Helping the differently-abled youth to become more productive and self-reliant

Making the differently-abled youth financially productive and self-reliant is still a big challenge. The support system, training, and other facilities are still lacking, once they cross 18 years of age. There are many government schemes to support them but many of these young people are not aware of those. They don’t have someone to guide and support them so that they will be able to get the benefits of these schemes.

Support from the family is also lacking in many cases. Many of them are dropouts from the formal education system and don’t have a lot of job opportunities. If they are not earning, they became a burden on their families and lose respect and dignity. They face a lot of difficulty in carrying out day-to-day activities due to the lack of proper facilities and training.

We will be reaching out to around 500 differently-able young people in one year. We will organize various training programs for them( a minimum of 10 with 50 participants in each). We will provide mobility training, use of other senses to carry out the day to day activities, use of mobiles/computers and other functional life skills for the visually impaired group. We shall also be organising onfidence building and personality development activities, provide employability skills training, and assistance for self-employment.

We are planning to start a helpline for the differently abled sector for quick redressal of their problems. We are also planning to create a state-level informal network of the individuals and organizations working in this sector.

We will help them in getting the benefits of various government schemes meant for them. We will also try to mobilize support from various sectors of the community for making them self-reliant.

The lives of 500 differently-abled young people and their families will be enriched by means of heightening their sense of self. They will become more confident, will be able to carry out their day to day activities with more ease and comfort. This group will also act as a self-help support group. They will get to know each other’s lives and the challenges they are going through. They will also learn how someone else in the group has overcome those successfully. This will motivate others and they will get “ready to use guidelines” for tackling their own challenges.

The financial status of the 100 differently-abled young people under this project will improve, either by job placements in the government or private sector or through self-employment.

We will reach out to many more youths through our helpline and provide them with the necessary guidance and direction.