Volunteers Wanted for first year IIM Students

Esha is looking for 5-6 volunteers for this assignment. 

What needs to be done 

First year students at an IIM are facing some challenges with their academic content. There are some things that the screenreader is not able to read. For instance, graphs, figures, diagrams. 

They would like someone to read out these parts to them. 

Who can do it? 

Anyone with reasonable English fluency and some patience. 

Background in MBA or allied subjects will be helpful. 

How much time commitment is required? 

About one hour a day.

If every day is not possible, please indicate the days of week when you can be available. 

These sessions will ideally happen after 8:30 pm India time, so that they can do their studies after classes, etc. Therefore, working professionals can volunteer. (I did the session at 11 pm, basis mutual convenience).  

For how long is this needed? 

We will start with 2 months - August and September, and extend based on how the experience has been. 

Is there a minimum commitment of time from the volunteer? 

One hour, at least three times a week. Please volunteer for at least 3 weeks to understand what the work entails. 

Great! How to Sign up? 

https://forms.gle/8NydkKQ7uKPCrrtp9

How to do a Blind School visit

A lot of friends, through good intent, want to mark an occasion (a loved one's passing on anniversary, a birthday, an auspicious event) at an orphanage or blind school. 

Many corporates also approach us for celebrating Volunteering Day or week at a Blind School. 

This post is for all such audience. 

The post is being written as a result of a similar discussion on a parenting group. Thank you for the prompt. 

Plan 

1. Reach out to a blind school near you. Ask them what volunteering and sponsoring options they have. Most will have a meal sponsorship. If you choose this, ask for a date that is available and choose your menu (most schools have menu options for donors to choose). 

2. Ask the school what the expected conduct is. Are you allowed to serve? Are you allowed to freely interact or do you wait? Can you eat with them? How many people can visit? 

3. Prepare your visitors. You are not going there to teach, to mentor, or to help. You are going there to learn. It can be an inspirational visit. Think about the things you want to learn. Is it Braille? How to walk and go up or down stairs with eyes closed? How to eat without looking at the plate (a skill that TV watching eaters will find useful)? 

4. If you are a corporate, please don't ask for an opportunity to teach or do entertainment. Most good schools have a schedule for the students. Most corporate employee are NOT trained on special education and therefore are NOT qualified to "teach" anything. You can have an experience sharing session esp in areas where there is interest. It can be sections like - What does a work day look like for you? What kind of skills are needed to do this work? What kind of people should aspire to do your work? 

On the Day 

1. Arrive on time. Preferably, a little earlier. 

2. Please ensure that you stick to the numbers invited and the conduct that the school has recommended. 

3. Have genuine conversations. The stories of the people you are interacting with are inspirational. Some of them were abandoned as children. Some of them found out late in life that they are going to lose their sight. A conversation with these students is likely to be a masterclass in self-motivation. Having said that, please understand that this is their "normal", so it may not be a good idea to tell them how strong they are repeatedly (once is enough). Do ask questions about everyday things like what do you do in ur free time, what kind of music do u listen to? 

4. Some conversation topics to avoid are - Who do you have at home? When did you lose your sight? How do you feel about losing your sight? Can I help you in any way? 

5. As the event ends, thank the school for having you. If you have carried gifts, please give them as  you would give them to a friend. 

After

If you would like to relive the memory again and again,  do write how you felt, and keep it in a place that you can read again. 

Srikanth: Movie Day by NCPEDP on 6th May 2024 at 10 am.

 Invitation to an Inclusive Movie Day! 🍿

NCPEDP in association with PVR INOX, is proud to bring inclusivity and resilience to the theatres near you!

We're thrilled to extend a special invitation to People with Disabilities, along with their friends and families, for the premiere screening of "Srikanth" on May 10th, 2024, at 10:00 AM. Book your seats at a special price of just ₹99 for the first day first show!

- Audio descriptions available via XL Cinema App. 

- People on wheelchair must book wheelchair friendly seats in accessible cinemas having white wheelchair sign.

- Cinemas with the yellow wheelchair sign can only accommodate people on manual wheelchairs.

Join us and be part of a cinematic journey unlike any other! See you there! 

Bookings open from 6 May 2024 on the PVR App, Inox App, PVR website and Inox website. 

For any questions connect with us at NCPEDP helpline: 9958955744

Looking for Researchers

 

Dear Friends

As you are aware, this year’s Esha research project is trying to answer a very important question: How are inclusive workspaces different, in terms of employee experience?

 

The study is being guided by Dr. Amit Jain, FP from IIM Calcutta and faculty at SP Jain Institute of Management.

We will not be using a questionnaire-based approach. Instead, we will use two deep-knowledge techniques – Network Maps and Critical Incidents.

Network Maps help us understand the real social integration of people, and critical incidents technique helps us understand the dynamics of working together. This two pronged approach helps us get a holistic understanding of the inclusive workspace.

At this time, we are looking for researchers who will help us gather the information required for the research. Training will be given to all researchers.

What is expected

Researchers will be trained on creating network maps and conducting critical incident conversations.

They are expected to travel to the workplaces and gather information from both sighted and blind professionals, both in groups and individually.

This information then needs to be recorded as per the project standards and submitted.

When

Data gathering will be done from April to July.

Where

Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh.

How much time is expected

About ten hours per week.

Who can Volunteer

Students above the age of sixteen can volunteer. All adults can volunteer.

People with interest in, and some knowledge of behavioural sciences, will find this easier. We are open to everyone who displays empathy, wants to learn these techniques, and can devote time. Quality of data and documentation is crucial, so an eye for detail will be very helpful. 

What do the researchers get?

In addition to a wonderful experience, all researchers can choose either a certificate of volunteering or a small honorarium, depending on their preference.

 

How do we sign up?

https://forms.gle/A3ofJV8SGCvHu8JA6

Fill up this form.

Training will start in early April 2024.

On Esha completing 19 years

 Why do you do Esha?

I don’t know. Why do we breathe? 

On 5^th January, Esha (www.eshabraille.org) quietly completed 19 years and stepped into the 20^th.

And that, led to a moment of introspection.

 

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is how Esha has truly remained a volunteer-driven initiative. In this year, I hope that we are able to deepen ties with our existing volunteers. That has been a long-standing area of improvement.

The second is that the last few years of uncertainty might have been necessary, but they have put us back a little bit. So, we will have to work a little harder to make up for lost time.

The third is that now that there is clarity of purpose and a clear boundary around what we want to do, it should be a top priority to get things going. Being a primarily action-oriented person, this one comes easily to me.

AND, given that there is much to do, we will take a minute to list the work done so far, and then focus on the future.

We:

·       Were able to talk about Braille enabled visiting cards and create a service center in India. This service center, run by Venkatesh, services braille visiting cards all over the country.

·       Were able to create an online audio library in Indian languages which required no sign up and no subscription – in 2010.

·       Were able to create and help deliver a theater workshop that was conducted by a blind professional for sighted participants. It was a super hit!

·       Were able to create a structured student volunteering program, and then run it every year, from 2012 onwards. Later, such programs have become a lot more frequent.

·       Do some very interesting work in research in our sector.

It was good work, and we are grateful for being the medium through which it was done. 

 

So, if you are reading this post, do join us.

Esha currently has three clear verticals. You can help in any one.

A.    Knowledge Democracy – www.clabil.org /audio.php –

·       Content – Needed in Nepali.

·       Please help us take the library to more stakeholders.

·       We need help in publishing our content on archive.org – we started a channel but have not been able to upload enough content.

 

B.    Sensitisation – When I started the season of inclusion in December 2023, I thought it would be as simple as going to a public place and hosting a blind walk. It wasn’t. We realised that we now need organising support to conduct a Blind Walk. So, if you are looking for an employee or student volunteering opportunity for your own office/school/college, do consider a Blind Walk.

More details here: https://eshabraille.org/current-projects/ and here https://eshabraille.org/blind-walks/

 

C.   Research – Saving the best for the last. Data driven policy making needs data. One of the most important gaps we have is independent research. So, Esha’s third vertical is going to be research. So far, two out of our three research reports are in the public domain:

Career Choices:

https://eshabraille.org/3d-flip-book/career-choices-of-the-visually-disabled/

 

Attitudes towards specially-abled colleagues:

https://eshabraille.org/research-report-attitude-of-the-sighted-towards-specially-abled-colleagues/

 

This year, we are planning follow-up research – What is the workplace experience of both sighted and blind colleagues, in an inclusive workplace?

 

We are currently in the research design stage. Amit Jain, who is a Fellow from IIM Cal and now a professor at SPJIMR is mentoring the research. If you have inputs that can help, experiences to share, that will be very welcome.

Otherwise, you can do one of the following:

 

1.    Join the research. All responses are confidential and very important. Data gathering is likely to be from April – Aug 2024.

2.    Connect us to researchers. This is going to be a behavioral observation + conversation study and we are going to need good researchers.

 

Long ago, I used to send an annual update on Esha which was emailed to all Friends of Esha. That will, if all goes well, be resumed this year. Please do wish us luck as we start this journey, and, hop on!