The Malsawm Initiative- Where Hope Walks, Learns and Belongs

Centre for Community Initiative: Empowering Every Ability, Rebuilding Every Life

In the remote hill district of Churachandpur, Manipur, children with disabilities are often born into silence While India moves ahead as a global force not because they have no voice, but because the world around them isn’t listening Centre for Community Initiative (CCI) exists to change that. Founded in 2002 from the personal loss of the founder and Director Mr. Pauzagin Tonsing and Mrs. Dondouching, CCI began as an act of love and resilience and grew into a bold grassroots movement. Its mission: to ensure every child, regardless of disability, is met with dignity, education, and a future filled with hope.

Our Mission for Children and Persons with Disabilities

Started from a single classroom with thatched bamboo walls, CCI has been working tirelessly for over a decade to ensure that children with disabilities are not left behind. Today, that vision has grown into a thriving institution equipped with a team of dedicated professionals including special educators from various fields of disabilities, a physiotherapist, a speech therapist, a clinical psychologist, and a group of trained assistant teachers.

Through its Centre, MARC (Malsawm Ability Resource Centre), and specialized programs like the Early Intervention Unit, Home-Based Care, Therapy Services, and Inclusive Education, we have reached hundreds of children and their families with life-changing support.

Through The Malsawm Initiative and a comprehensive range of rehabilitative services, the Centre for Community Initiative (CCI) is rewriting the future for children with disabilities in Churachandpur. Every day, CCI restores dignity, unlocks potential, and nurtures hope whether it's a boy with cerebral palsy taking his first independent steps with assistive support, or a young girl who once couldn’t stand now sitting proudly in a mainstream classroom. These are not isolated miracles, but living proof of what happens when a child is seen, supported, and empowered to thrive.

But CCI knows that real, lasting change goes beyond therapy rooms and school walls change begins at home, with families. That’s why CCI strengthens the hands and hearts of parents, siblings, and caregivers to become lifelong advocates. Its Parents Support Group (PSG) has now emerged as one of the most vocal forces for disability inclusion in the region.

From confined beds to classrooms, from health centres to community halls, CCI is planting seeds of inclusion everywhere. And by equipping siblings the often-silent warriors of care to lead with empathy and skill, CCI ensures that every child grows up in a world that truly believes in their worth.

Our Vision Forward

As we look ahead, our commitment remains firm: to make education and healthcare accessible, dignified, and inclusive for every child with a disability in Northeast India.

• With the right support, these children don’t just survive—they inspire, they lead, and they shine.

Because THEY CAN!