planning for the panel of senior leaders from the industry, we included participants who had
both a training focus like NIIT-F and Bank of America. They were requested to share the job readinessprograms they had conducted, that had helped people with disability gain a better chance in the job market.
Organizations like Lemon Tree Hotels, were requested to share their inclusive practices for the recruitment
and orientation of people with disability in their hotels.

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6. School
Sof RehabilitatioR
on Sciencess
6.1 Advancced Coursess for Professsionals
With the passage
pof thhe Right to Education Act, 2010 theret
are maany more chhildren withh disabilities
accessing thhe regular scchool system
m. Although thet inroad in
nto schools foor children w
with disabilitties has beenn
made there is a need foor training of teacher in the general education syystem on adddressing the diversity inn
their classrrooms. Thus AADI propposes to orgganize advan
nced short teerm coursess for teacherrs and otherr
professionaals. During thhis year, the groundworkk and preparaation of moddules and maaterial for thee course has
been complleted. This has
h included consolidatioon of impairm
ment wise innformation foor major imp
pairments aswell as fielld testing annd analysis of compreheensive tools for assessm
ments of the abilities and impact off
impairmentt as well as thhe impact off barriers in thet areas of movement anda communnication. Bothh these tools
will be introoduced to paarticipants duuring the couurse.
6.2 Caregivvers Traininng
A meeting was held at National Truust in Februaary to review
w and re-moddel the existiing Sahyogi scheme andd
the caregiveers’ course curriculum.
c
I was decided that theree will be threee levels of ttraining: for parents, forrIt
individuals as personal assistants annd capacity building forr existing serrvice provideers, to be incclusive. Ms.
Sheilaja Raao, National Institute for the Mentallly Handicapp
ped, Secundrrabad, is puttting togetheer the course
for parents and Dr. Rahhul Deshmukkh, Bhopal, is putting toogether the courseccurricculum for the other two.
AADI is to give its feeddback once thhe courses haave been dessigned.
6.3 Other Trainings
T
Conducted foor Various Training
T
Organizations


nal Museum.
A five day trainingg on conductting an accesss audit wass prepared annd conductedd for Nation
m the Museum
mology courrse conducteed by the Naational Museum Institute
Approxximately 8 sttudents fromparticippated in thiss training. The
T focus off this trainin
ng was to inntroduce studdents to perrspectives inn
disabiliity, understannd the princciples of connducting an access auditt, exposure tto developinng a tool forr
conductting an acceess audit annd practical exposure to conducting an access aaudit includiing relevantt
documeentation. Ressource peoplee with disabiilities were partp of the traaining team.

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Students of the National Museum during Practical Exposure to Conducting an Access Audit

An 8 hour module was conducted for students of the Special Education conducted by Action for Autism.
Approximately 20 students from first and second year received an orientation to AADI and 10 students
from second year received a capsule on interventions for people with cerebral palsy.
In collaboration with Common Purpose, India two exposure visits were organized to AADI. The first
was for approximately 15 trainees from different countries of the Commonwealth Study Conferences
Leaders Programme which is an annual global leadership programme, which assembles senior leadersfrom across the Commonwealth. The second visit was for approximately 12 trainees of the American
Express Leadership Academy which aims at developing new leaders for tomorrow. Participants sharedthat they had greatly benefitted from an exchange of ideas and some felt they would be able to criticallylook at their areas of work with a disability lens and make necessary modifications.
NCPEDP in collaboration with Handicap International was collating case studies across the country tohighlight good practices in Employment and Accessibility. We participated in this “National Workshop
on Good Practices in the area of Employment and Accessibility” on 22nd May, 2014. From Delhi,
AADI was invited to present a case study on good practices in employment. After a study of variousorganizations, we chose to present the case example of Voluntary Services Organization, India, which isheadquartered in Delhi for its inclusive policy on employment. The presentation was well received by
the audience.

6.4 Supporting Internships of Students from Other Training Institutes


A staff member, who is also enrolled in Indira Gandhi National Open University, for Masters in
Industrial Psychology, successfully completed her internship in capacity building at AADI. She
understood various aspects of capacity building and developed a module for support staff. She was
supported in developing and implementing the module and completing her internship report.
Four students from School of Inspired Leadership, were placed in AADI from July 2014-March 2015.
Besides an orientation to disability and the rights perspective, they assisted Mr. Samuel Mani, a personwith disability, in analyzing his business venture, Neutron Computers and also helped put together the
project proposal for proposed expansion of his business, including the financials. They were also placedwith people with disability who are doing their internships in the inventory and the finance processes.
They also helped in other activities such as linking people with different employment opportunities
through desk research in finding disabled friendly corporates and other organizations and forming
linkages with them, participation in different organizational events and resource mobilization.

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





Two students from the Delhi School of Social Work were placed at AADI from August 2014 to April
2015. Their focus is to understand the organizational vision and processes of working with people withdisabilities and families, understand the issues in the lives of people with disabilities and how thoseissues are addressed. They have been part of skill building groups and clubs for adults, have assisted inmelas, events, research work and have also been part of the data collection for the study on Status of
Persons with Disabilities in Delhi where they focused on the area of Accessibility.
3 students from Ashoka University were placed in AADI from August 2013 –May 2014 as part theExperiential Learning Module in order to complete the Young India Fellowship Course undertaken by
them. The objective of the project undertaken by them is to create a baseline profile and status report ofpersons with disabilities in Delhi, which could be used as an advocacy tool to create awareness on therights of people with disability, develop avenues of participation and promote inclusion of people withdisability in every sphere of life. They are focusing on the areas of Health, Accessibility, Education,
Employment, Social Protection and social economic profile. The methodology followed included
conducting desk reviews and field visits.
One student of Journalism from Amity University has been doing his internship in AADI from January
2015. His objective is to understand the disability sector through his work at AADI.

6.5 Internal In Service Trainings
This year a comprehensive staff training program was conducted. The focus of the staff training was toconsolidate the knowledge and application of the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) todifferent impairments. All areas of the ICF were studied in detail and discussions facilitated through small
and large group discussions. The area of body structure and functioning was also reviewed in detail with arefresher course in structure and functioning of all major body systems conducted. There has been an
increased understanding of the various components of the ICF and the application of the learning toindividual care plans for people with disabilities has begun. In the future too, regular sessions would
continue to further consolidate the learning. Thematic meetings in the areas of Health, Education, Work andEmployment and Communication were held. The purpose of these sessions was to share information andknowledge and consolidate issues, learnings and future focus in each area.
6.6 Trainings and Conferences Attended
This year too staff had a wide variety of opportunities to attend and present at different seminars andconferences. These helped them to keep abreast of latest developments in the field, contribute to National
level discussions and take the learning back to people with disabilities and their families. Highlights ofdifferent seminars and conferences attended are given below:
 3 Day Childhood Neuro developmental Workshop 2014, jointly organized by Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare, Government of India, UNICEF, UNDP-NIPI and AIIMS Delhi focusing on
diagnosis of various neuro developmental disorders, attended by 4 staff members. A microsite has
been launched which has access to training modules for Autism, ADHD, Neuromotor impairments
including Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy. In addition, it provides a module for early intervention for highrisk infants. There were sessions on the government’s Rahtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram as well and apresentation on how early intervention must be looked at was made by AADI.
 Two day seminar on Right to Health for persons with disabilities organized by Human Rights Law
Network was attended by 2 staff members. Many different health impairments were covered with
useful information on Thalassemia and Hemophilia.
 Two staff members participated in the 2 day workshop on good practices in employment andaccessibility organized by Handicapped International and NCPEDP. A presentation was made on
good practices in employment using Voluntary Services Organization, India as a case presentation.
 One staff member participated in the 1 day conference organized by SKOCH group on financial
accessibility for people with disabilities.

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25














Two staff members attended one day Conference cum Exhibition on Empowering Disabled Persons
with Accessible & Assistive Technology organized by ASSOCHAM in collaboration with Ministry ofSocial Justice &Empowerment. There were discussions and display of aids and assistive devices
across different life domains. Useful information was collected on various aids and assistive
technology which can be further disseminated to persons with disabilities.
Two people participated in the National Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
organized by National Center for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) over 2
days. There was a discussion on immediate issues of Law and Advocacy and core groups formed for
putting forth suggestions in certain key sectors.
A presentation was made in the workshop organized by Confederation of Real Estate Developers’
Associations of India, which gave an opportunity to link with the real estate sector with a view ofmaking a linkage for CSR activities and job placements for people with disabilities.
Three people attended a one day workshop organized by National Handicapped Finance andDevelopment Corporation, aimed at understanding the role of NHFDC in supporting the skilling andentrepreneur opportunities for people with disabilities.
Two people attended the Resource Alliance Fundraising Workshop which focused on understanding
the fund raising strategies and the ways in which we can approach both individual and corporates forfunds.
One person attended a one day Fundraising and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) workshop
organized by iVolunteer which focused on Understanding the Companies Act and how we can benefit
from the new CSR policy formulated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Two Staff members the workshop on Education for All organized by the National Coalition of
Education.
One staff member attended a session by Butterflies on travelling sex abusers and alertness required toprotect children.
Two staff members attended the World Day Against Child Labor Workshop. People from different
States presented the situation in their States.
One staff member attended a Symposium on Right to Play which highlighted the need of having safe
spaces for children to play in.

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Section III: Knowledge, Policy and Advocacy
In the continued effort on advocacy with different Ministries to include certain key provisions for people
with disabilities in their annual budgets, AADI joined the National Convention on the Union Budget 201516 organized by Center for Budget Governance and Advocacy. A document was prepared with a number ofpolicy expectations across a range of sectors, which have a direct bearing on the lives of the poor andunderprivileged sections of the country’s population. This document has been circulated to the Ministry of
Finance and other Union Ministries.
Advocacy with the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi for accessibility of the polling stations
during the Delhi State Elections was done. It was directed by the Election Commission of India that all
guidelines followed previously must be implemented. It was suggested that the training material prepared
during the LokSabha Elections last year be used again this year. Although some provisions and training didhappen this year certain key provisions such as provision of wheelchairs at every polling venue were notadhered to. There were only 700 wheelchairs available whereas 2500 were needed. People with disabilities
reported inconvenience due to this. A sustained advocacy effort it required to ensure that all provisions are
met in a timely manner.
The team participated in a meeting organized by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship on theinitiation of Social Skill Sector Councils for persons with disabilities in collaboration with Confederation ofIndian Industry. The meeting held in February 2015, was to deliberate on the formation of a Persons withdisability Sector Skill Council (SSC). We are part of the core group that will finalize the proposal incollaboration with CII. We also participated in the National Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disability organized by the National Center for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP).
We were part of the core group on Labour and Employment, which brainstormed on issues of employmentof people with disability and the basic tenets of an inclusive employment policy. This was a very usefulinteraction as the team received guidance for their policy level work from experienced practitioners andleaders who were people with disability. The experts in the core group have also agreed to give their input inthe draft document on the Diversity and Inclusion Policy that AADI is putting together.
One staff member participated in a 3 day workshop National Level workshop held by National Council of
Educational Research and Training (NCERT)and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for orientation to the Handbook
developed for Children with Special Needs. AADI facilitated the session on children with Cerebral Palsy.
One person participated in the review of NCERT’s position papers on Health and Physical Education. Inputs
were given on how the curriculum needs to be designed keeping diversity in mind.
A group of 6 children with disabilities participated in a workshop organized by National Commission forProtection of Child Rights, where they shared what problems and issues they were facing in schools. They
were able to participate effectively and raised relevant issues and concern. It was promised that relevant
authorities would be notified and changes made. A group of three children attended a workshop on ending
violence. This workshop was organized by National Action and Coordination Group India.
Work on the Newsletter continued in this year. It has been decided that the next issue of the Newsletter will
be on education and cover articles highlighting the concept of life-long education across different life areas.
Only one issue has been possible this year. A resource directory comprising the information on schemes
and facilities and other information related to persons with disabilities and their families has been compiled.

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Annual Report 2014-15

28

AADI Staff
As on March 2015
Executive Director: Gidugu Syamala
Deputy Executive Director: Madhu Grover Director: Renu Anuj
Managers / Coordinators of Activities■ Anita Lodhi ■ B. Anuradha ■ Charulekha Khandelwal ■ Manavi Jalan ■ Manjula Mehra ■ Meenakshi Sharma■ Neelam Dutt ■ Nidhi Jalan ■ Shahana Chakraborty ■ Meenu Manchanda ■ *Rupa Rastog ■ Sheetal Batra■ Praveen
Kr. Singh ■ Darsana Khir ■ *Shaila Khan ■ Jitender Tomar ■ Sarfaraz
Rehabilitators (Associates)■ Chandeshwari Tiwari ■ Narender Pal Kaur ■ Raminder Kaur ■ *Sushma Kumari ■ *Vinita Rawat ■ Vinita Nagpal■ Manuja Mishra ■ Dimpi Raisinghani ■ Shweta Ladsaria ■ Md. Saukat Hossain ■ Mohita Mitla ■ Puja Lalchandani■ Indernil Chakrovarty ■ Deepak Jain ■ *Namita Bhutani ■ Shipra Singhal ■ Ruchika Kaushik■ Lotika ■ AnushreeDas ■ Yoginder ■ *Jinu James ■ *Abhinav ■ *Mayuri Roy ■ Chanchal ■ *Manpreet
Administration, HRD, Finance & Resource Mobilization Staff (Urban)
Manager/Coordinator of Activities■ R. K. Sahani ■ Gavender Kumar ■ Seema Ghosh ■ M.S. Sridhar
Associates / Asst. Executive Officer■ Harpreet Mehta ■ Saranjeet Kaur
Secretaries / Telephone Operator■ Meenakshi Sharma ■ Nisha Sawhney ■ Rajeev Uppal ■ Yuna Noor ■ Vinay Viz
Jr. Assistants / Receptionist■ Muthu Subramanium ■ Neena Sharma ■ Pankaj Kapoor ■ Sanjay Sharma ■ Uttam Mandal ■ Chetan Razdan■ Atul Mohan Mehta ■ Gurucharan Singh
Non‐Technical Staff■ Ajit Baxla ■ Amar Singh ■ Anita Devi ■ Bimla Chauhan ■ Birender Kumar ■ Gyanesh Tyagi ■ Hans Narayan■ Jai Singh ■ John Kindo ■ Jokhu Ram ■ Kaleshwar Singh ■ Kamini Prasad ■ Meen Bahadur ■ Meena Singh■ Meera Devi ■ Nagender Yadav ■ Nand Lal Sharma ■ Nirmala Devi ■ Om Prakash (Jr.) ■ Om Prakash Chauhan■ Ratankali ■ Shanti Paswan ■ Sovan Singh ■ Sunehar Singh ■ Surender Mishra ■ Suresh Kumar ■ Upender Yadav■ Vishwajeet* Left during 2014‐2015
Rural Centre at Dayalpur
Rehabilitators, Support Staff and Volunteers■ Chaman Lal ■ Devender Singh ■ Indira Vashisth ■ Kamla Devi ■ Kanta Devi Sharma ■ Krishna Devi Arya
■ Rajpal Singh ■ Ramesh Chand ■ Richpal Kaur ■ Roshini Sarah ■ Sarbati Lal ■ Sukhbiri Devi ■ Kailasi Devi
■ Omvati Devi ■ Rajwati Devi ■ Shakuntala Devi ■ Phoolwati Devi ■ Kela Devi ■ Kela Bati
* Left during 2014‐2015

Annual Report 2014-15

29

Governing Body of AADI
Chairperson

Vice Chairperson

Mr. Sunil Mehta

Ms. Vandana Bedi

B. Com. (Hon.), (Delhi University)
Chartered Accountancy, (Institute of Chartered Accountants ofIndia, Delhi)
Chairman & Managing Director, SPM Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd.
Alumni, Wharton School of Management, (University ofPennsylvania) U.S.A

Dip. OT (IPH, Delhi)
P. G. Course in Management of CP
M. Sc. Occupational Therapy – Pediatrics (UK)Consultant (Disability & Development)

Treasurer

Secretary & Executive Director

Mr. Rajesh Kathuria

Ms. G. Syamala

Chartered Accountancy(Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Delhi)
Practicing Charted Accountant

M.A. Psychology, (Delhi University)
P.G. Diploma in Special Education (AADI)
Executive Director, AADI

Founder Members

Dr. Divya Jalan

Ms. Sushmita Nundy*Founder Member
Dip. Physical Handicap (London University)
M. A. Early Childhood Education (London University)
Ph. D. Education (SNDT, Mumbai)
Consultant (Education)

Founder Chairperson
B.A. (Hon.) (London School of Economics)
M. Phil. (Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi)

Members

Mr. Alok Sikka

Ms. Shukla Haldar

B.A. (Delhi University)
Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism
Journalist

M.A. Fine Arts, (University of Chennai)
Diploma from London Montessori Centre (Kolkata)
Chief Facilitator, Panchatantra Montessori School

Dr Achal Bhagat

Dr. Mathew Verghese

MBBS (UCMS, Delhi), MD (Psychiatry), PGIMER, Chandigarh,
MRCPsych, Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK
Director, Division of Mental Health & Quality of Life , Medanta
Chairperson, Saarthak

MS Orthopedic (Surgery)
Director, St. Stephens’ Hospital

Ms. Kamla Bhasin

Mr. Praveen Kumar GurunathM.A (Economics) Rajasthan University
Advisor, SANGATMSW, (Community Development )Program Manager , VSO

Ms. Veena Kumar

Ms. Madhu Grover

M.A. English,(Kanpur University)
Volunteer, Resource Mobilization

M.A. Psychology,(Delhi University)
P.G. Diploma in Special Education (AADI)
Deputy Executive Director, AADI

Ms. Renu Anuj Singh
M.Sc . (Agra University)
P.G. Diploma in Special Education (AADI)
Director, RCBR
*We sadly share that she passed away on 28 August 2014

Annual Report 2014-15

30

NOTES

Annual Report 2014-15

31

NOTES

Annual Report 2014-15

32

In the end only three things matter
How much you have loved
How gently you have lived
And how gracefully you have let go Of
things not meant for you

Action for Ability Development and Inclusion
Formerly The Spastics Society of Northern India
2, Balbir Saxena Marg, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi – 110016 Tel.: 26569107, 26966331, 26864717 Fax: 26853002
E-mail: aadi@aadi-india.org
Website: www.aadi-india.org
Rural Community Based Rehabilitation Centre
Dayalpur Primary Health Centre Ballabhgarh Block, Faridabad (Haryana)