How to make it a more inclusive world: Guest Post by Tapas Bhardwaj

 

•            Please ensure that no one around you keep their belongings on the tactile paths which are made for the movement of persons with visual disabilities, it creates inaccessibility. You all can contribute in making a path free of obstruction so that an easy movement of a person with visual disability can be made sure.

 

•            Some people while cleaning their houses or galleries leave the water on the floors, which can be a hurdle to any person. The consequences can be worse if a person using a wheel chair approaches, then the wheel chair user can slide and fall down. It is advised that the water should be properly wiped off.

 

•            I have often observed, the garbage bins are kept on the staircase of the apartment so that the sweeper can come and pick it up. However, it should be given to the sweeper only when he comes. The garbage bin if left on the staircase, can be a reason of falling of a person with visual disability as he can bang into that bin and fall down.

 

 

•            At times, some people spit or scratch the dots of the Braille signage provided on the elevators thinking that it is some fancy design. The dots at times get displaced causing inaccessibility.

Advise anyone whom you see doing such a thing, to not to do so as it also gives a wrong image of that particular public place in the eyes of visitors also!

•            The Government has provided auditory signals in metros and is in a process to provide these signals in buses so that persons with visual disabilities can get to know about the station they have reached.

However, at times the people talk so loudly in public transport, that the people are unable to here the announcement which creates a problem in navigating the station. Try to talk in a low tone the next time you travel, it also helps in saving your energy.

•            Auditory signals have also been provided on the red lights for crossing of the roads for the persons with visual disabilities. The use of the horns often hides the sound of these signals thus creating inaccessibility. While driving your vehicle, try to use the horn to its minimum level.

•            People can also contribute in providing accessibility to the persons with disabilities by participating in short courses like learning the basic of the sign language so that they can communicate with the people who are hard of hearing.

•            People also need to come forward and design special programs in their community for the persons having intellectual disabilities.

•            Persons with disabilities should be made part of the resident welfare associations in colonies so that the problems and the challenges that they face in their day today lives can be resolved as these associations interact with the Governments as well. The contribution of both the people and the Government can only lead to a dream of Viksit Bharat come true and the rights of persons with disabilities act 2016 properly implemented. There should be a communication, cooperation and contribution by both the public and the Government for making an accessible India which can become a role model country for the persons with disabilities of the entire world.

 

About the Author:

Tapas Bhardwaj

Tapas Bhardwaj is a student of Amity Law School Delhi. He has been the Head Boy of Delhi Public School RK Puram. He has been the recipient of the NTSE scholarship provided by the Government of India. He has been the recipient of national levels awards provided to him by the Home Ministry Government of India, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change Government of India and many others. Tapas feels that persons with disabilities requires platform to showcase their abilities. The ability if utilized properly can help any person to live his life with dignity respect and a sense of happiness. Tapas has authored several columns that have published in DailyO, Newzhook, ED Times, AB EDU news etc.

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Tapas Bhardwaj (BA LLB Honours)

Amity Law School Delhi

Contact Number :+919958313047

Experience of Handing out a Braille Card..

Every time I speak with people who got Braille done on their cards, I hear such beautiful stories of relationships, great first impressions, people who wonder and people who love..


Sharing one such story.. this time, I requested them to please speak on camera also...

Jugalbandi Chess Championship and National Blind Cricket Tournament - December 2015

This December is going to be a Sports Fiesta.

From 17th to the 20th of December, we will see the National Cricket Tournament for the Blind.

Teams participating in the Nationals are as follows:

 North zone: Haryana & Uttar Pradesh, East zone: Odisha & West Bengal

West zone: Gujarat & Rajasthan and South zone: Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka

 These teams will be divided into 2 groups will play the league matches, top 2 teams of each group will qualify for the Semi Finals.

 

Ground are as follows:

 

Ground A will be Civil Services ground, Chanakyapuri, near Ashoka Hotel, Delhi & Ground B will be Tau Devilal Stadium Gurgaon.

 17th to 19th of December 2 matches at each ground 1st match from 9 AM to 12.30 PM 2nd match from 1 PM to 4.30 PM.

 

20th December Semi Final match at each ground from 9 AM to 12.30 PM.

 

21st December Final match at Civil Services ground, Chanakyapuri, near Ashoka Hotel, Delhi from 10 AM to 1.30 PM.

 

Prize distribution will commence at 2.30 PM.

 

For Details:

 For any further information regarding tournament please feel free to get in touch with Mr. John David at +91-9449864785 or Email: ejohndavid@gmail.com

 

 

Jugalbandi Chess Tournament

 

Astha Foundation (www.astha.in) is working on transforming lives through sports.

Once in a year they conduct unique sports activity called Jugalbandi Sports - that allows people with and without disability to come together for a common purpose and understand each other  and  support each other.

 

Read More here: JUGALBANDI SPORTS

One such sports event is CHESS Jugalbandi . Tentative date for the Chess Jugalbandi is 20th Dec 2015.

• There are no charges for participation.
• You can participate from your school/institution or as individual.
• Transportation will be provided.
• CASH PRIZES of Rs 30000 to distributed among all + Certificates + The participants will carry the Chess  Boards with them.
• Reporting time is 9 AM - Tournament would start at 10 AM and complete at 5.30/6PM PM.

The participants who are keen on participating can send in there names and contact information to mansi.85@gmail.com.

 

 

SOIL Read Fest 2015 - 120 files in a day!

Today, the students and faculty and volunteers at SOIL got together to create 120 audio files for the online audio library  - in English, Tamil, and Hindi.

While the volunteers will share their own experience by tomorrow, a quick look at the languages and the top volunteers today! More Power to you folks.

 

How to Conduct a Blind Walk

A lot of the Friends of Esha have been happy to hear of the Blind Walk, and have indicated a desire to conduct Blind Walks near their own homes.

So, we created this document on "How to Conduct a Blind Walk" .

How to Conduct a Blind Walk- Organizer’s Guide

Introduction

This document is for all the friends of Esha who want to organise a Blind Walk. This is a complete organiser’s guide, and we hope this will help in conducting the Walk successfully.

Blind Walk

Blind walk is an activity conducted for people to experience the challenges faced by visually impaired people. The primary purpose of this event is to raise public awareness about the difficulties and help create a sense of responsibility in the society.

The events are staged in the centre of densely crowded places or parks or malls to gain attention to the general public in the area. It is imminent need for the people to look forward to help disabled people in the light of any adversary they face in their day to day activities. Blind walk helps create an impact by making them feel and experience the same.

Requirement Gathering

People Required:

i)                    Participants: 4 to 10 participants. Advised to start with fewer people during the initial blind walk and adding more participants subsequently.

ii)                   Volunteers:  At least  1 volunteer per two participants

Time Required:

One Week

Organising – Preparatory work

1.       Decide the venue for conducting the walk. The walk should be conducted preferably in a busy public place to spread awareness among the public for the need of equal inclusive environment for the disabled and for the participants to get the actual realistic experience

2.       If needed, permission has to be taken from the concerned authorities to conduct the blind walk in the public place

3.       Make arrangements for Canes (sticks used by the blind for support) to identify obstacles during the walk and for direction

4.       Identify volunteers and instruct them with the below guidelines:

i)                    The volunteers should not help or give directions to the participants during the walk but just guide them  when there is an obstacle

ii)                   Volunteers should not guide more than two participants at a time during the walk

iii)                 Volunteers should ensure safety during the activity

5.       Gather participants for the walk and instruct them with the guidelines as well. It is important the participants are aware of the purpose of the walk, which they will certainly experience

Organising - One day before

1.       It is important to conduct a site visit of the selected place for the walk prior to the day of the event and ensure that the location of event is secure

2.       During the site visit it is important to fix the start and end points of the brief walk such that it is of 100mts to 200mts distance with less possible obstacle on the path

3.       Make sure the availability of the volunteers and the participants, importantly if sufficient volunteers are available to guide the participants

4.       Ensure sufficient canes are available, one per participant

5.       Make arrangement for a person to record the walk and the participant’s experience at the end of the walk

Organising - On the day of Blind Walk

1.       Reach the venue a little ahead of the others with the volunteers

2.       Make sure the spot is reasonably busy for the public to see the event and suitable for the walk

3.       The canes and camera to record are the only properties required, ensure you have them ready in good condition

4.       When the volunteers arrive, guide them to the decided blind walk start point. Explain the following to them:

1.       Show the end point to finish the walk

2.       Introduce them to their respective volunteers who will closely walk with them

3.       Inform them the volunteers will not give them any directions, will just protect them from obstacles coming on their way.

4.       Let them know the walk will give them a completely new experience

5.       Ask them to close their eyes once they start walking, and keep their eyes closed till they reach the destination and their volunteer instructs to open them.

6.       The volunteer will intervene if there is a physical danger to the participant (e.g., the participant is moving towards a staircase, or towards a high traffic area or a wall) .

5.       The purpose of the event should be declared to the crowd observing the event. Interested public can also be allowed to experience the walk.

Organising - Follow up Activities

1.       Please record the experience of the participants after the walk. You will be amazed by different experiences and realizations from the participants. Preferably a clear video/audio recording.

2.       Please email their experiences to eshabraille@gmail.com  which will be posted in Esha’s blog http://eshabraille.blogspot.in/ for a wider reach.

3.       If you want to upload the video/audio recordings and images of the walk and the experience, kindly share it in our Facebook page ‘Esha – People for the Blind’

 

Read Fest at Copal Amba, Gurgaon - Sep 2015

From Sep 7 - 15, 2015 Copal Amba , a Moody's company, held the "Read Fest" at their Gurgaon office. This was the second Read Fest for Copal, who were also our partners for a Read Fest in 2012.

While we are still counting and cataloguing.. 73 volunteers worked hard to create almost a hundred files.

This goes out to say a Special Thank you! to the volunteers who worked tirelessly to ensure that each volunteer was guided, called only when their time slot appears, everything catalogued and checked.. Thank you.. Anuradha, Inderdev, Lakshmi and Priyanka.. for your unending energy and incredible commitment.

Thank you, too, to the Copal Amba team for making this so special - Neha Narang, Priyom, and their entire team.

Recording audio books for the online audio library

Help from the Control Center Volunteer

Recording is fun, especially for a noble cause.

The tireless control center and Priyom

Being Control Center is a lot of hard work - Inderdev, Anuradha, Lakshmi and Priyanka

Recording Telugu content for the online audio library

The Esha Thank you Cards generated much curiosity, appreciation, and conversation, in that order. All volunteers got one.

Posing with our recording volunteers!

It's that easy!

The enthusiasm of the volunteers, and their happiness, had to be seen to be believed.

As the Daanotsav approaches, we have 3 confirmations for Read Fests across India. Do spread the word. The Read Fest is a lovely way to give back, within our own office/school, and to create something that lasts forever, and can be reused again and again.

The Audio Library is at www.braillecards.org/audio.php.

The content from this Read Fest is likely to be updated before 30th Sep, 2015. We will announce that too!! :)

A major technical change is happening with the online library right now.. keep watching this space for more!

Writing about a cute memory..

They were the first batch of SOIL that we worked with. One of the social experiments we tried was 'Value of Books". It was simple. We took a table and put lots of books on it, and small earth piggy bank there. You were free to pick up any book, put the money you think the book deserves. When done, you could also bring the book back. All funds (if any) were to be donated to Esha..

This is what happened when we broke off that piggy bank..

 

A World within a world !!!

Harminder Soni

Before blind walk Harminder Sir was quite curious and excited about experiencing something new which he hasn’t heard of so far. He closed his eyes took a cane and walked in the crowded lane of Galleria. What he experienced after which was something he did not expect before the walk. After completing the walk he sat down in a chair, said every individual should try this out to understand the challenges and appreciate whatever we have got, as most of us still grumble for things we don’t get. He wanted his staffs in his office to also experience it and made them participated in the walk!!!

Alka Dixit

Her respect for people without vision had just doubled. She felt their spirit of not giving up and enduring the challenges they have to face every day, keep fighting against the odds and perform better than what we do is something that should be respected and encouraged. She was happy to experience such a unique activity!

 Surbhi Chauhan

One of our most enthusiastic participants was excited from the beginning to participate in the walk. She apart from participating in the walk wanted her friends to experience the same and called them up too. She said she was able to observe more with her eyes closed. She was more focused than she usually is.

           

Nanda Kumar

Nanda had never experienced something like this before. He had few things that struck him. I found it super difficult to walk a small stretch. I have never though, how life would be without vision. I have never imagined it before. This was a great opportunity to understand things we don’t realize. I would make my friends and family experience the same.

Ankit Anish

I have seen and worked with people without vision. I have always found them inspiring. The way they plan and execute their work and the amount of effort they put in is absolutely amazing that each one of us should learn. The blind walk just made me wonder why do we complain when we have everything. And why they never complain even when they have many challenges

Cauvery Jalan

She found it very difficult to even keep a single step. She knew she was slow and had a long distance to cover but her fear of falling was holding her behind. It made her understand how difficult life becomes when one can’t see. She felt it was wonderful experiencing something that was completely new and created a lasting import.

 Some photos taken during the event:

The SIP Team of SOIL 2014-15

Last year, the SIP presentation at SOIL was scheduled for 10th June. That was the day my kid sister was getting married. Rajesh Dhuddu, a friend of Esha who is also on our Advisory Panel, very graciously agreed to take the presentation. And we had 4 students who chose us - Karen, Pooja, Vrishin and Amit.

The year started with them looking for an office for Esha. The next activity that they trained for was taking the students of TSRS to the blind school visit. They also were sent to the Karol Bagh blind school to meet Nirdosh, and see the people they were going to work for in the year ahead.

After that, the planning for the cycling event started. From October to Feb, the team worked on the cycling trip, meeting every week for project updates, getting encouragement, support, admonishment, and general push to keep going. They were ably mentored by Rajesh Dhuddu , and on the 8th of Feb, 2015, we had our first TourdeVision, all thanks to the SOIL students, Alisha, and all of the Friends of Esha.

But that was not a place to rest on our laurels. Very soon, the team was working on updating all the communication content of Esha. And on the last SIP day - March 18th, I took the day off to treat them to a very special experience. The day started early - very early. After all, we had to travel from Gurgaon to Greater Noida. The team witnessed the 9Tanki workshop conducted by Raju Koli, and the impact it has on the school students.
After that, we went to the India Habitat Center. To do our first "Blind Walk" . Tour De Vision had tried to raise awareness abt the fact that there simply aren't enough disabled people out in public spaces. The Blind Walk tried to understand why that is - by closing our eyes and trying to access public spaces. This event was covered by the Times of India and brought much public awareness about the issue.

To thank them for their participation, we got momentoes made for the team. And the best news came 2 days ago - Esha was adjudged the best NGO, that provides students with the best learning opportunity! Today, Rajesh and I attended the convocation to receive the award.. and what a day!!

Do see a photo journey of the year here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.965620650128731.1073741834.180352898655514&type=1