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Section: Compassion Section Editor: Jayana Shah
VoSAP – Making the World Accessible for Specially Abled People According to United Nations, there are more than 1 billion people in the world with disability. Currently there are 70 million physically or mentally disabled people in India. People with disabilities battle multiple challenges, such as societal attitudes, religious beliefs, acceptance & inclusion. The lack of access to good quality education and employment keep many from being financially independent. Pranav Desai, born in Ahmedabad, had experienced these problems as a child since he was affected by polio at age 4. He had trouble getting into school because the school authorities were resistant to attend to his physical needs. Fortunately, he got admission on trial basis. He took the challenge, topped the class and began enjoying the benefits of inclusive education. Pranav overcame day-to-day hardships and consistently performed well throughout schooling. He went on to complete his engineering in electronics and communication, followed by an MBA in sales and marketing from Gujarat University. In 2015, Pranav founded the Voice of Specially Abled People (VoSAP). Voice of SAP is a Global Advocacy Organization with a mission to redefine the idea of a disabled person. They’re not disabled, but rather Specially Abled People, capable of leading an empowered and independent lifestyle. In a “Special Consultative Status” with UN ECOSOC and accreditation with UN COSP, Voice of SAP is working to create an Inclusive and Accessible world by accelerating implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN and goals of UN CRPD (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) treaty.
VoSAP promotes empowerment of specially abled people through accessibility, education, and employment. Their Vision statement is “To operate as the “Transformation Catalyst” for the world to become ACCESSIBLE and INCLUSIVE place where Specially Abled People enjoy equality as human beings, opportunity to excel and contribute based on their abilities and live with dignity and independence.” The organization currently has over 8300 volunteers that help in various areas such as growing awareness, fundraising, technology, creating content, research, etc. The VoSAP website, voiceofsap.org, contains a lot of information about the organization. There are many photos, videos and inspirational stories about the people who have benefited from solutions provided by VoSAP. Here are links to a few videos that you will find informational and inspiring. A Simple, Creative, short animated message: https://youtu.be/Bix3jWOUjeQ VoSAP Corporate Message: https://www.youtube.com/embed/HnIh_c5Vpl0?autoplay=1 Enablement Program and Interaction with Beneficiaries: https://youtu.be/QxfqtlFlkN0 Sparsh Shah, Youth Leader of VoSAP: https://youtu.be/JKwQHuMFTCQ Stories of Beneficiaries The success of any organization such as VoSAP is measured by its impact on the society; the beneficiaries of the activities of the organization. VoSAP website contains a few such stories at https://www.voiceofsap.org/inspirationalstories/
