Access to Opportunities
RAJIV GANDHI ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM
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ore than six hundred million people across the globe live with disabilities of various types. According to 2011 Census, 26.8 million people in India are disabled and out of these more than 20 percent have movement disability. Most of them struggle daily to meet their basic needs. These struggles are heavily compounded by widespread social stigma. The few who beat the odds become success stories, others unfortunately exist only as numbers in census counts. The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) strongly believes that ‘a dignified life’ is a non-negotiable. No disability whatsoever should deprive any individual in living his/her life to the fullest. Powered by this vision, the Foundation has been enabling young people with movement disability (the largest segment of disabled persons) to access opportunities by awarding motorised vehicles, since 1992. The Rajiv Gandhi Access to Opportunities Program, initiated with the support of corporate bodies, NGOs and concerned individuals, has supported young people access higher education, attain financial independence, dignity and respect in the society.
The Foundation awards vehicles specially designed to suit the needs of persons with physical disability of lower limbs. These vehicles can be operated with hands and does not need any support from lower limbs. The attachments installed with the vehicle are certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (research institute of the automotive industry with the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Govt. of India). Every year, a rigorous technical assessment of all existing and suitable models is undertaken. This includes physical verification of shortlisted vehicles, scrutiny of technical specifications and feedback from past awardees. The final selection is based on the technical assessment, financial comparisons and advice of the Program Committee.
Eligibility Criteria 1. Age: 18-35 years 2. Income: Rs 3500-10000 per month 3. Disability in lower limbs: 60% and above 4. Should hold Driving License or Learners’ License 5. Not a government employee
Criteria
1 Proof of Disability 2 Proof of being a student 3 Current Occupation 4 Monthly income
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Documents
Disability certificate indicating severity and percentage of locomotive disability Other related documents like pension card, bus/rail pass etc. Identity card and documents issued by educational Institution Identity card/ latest salary slip/ appointment letter issued by employer Salary slip/original income certificate
The applications, received in hundreds, are initially scrutinised by RGF’s program team. Details of all eligible applicants are then shared with partner organisations. S.No. State
Name of partner
1 Assam Shishu Sarothi 2 Bihar and Jharkhand Child Concern (SAMARPAN) 3 West Bengal Institute for the Handicapped & Backward People 4 Odisha AAINA Organisation 5 Chhattisgarh ARPAN (Managed by PAC) 6 Gujarat The Society for Physically Handicapped 7 Rajasthan Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti 8 Maharashtra NASEOH (National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped) 9 Himanchal Pradesh Indian Association of Muscular Dystrophy 10 Haryana UMEED Society for Job Placement and Social Integration 11 Uttar Pradesh MANGALAM 12 Jammu & Kashmir Aman Trust 13 Uttarakhand Srajan Spastic Society 14 Andhra Pradesh & Sheikinah Foundation Telangana 15 Karnataka Association of People with Disability 16 Punjab DANIS
Partner Location Guwahati Patna Calcutta Bhubaneswar Raipur Ahmedabad Jaipur Mumbai
Solan Chandigarh
Lucknow Srinagar Haldwani Hyderabad Bangalore Panchkula
Selection Process
The Foundation has put in place a multistate and comprehensive process to select the awardees. Any person desirous of the award has to apply in the prescribed format with all requisite proofs and documents.
The Foundation’s partners in across 25 states and 5 union territories then carry out physical verification of applicants. Durign the verification, the partners go through all original documents and also make an assessment of the applicant’s physical disability, occupation and income. Based on partners’ recommendations and inhouse assessment, the Foundation’s program team develops a shortlist and submits it to the ‘Committee on Rajiv Gandhi Access to Opportunities Program’.
Committee on Rajiv Gandhi Access to Opportunities Program The Committee, chaired by Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar comprises representatives from the government, corporate and NGOs. The Committee undertakes a comprehensive analysis and selects the awardees. Name
Designation and Organisation
Role in the Committee
Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar Ex Union Minister, Govt. of India
S. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
States Covered Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chandigarh Chhattisgarh Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala
S.No. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Chairman
States Covered Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Meghalaya Mizoram Odisha Pondicherry Punjab Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Telangana Tripura U.T. of Lakshadweep Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal
The awardees hail from almost all walks of life: students, entrepreneurs, salaried, young people who study and work simultaneously, those in search of employment etc. The awardees have reported significant saving in travel expenditure and time. While those who were studying were able to complete their studies with much ease, they also reported access to larger range of livelihood options. RGF’s past awardees now include doctors, engineers, government and bank employees, chartered accountants and social entrepreneurs. The enhancement in quality of life has also resulted in greater independence, self confidence and social esteem.
Impact
Since 1992, the Foundation has been able to impact the lives of over 2400 physically challenged people across 25 states and 5 Union Territories.
Mateen
It was a normal afternoon of December 22nd 1991, when Mateen and his shop assistant Ramsharan decided to visit the flea market behind Red fort. As they were exploring some old clothes, there was a loud blast. As Mateen tries to recollect memories of the terrorist attack and chaotic atmosphere on that dreadful day, his eyes turn moist. He realised that his leg was injured when he tried getting up. Someone took him to the LNJP hospital where the doctors informed Mateen that his leg had to be amputated. The 26 months of treatment and physical disability badly impacted Mateen’s flourishing almirah making business and pushed him into severe financial crisis. Mateen had the responsibility of his wife and two kids at that time. He tried getting a job, but due to lack of educational qualification, he couldn’t find one. He also tried to re-establish his business by working tirelessly but could not succeed. Mateen realised that the injury to his lower limbs did not affect his ability to make good almirahs. The biggest challenge however was mobility. Before the blast, he could walk or take cheap modes of transport like bus. But now he had to use rickshaws. The expenditure on transport was eating up all the income Mateen was earned in the business. Mateen clearly remembers how his losing confidence and anxiety had started affecting his health. During one of his visits to the hospital for checkup, Mateen discussed his financial situation with the doctor. The doctor informed him about the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation’s Access to Opportunities program. For Mateen, it was a ray of hope. The kind doctor helped him in making an application to the Foundation. Mateen was awarded the vehicle in August 1994, and from that moment there was no looking back. Mateen was independent once again. He was no longer at the mercy of public transport or had to spend his hard earned money on rickshaws. The time and money he saved went a long way in turning around his business. In the last 24 years, Mateen married off three daughters who have been leading happy families. He is also actively engaged in helping other physically challenged people. He calls his tri-wheeler his personal ‘aeroplane’.
Vinita Jain Pukhraj Jain used to live in a small village in Khetia near the Maharashtra-MP border, when his 4 month old daughter Vinita she suffered polio attack. The disability did not stop Vinita from growing up to be an intelligent girl. A few years later, the family moved to Nasik where Pukhraj was able to provide better education to all his three children. After completing her schooling, Vinita decided to become a Chartered Accountant. As part of her preparations, she decided to intern with a firm to get hands-on experience. But all reputed firms were either in Pune or Mumbai. It was almost impossible to traverse such large distances with a caliper. During Vinita’s Delhi visit to get a Jaipur caliper, her doctor shared details about the Foundation’s program. Vinita applied and was awarded a vehicle in 2009. The increased mobility made Vinita an independent woman. She studied and simultaneously worked in Pune and Mumbai. It was during one of her exam that she met Nitesh. The subsequent Facebook friendship evolved into a lifelong relationship when Vinita and Nitesh got married in 2015. Vinita and Nitesh currently stay in Jalgaon and work as Chartered Accountants.
Shabi Zehra Shabi Zehra is a well known name in Meerut city, western Uttar Pradesh. Articles about Shabi appear in newspapers on a regular basis. At the age of two, Shabi lost her lower limbs to polio attack. But she never really felt like a disabled person because of her father’s support. In spite of his limitations as a private taxi driver, he motivated her to study. Shabi lost her father when she was pursuing BA and within six months her brother met with a fatal accident. The family of 7 was reduced to 5 in a span of 6 months and changed Shabi’s life completely. The financial problems in the family further disheartened her. Shabi used this phase to reflect extensively on her life and other disabled people. She realized that despite her disability, nothing could stop her from doing what she wanted to. This motivated her to meet other physically challenged individuals and slowly build a network. Shabi along with 4 other physically challenged girls formed ‘Koshish Welfare Society for the Disabled’ in 2013. She was just 27 years old then. One of the first initiatives was a school for handicapped children. She says, “In a poor family if the kids are disabled, parents generally feel that they should stay at home. There aren’t good facilities for these kids in government schools. Private schools are very expensive. I started a free school and requested parents to send their disabled kids to us. We teach them basic things. We have around 21 kids in different classes. Some of them are either physically challenged or visually or hearing impaired.” Shabi’s school was 8 kms away from her home and she used to face great difficulty in commuting. She applied to the Foundation and was awarded the vehicle in 2014. Owning a vehicle boosted Shabi’s confidence and mobility. She says, “I felt very proud. I got the vehicle in New Delhi. More than the increased mobility it was like a token of respect and an honour for my work. It gave me a feeling that yes, there are people or organizations in our country who recognize your social work and appreciate it. It was like... here take this scooter and do more good work.” In addition to the school, Shabi is presently running two sewing centres for disabled and normal girls. She regularly counsels physically challenged people and provides guidance on career, government schemes and benefits that they can avail. Shabi was awarded by the state government for her social work on 3rd December 2015. On International Women’s Day, she was felicitated by Dainik Jagran in Meerut. These are just two of the many awards and felicitations that the 30 year old Shabi has received.
Nirlipta In 1990, the 9 year old Nirlipta was keeping unwell for some day till she collapsed one day. She was the youngest of the three girls in her family. Nirlipta’s mother rushed her to the hospital and was told that her daughter had suffered from a polio-paralysis mixed attack. This meant Nirlipta she have a limp on one leg. Her mother remembers it as the second most heart breaking incident, after the passing away of Nirlipta’s father when she was just 6 months old. Due to absence of good quality medical aids in the Sambalpur hospital, Nirlipta was taken to Kolkata and Udaipur for treatment. The signs of improvement were modest and very slow. This polio attack hurt Nirlapta’s leg but not hurt her spirit. She continued her studies and completed her graduation from Sambhalpur University in 2003. After graduation Nirlapta studied computers from IGNOU and started preparing for competitive exams. Based on her efforts, she got a temporary posting with the State Bank of India as a clerk. Despite her long years of service, she continues to be a temporary staff member.
I believe it is all about realization. When you have the support of your family, even on a wheel chair you don’t feel disabled. But when your life gets tough and you lose your near and dear ones, and you have to do stuff on your own, then the feeling of not being able to move freely hits you hard. That is the day you actually feel that you are disabled. There were issues. I struggled daily to travel 7 to 8 kilometres. It was painful. During one of my visits to the District Collectorate, I came to know that a young girl was awarded a vehicle by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. I checked the details online and applied for the same. I luckily got selected and was awarded the scooter in 2011. The same year I even got a permanent job with the State Bank of India. It was almost as if this scooter gave me mobility as well as good luck. Currently I am working as an Assistant Manager with SBI. I would like to thank the Foundation for its support. I just love my scooter and I love to use it every day to go to office, to take my mother to places and to go out elsewhere. This scooter is very lucky for me.” —Nirlipta
Key Donors ABN Amro Bank
Max India Foundation
Aditya Birla Group
NBCC Limited
Ambuja Cements Limited
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited
Apeejay Surrendra Group
Patton International Limited
Ballarpur Industries Limited
Pirojsha Godrej Foundation
Bank of Maharashtra
R P Infosystems Pvt. Ltd.
Bharat Forge Limited
Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd
Bharti Foundation
SRF Limited
Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd.
State Bank of India
DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited
Steel Authority of India
GAIL (India) Limited
Tata Steel Limited
Give India
The Indian Hotels Company Limited.
GVK Airport Foundation
TVS Motor
HUDCO Ltd.
UCO Bank
IndusInd Bank
Usha Martin Limited
J K Tyre & Industries Ltd.
Wartsila India Limited
Mahindra & Mahindra
Support us Mobility transforms lives of people with physical disability. Support this initiative and make a difference.
For making donations, please contact: Shri Dhiraj Srivastava Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Jawahar Bhawan, Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi – 110001. Ph: +91 11 23755117, 23312456 Email: dhiraj.srivastava@rgfindia.com Web: www.rgfindia.org
All donations to the Foundation are tax deductible to the extent of 50 percent under section 80G of the Income Tax Act.
About the Foundation
The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) was established in 1991, to realize the vision of former Prime Minister of India, Shri Rajiv Gandhi. He dreamed of a modern India, secular, independent and progressive; a country that enshrines the democratic principle of equality, and blends progress with rich cultural traditions. He envisaged a country with an educated population free of prejudice; where women participate as equals; a nation with the space and will to empower all citizens, and especially the underprivileged.
Jawahar Bhawan Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi-110001 PH.: +91-11-23755117, 23312456 E.mail.: info@rgfindia.org www.rgfindia.org