AARTH-ASTHA

ANNUAL REPORT 2010-2011

VISION: Working towards an inclusive society.

To work towards an inclusive society where children and people with disabilities are respected and valued.

MISSION
To work in partnership with children and persons with disabilities and their families, with a focus on the most marginalized. To uphold rights and work with all stakeholders to build an inclusive society.

VALUES
Equality, Dignity, Choice, Inclusion, Partnership, Mutual Respect, Transparency and Accountability, Diversity, Non-discrimination, Learning

PROGRAMMES Community Based Rehabilitation

Supported by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Nish-Chit, this programme aims to: Empower persons with disabilities and their families to access their rights Mobilize persons with disabilities and their families to take part in the development of their own communities Make the community aware of its responsibilities for ensuring inclusion of persons with disabilities in community life

Supporting children with rehabilitation and education services

Funded by Action Aid India - Asha for Education & Ministry of Social justice and empowerment, this project focuses making communities and schools inclusive on the realization of the Right to Education of all children who are marginalized from it, with a focus on the children with disability that involves providing need based rehabilitation and education support to the children, preparing the school system, parents and communities for inclusion of children in the communities and the school. Funded by Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Disability Information Resource centre works on publications and training module development, training programmes in outreach work, advocacy initiatives on disability and an accessible resource centre library. The first national level disability helpline in India a partnership with The National Trust, ABILINE provides information, Referrals and counselling services through telephone email or walk in.

Disability Information Resource centre

ABILINE- a National Help-Line for Information on disability

E
think.

XECUTIVE LETTER

Two thousand and eleven, and the countdown starts, Started formally in 1993, AARTHASTHA is heading towards its 20th year of existence. This makes it a time to sit back and

Was it worth it, starting an NGO so many years ago? Was it worth worrying constantly about raising funds, projects and the quality of our work? Again and again, we would say YES because, all the children and people that we have been privileged to work with and get to know, have changed our lives in so many different ways just as we have been part of change in their lives. We say YES, because being in the organization has helped us to advocate for and witness the big changes that have taken place in the disability sector in the last eighteen years. In the recent years, ASTHA has worked consistently with child-rights organizations, and organizations working on education; often being a lone voice in advocating for the inclusion of children with disabilities in all rights for children. Here too, the change has been tremendous with disability slowly becoming a part of the larger vision for children. Just as there is change outside, We strive for the change within. 2011 saw AARTH-ASTHA caught up in change; redefining our vision and mission and resetting our goals. For the next few years, we hope to remain a small, BUT STRONG VOICE in the disability rights movement.

RAINING AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE

APPROACH
It is often said that Information is power and we believe this is never more so than when working with people whom society has marginalized. A meaningful exchange of information is the key to achieving empowerment. Over the past several years, AARTHASTHA has been systematically collecting information on a wide range of subjects & issues through intense research & networking, engaging in information exchange through AARTH-ASTHA's Disability resource Centre and ABILINE, and continuing its effort to store information in accessible format. AARTH-ASTHA's focus themes have been: Education, Health and Food. In the last three years, it has been intensively involved in understanding right to education in the light of United Nations Convention for Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), for children/persons with disabilities & other marginalised children, proactively reaching out with information to its stakeholders & collecting the ground realities and participating & initiating several advocacy movements. While continuing to deepen its understanding on right to education & issues related, through its Inclusive Education 2

programme, AARTH-ASTHA is currently engaged in understanding Right to Food and Health and their implication on children/persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups. Over the period, AARTH-ASTHA has also widened its reach both in terms a range of stakeholders that includes parents, young adults with disabilities, organizations working in disabilities & other social issues and government organizations, and also in terms of geographical range. This has also resulted in building of strong alliances. In 2010-11, around 15 workshops were conducted in Delhi, in the rural areas of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, reaching out to 1240 persons, focussing on these rights & their linkages with disabilities. The information generated through these workshops in terms of ground realities and concerns were incorporated in tool kits, training modules, and reports were circulated to various stakeholders to project the issues for wider visibility.

Impact:
Sixty organisations and networks of organisations and individuals working in various sectors like, Panchayati Raj Initiative, Child Rights, HIV/AIDS, Gender, Human Rights, Education, Health and Rights have participated in the workshops and consultations. There is more involvement from organisations regarding the issues of rights of people with disabilities. Some of these organisations do not work on issues of disabilities. Some organisations have also approached the organization to conduct trainings with their staff and stakeholders. Several participants especially persons with disabilities living in remote areas of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have had the opportunity to provide feedback on the contents of the New Draft Law on Persons with Disabilities. They have expressed participation as being beneficial and learning experience. In addition, the Resource Centre has also received increased number of requests for publications, collaborations and trainings from other parts of India as well. This reflects the need for and value of such an initiative. The larger education sector has become more sensitised to the issues of disability groups.

AARTH-ASTHA'S PUBLICATIONS-2010-11
Four training modules on Early Childhood Care, Communication, Mobility and UNCRPD for Primary Stakeholders were developed. These modules can be used by organizations and individual professionals of the respective fields. The modules are also available in Braille and in Hindi for the benefit of the trainers with these needs. Three new tool kits covering three important Articles in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as they translate into three important issues in India: Legal capacity, Access to justice and the Right to food, are made. These publications will also be available in accessible format from 2012. These tool kits will enable people with disabilities understand their rights under law and will inform their advocacy for legal and policy change.

AARTH-ASTHA'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE NEW LAW FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY

In the light of UNCRPD, the Persons With Disability Act 1995, had to undergo changes. The Government, accepting the demand of the sector, is currently in the process of drafting a new law. AARTH-ASTHA contributed to the new draft law by projecting the unheard voices of people from AARTH-ASTHA's communities as well as from other organizations &

network of people with disabilities, through several consultations and extensive reach including visiting persons with disabilities in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, to the working committee. For the benefit of Hindi speaking participants, Hindi booklets on UNCRPD was made and circulated to facilitate information exchange. Through these consultations & knowledge exchange,AARTH-ASTHA could make a significant contribution to the chapters of Health, Education and Children in the new draft law.

NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US

Who else but persons with disabilities themselves with a vast experience of ground realities will be able to contribute in the draft law better than anyone? The consultations with Vikalang Manch in October 2011 prove this point. Vikalang Manch is a Disabled Persons Organization that has members from all over the country. In the consultations that were held in Jaipur and thereafter in Delhi, a large number of members from various parts of the country remained connected and made significant contributions in the areas of Health, Education, Food and other issues. Nari ko aage samaj mein laayen tatha badhne ka mauka de Provision in the law for empowering women with disability has been one of the very strong needs expressed by many participants. 5

DISABILITY INFORMATION RESOURCE CENTRE Library: The Library contains a huge collection of books and other study materials in a
range of topics including Arts and Crafts, Accessibility, Assessment Tools & Curriculum manuals, Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Education, Sexuality, Schemes and Programmes, Laws and Policies among others. Important materials are present in print, braille, audio-visual and other accessible formats. In 2010-11, the Resource centre library has procured (64) new books, including reports and Braille books, (83) talking books both in Hindi and English, (7) educational devices, (8) assistive devices, (7). The library is being updated regularly with books, audio formats and audio-visual materials, as well as updating the database of the library materials including newsletters and newspaper articles. Systems: The Resource Centre has two computers that are equipped with accessible software and hardware, that are primarily used by the children and persons with disabilities.

ABILINE National Disability Helpline

Information dissemination, referrals and counselling through ABILINE, the first national level disability helpline in India a partnership with THE NATIONAL TRUST is formed. ABILINE provides services through telephone email or walk in. The ABILINE Numbers are 1800116800 (Toll Free), 011-26466250 & Email Id aarth.helpline@gmail.com A general mapping of the geographical spread of calls shows us that some callers belong to states like Bihar Uttar Pradesh (UP) Maharashtra Gujarat North-Eastern states Karnataka

Kerala

Total calls received on ABILINE in the year 2010-11 was 1044

Impact:
In its efforts to provide information, counselling and referral services to its callers, the ABILINE widened its reach to collect needful information from relevant sources and disseminate the information to the seeking callers, and also adding the information collected, to the Resource of the organization. Examples: Linking with Equal Opportunity Cell of the University for Clarity on the issue and directing the caller to seek help either from the Equal Opportunity Cell or from the college of their choice where student counsellors would be able to guide them. Information collection on old age homes and organizations working for the rehabilitation of sex workers. Creating links with State Nodal Agency Centres, State Nodal Agency Partners, Local Level Committees of all districts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and expansion of data-base to facilitate better information dissemination. Some Major findings through analysis of Calls on ABILINE: Inclusion in education is still not religiously practiced. Many schemes have accessibility issues. The procedures are complex and inaccessible. Some are not functional nation-wide. Disproportionate Infrastructural Development is causing people to shift base to more developed areas. Shifting base also has many associated problems for Persons with Disabilities. Awareness level about disability issues and schemes regarding disability is poor among the non-disabled people and Persons with Disabilities respectively.

Challenges faced by ABILINE: ABILINE has felt the need of a nation-wide publicity strategy to raise awareness among the Indian Population about the readily available help for persons with disabilities. However, it has been commonly acknowledged that publicity today is expensive and therefore the low cost publicity options are explored and used. To undertake a nation-wide audio-visual publicity, ABILINE also has felt the need of greater funding. 7

CASE STUDY
Veena's story Veena is a young lady who runs a boutique in Ludhiyana. With a plan to expand her business and being a person with orthopaedic challenges, she applied for a loan from a National organization that provides loan to persons with disability. Despite being qualified, she was sanctioned only a part of the loan she applied for. She filed a RTI but could not get any satisfactory response. Totally dissatisfied and upset, She approached AARTH-ASTHA NATIONAL TRUST ABILINE to seek help. After listening to her grievances the counsellor discussed the matter with the concerned persons at the organization, and learnt from them that the loan amount had been reduced because the proposal didn't fall under the criteria for a loan of requested amount. It was very difficult for Veena to get convinced and to accept the offer as it meant huge change in the existing plan. Regular counselling enabled her to come to terms and reproach to get the sanctioned amount only to face another challenge-indefinite delay in release of the amount. While Veena was on regular interaction with ABILINE's counsellor, her family was confronted with another major problem. Veena has a 27 years old brother, Sudeep, with intellectual disability who was at that time undergoing a vocational training from a residential government institute in Chandigarh. Unfortunately Sudeep underwent a series of harassment in the hands of authorities that led to stress in him and in the family. Sudeep was treated inappropriately by the authorities of the institute that led to a serious injury. Since it was left unattended it led to a severe infection. Sudeep was admitted in the hospital but the family was not informed. When the family members heard about the incident and questioned the concerned authorities, they were treated rudely. And Sudeep was expelled from the institute. The counsellor put them in touch with Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) for legal advice. Backed by HRLN and AARTH-ASTHA's moral support, Veena and her parents challenged both Vocational as well as Financial Institutes. Besides they were also provided with information about the loan schemes and other schemes of National Trust. 8

Their efforts finally yielded much awaited result. Veena got her sanctioned loan, and the vocational institute requested Sudeep to join back to pursue his training. By this time, Veena almost became a regular caller. She wrote a long feedback letter to the helpline appreciating its efforts in solving her problems. In the letter, she wrote how the helpline gave her the inner strength, confidence and courage to continue the fight to achieve justice. She also mentioned that she would use her learning, whenever needed, for self and others.

Comparison of AARTH-ASTHA's reach: ABILINE, Disability Resource Centre

NCLUSIVE EDUCATION

According to UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of which India is a signatory, it is the right of persons with disabilities to access an inclusive, quality and free primary and secondary education-(Article-24). This has been the guiding tool for AARTH ASTHA.

APPROACH
Inclusive education is a process whereby children with diverse abilities and challenges are provided the same quality of education within the same system. With this understanding the AARTH-ASTHAs programme on Inclusive education focuses on the realization of the Right to Education of all children who are marginalized from it, with a focus on the children with disability. from Among marginalized groups ASTHA has groups and children/ community The experience of children with disabilities worldwide has been that they have little opportunities to express their views and are often excluded in their families, communities and at school. Many cannot access information and therefore lack opportunities for developing and expressing views. (UNICEF 7th Session) been focusing on girls, children/ community members minority members belonging to scheduled castes and tribes. Our work in the field has led us to understand that there are many parallels in the experiences of marginalized people and these parallels are to be explored if strong movements are to be built. The shift has also led to a wider understanding of issues such as gender and disability and caste and its relationship with disabilities. People with disabilities must learn to negotiate the system and the system must accommodate them. With the shift from the medical to the social model of disability our strategies of work have changed from just providing rehabilitation services to the person to

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work in the field has led us to understand that there are many parallels in the experiences of marginalized people and these parallels are to be explored if strong movements are to be built. The shift has also led to a wider understanding of issues such as gender and disability and caste and its relationship with disabilities. People with disabilities must learn to negotiate the system and the system must accommodate them. With the shift from the medical to the social model of disability our strategies of work have changed from just providing rehabilitation services to the person to working to change the barriers in society that prevent the equal participation and inclusion of the child or person with disability. Communities and schools are the two major parts of this project. Work was done with children and their families at both the ends so as to achieve the aims and objectives. The geographical areas of the project are Lalkuan, Govindpuri & Sangam Vihar in South Delhi.

Activities included:
Conducting regular meetings with parents and other community members with the aim to sensitize them on disability, inclusive education, accessibility, child rights, and about the school systems. These meetings also aimed to bring out the viewpoints & concerns from them and to mobilize them to initiate advocacy for quality education for their children and giving updates information about entitlements, provisions, and schemes to the community were the prime strategies for these meetings. Around 45 focused group discussions were held reaching out to around 450 community persons.

Two public events were organized one each in Govindpuri and Lalkuan on the importance of education where people from different areas participated. The event also was a platform for those members from the community who has been taking initiative in the community empowerment process to share their own experiences to the whole community.

Conducting play based fun filled activities for various age groups of both children with disabilities and other marginalized children who are both children going to school and children out of school. The nine child right centres that are currently functional are open space for children for their development of creative learning skills, expression of thoughts & gaining confidence, becoming aware of 11

human diversity, respecting diversities, and eventually developing as advocates of child rights. They are the community platform for inclusion of children with disabilities. These child right centres are located strategically in the hearts of Lalkuan and Govindpuri slums to enable children with disabilities to access. 750 disabled and other marginalized children who attend these centres are either going to school or dropped out of school. The children are divided in three major age groups; 6 to 9, 9 to 12 & 12 to 15. Sessions are held regularly in these centres where by each child gets the opportunity to get rich experiences at least twice in a week. 26 large scale activities and a three day summer camp were organized for children in the child rights centre focusing on child rights. Exposure visits for children to Bal Bhawan, Dilli Haat, different competitions in various schools and organizations were organized. The children who are in school and cannot attend the regular activities of child rights centres were included in all these exposure visits. Picnic for children from the communities were also organized. Special attention was given to inclusion of children with disabilities in all the activities of the child rights centres. Working intensively with children with disabilities who are most marginalized, in partnership with parents and teachers for their enrolment and retention in the school. Towards this end, an inclusive assessment tool was developed to enable us to study the barrier and enablers to inclusion. The tool is being successfully used for twenty five children, and the intervention accordingly is in progress. As part of intervention the AARTH-ASTHA supported parents to access medical Intervention, disability certificate, birth certificate, wheel chairs, special chairs & other accessories to enable the children to reach and participate comfortably in the school. As part of school readiness skills development, the children were trained on building communication, academic and physical abilities. This extra support is provided on an individual basis through regular home visits, and generalized in the child right centres. Constant efforts are required to be put in with families of children with disabilities, especially multiple disabilities to build up and maintain their motivation towards their children's education. Extra support such as transport and care-taking facilities were provided to ensure participation of children in the child right centres. In a strength of 40 to 45 children ,an average of 6-7 children with disabilities requiring high support needs were present in all the sessions. 12

What parents say! Minu, a 40 years old lady, mother of Charanjeet (child with high support needs) says These activities must be organized from time to time so that children will get encouraged and in this way their mental and physical development will improved.

Other parents also conveyed similar thoughts! My child has turned out to be so active and curious about things around, she has learnt so many rhymes and stories, which she keeps on uttering at home!,

Our children have changed for betterment. We knew that education is important but
never gave it priority. Our children are happy and we would make sure that they enter school for a better life.

A father said, padai hogi toh achchi naukri hogi, nahi toh hamare jaise jiyenge (They will get better jobs with education, otherwise they will lead a life like ours).

Providing Early Childhood Care to children in the age group of 0 to 6 years in order to prepare them early enough for inclusion in to mainstream schools when time comes. Interventions mainly focused on addressing medical, health and

early stimulations. The mothers were sensitized about the importance of these early years and the role of parents in holistic development of their children. This included how to prevent any developmental delay and how to address them if they are present. Activities were done with these children and the differences noted down have been shared with them, which has led to an increased level of interest and efforts from the mothers for their children's holistic development. Regularly visiting the identified 20 schools in the communities for the follow up of children who are admitted, interacting with teachers to have a common understanding about disability & difficulties faced by other children and teachers, and supporting the teachers for children with disabilities with appropriate worksheets, learning materials to enhance their learning process.

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RALLIES

Four rallies on inclusive education one each in Govindpuri and Sangam Vihar and two in Lalkuan were organized where children participated in large numbers holding placards on the need for inclusive education and schooling.

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INFORMATION EXCHANGE
Empowering the community with information, gathering the ground realities and projecting them to the policy makers through advocacy initiatives, is one of the strategies AARTH-ASTHA applies to link the child from the community to policy makers. In the meetings with parents and the activities with the children, several concerns in connection to education and the school systems emerged out both from parents and children. Many children especially the girls have been able to open up eventually to express their concerns and needs. Some concerns are listed out here: The lack of accessibility to classrooms, toilets, auditoriums etc The absence of teaching and support staff for dealing with disabled children Attitude of the school management and the staff towards the children with disabilities, and other marginalised group. Some of the calls on AARTH-ASTHA's disability helpline also have been echoing similar concerns.

ADVOCACY INITIATIVES
AARTH-ASTHA team attended several meetings with civil society on RTE, and has been sharing with the community members to keep them updated with the latest at the policy levels. Workshops on RTI and UNCRPD conducted by Pardarshita and AARTH-ASTHA respectively were also attended by some team members, who in turn share with other team members and community members. 50 members from the community participated in the Dharna on RTE in which 15-20 people with disabilities participated. A memorandum was given to the ministry of HRD on inclusion of children with disabilities in the RTE Act. Another significant initiatives that AARTH-ASTHA had undertaken along with PLAN India and other leading educationists of the country was to study the current situation on the implementation of RTE Act in reference to children with disabilities and analyze, in detail, the rules that have been developed by some states. The outcome of the process has been the development of a Monitoring Guidelines that can be used by different states for their reference for making their respective state rules and by disability & education groups for advocacy. 15

IMPACT
School Admission: 280 AARTH-ASTHA children have gone into the school out of which, 44 are children with disabilities. There is a 20% increase from the previous year. Earlier scared to come out, now the women have started going to government offices and schools by themselves and talking to them directly about their need. They started helping many parents whose children were denied admission in school due to disability and helped them to get their children enrolled in school. Sonia says, Muje school jana acha lagtha he. Doston ke saath khelthi hoon. Class me teacher muje sabse aage bittaathi he. School me khaana milta he aur me line me khadi hoke lethi hoon. Empowered parents have started demanding rights for their children in the school. Sudip is a six year old boy from Lal kuan, who was admitted in a government school. Sudip has difficulty in speech and taking care of his physical needs. Since the school not equipped with teachers to teach or look after the needs of children with disabilities, insisted that the mother accompanies her son to school. But the mother was unable to do this because of her domestic responsibilities. Awareness on Right to Education and facilitation provided by AARTH-ASTHA team enabled Sudip's father to present in his case in front of Jan sunvai, a platform organized by AARTH-ASTHA and Neenv Forces. Sudip's case was heard. The positive response is that the father received a copy of a circular sent by Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights to schools to employ special educators at the earliest. There is an increased awareness on Right to Education, Inclusive Education, accessibility and issues of school system, in the community. There is a strong need felt by community volunteers for more hands to support the movements There is increase in the number of girls attending the child right centres. The girls who were shy earlier have become active and vocal, and wants to get more involved in issues related to health and education. We want to form a group and do something good, but we need more information and at resent we 16

feel hesitant to speak up in front of others. This free expression of their interest and hesitation guided and helped the group to decide for needs and the future activities. Awareness amongst children on Child Rights has increased. Empowered Imran shares Child Rights with class mates: Imran is a fifteenyear-old boy and is in the ninth standard. He keenly looks forward to thought provoking, creative sessions at child right centres. He participates in all discussions and activities. In free time at the school, He shares his understanding on the Child Rights with others. Nohar: Emerging self-advocate: Physical limitations are no barrier to Nohar when it comes to accessing rights. With strong stand-alone spirit, he has been fearlessly fighting his battle for safe drinking water, good sanitation facilities for all children in the school

CASE STUDIES Shabana's story:

Shabana Mohd. is a 13 years old, pleasant girl who has been with ASTHA since the age of eight. Rigorous physical therapy for Shabana's condition, CP Diplegia, enabled her to progress from a rollator walker under strict support to an independent crutch walker. In spite of her mild intellectual challenges, she progressed systematically in academics, and came up to a level of standard 3 in comprehension. Her reading and writing abilities are at standard one level. AT ASTHA, while education and therapy services continued, the focus was also to get her admitted in the mainstream school in her neighbourhood. Meetings were conducted with parents in this regard. The parents were mainly concerned about her safety and getting support for her mobility within school premises for various needs. However with a lot of assurance from ASTHA for a regular long term support, the parents agreed to meet the Principal of their neighborhood school. The school has admitted Shabana in standard 3. Shabana's experience in school has so far been very pleasant. Her father escorts her up to the class. She is currently being able to move around within the 17

class independently holding on to the walls and furniture. She has not started moving around in the school very much. She is getting age appropriate peer interaction. Hence she is very happy. In the class, she is able to comprehend stories, recite poems. The parents have appointed a tutor at home to help her with reading and writing. The special educator from ASTHA has been following up for better inclusion through her periodic visits to school.

Sonia's Story
I am glad that Sonia is going to school now and that she has got an opportunity to learn says Suman Devi, Sonia's grandmother. When Sonia's mother died leaving behind Sonia and her brother I was helpless. Sonia is a child with intellectual impairment and not knowing how to take care of her I always kept her inside the house. She used to pick up garbage from the streets and eat it if she was left outside AARTH-ASTHA made a significant impact on Sonia's life. They not only prepared the child for inclusion in school by building her social, cognitive and communication skills, but also empowered us. My knowledge that the Right to Education Act says that no child can be denied admission in school, gave me the courage to fight with the school management to admit Sonia.

Yogesh's story
Yogesh is a pleasant young boy of ten is now enjoying his school life like any other boy of his age. Three years back his parents had lost their hope of admitting their bright young child in school, only because of his multiple disabilities due to cerebral palsy. Yogesh grabbed every learning opportunity at AARTH-ASTHA, and very soon he filled in the academic gap. With Right to Education Act coming into force, the ASTHA team encouraged parents to approach schools. The team also assured of their technical support to yogesh both at school as well as at home. They also worked out strategies with parents for inclusion of Yogesh in school. At first Yogesh's parents admitted him in an integrated school hoping that Yogesh will get both educational as well as physical therapy input. However the experience in the school

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was very disappointing. Then the parents encouraged by ASTHA team made a bold decision of admitting him in the neighborhood mainstream school. As required by the school, the mother would go to school; Feed him and look into the toilet needs. Though apprehensive in the beginning, the teachers & principal soon recognized his potential, and offered flexibility in the exams. Now Yogesh's evaluation is done through oral examination. He is one of the top scorers.

CHALLENGES
Some of the major challenges we faced in our work with Right to Education are related to the systemic problems. Parents are now in a dilemma since they know that education is the children's right but systems are not fully set up so as to provide quality education to children. Issues of accessibility, transport and other socio economic barriers still prevent many children with disabilities being in school. The children with high support needs who are in their older age group are still out of school and even child rights centres because it requires individual help for each of these child in getting them to any of these centres or schools. Some of the areas are not reached in the community due to shortage of staff and large geographical areas. Girl children whose mothers are working are not going to school. Mobilizing the community to a large level is a challenge and certain areas are still marginalized in terms of education and empowerment.

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Some Snapshots Depicting children's activities

These photographs depict various activities where the children had participated. Some of these activities include Sports events, cultural events like Deepotsav and Shilpotsav, rallies, picnic, outstation visit, museum visit, and other extra-curricular activities.

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OMMUNITY MOBILISATION AND EMPOWERMENT

APPROACH
AARTH-ASTHA is one of the very few Non-Government Organizations in the disability sector working in the slums and resettlement colonies of Delhi. The organization has been working in Govindpuri slums since 1996, in Lalkuan urban village since 2000, and our work in Sangam Vihar resettlement colony has started in 2010. Following the principles of community-based rehabilitation, our work in these communities focuses on Empowering the persons with disabilities and their families to access their rights Mobilizing them to take part in the development of their own communities Making the community aware of its responsibilities for ensuring inclusion of persons with disabilities in community life. In these many years of work in partnership with these communities, there have been several positive changes in the families of children /persons with disabilities and amongst the other community members. Rising above all the social, economic, cultural and political barriers, these communities have now begun to take initiatives and move forward slowly but STEADILY towards an Inclusive Society. 22

Highlights of AARTH-ASTHA's activities towards community empowerment and mobilization in 2010-11: Conducting workshops for parents, young adults and community members on Rights to Education, Food, Health, UNCRPD, Persons with Disability Draft Act & on the common law. Facilitating group formation of women's and youth group on the rights of children and people with disabilities, right to food, UNCRPD, PWD Act etc. AARTHASTHA also organized a series of training for group formation and governance throughout the year. Exposures through meeting with different groups and visits to other organizations were organized. Leaders were selected from these groups and interactive leadership training was given to the leaders so as to equip them for future mobilization of the communities. Building awareness in the community and amongst school teachers on the importance of including persons with disability in the census. Empowered as a master trainers through a workshop conducted by Disability Rights Group on a census survey for persons with disability, four AARTH-ASTHA staff conducted a series of workshops reaching out to 1500 school teachers and community members on the importance of census and the need for inclusion of children and person with disabilities in the census survey. Parents group and youth groups were involved in spreading awareness. Awareness on ICDS was provided, to parents of young children in the age group of 0-6y,through a series of workshops

ADVOCACY INITIATIVES
Two civil society meetings were organized with other non governmental organization in both the communities of Govind puri and Lalkuan. This was an initiating point which was felt as an important initiative by all the participants of these meetings. Two days workshop on the Right to Food bill with the help of experts from Right to Food Campaign and Human Rights Law Network was organized in the community. The major

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focus of the workshop was to sensitize the community on the conceptual issues of Right to Food bill. A detailed discussion on the Supreme Court orders on right to food was also done. There was a consensus on the need to oppose the right to food bill since it

proposes to reduce the quantity of free food provisioning. A Dharna was conducted by Right to Food campaign and the community members participated in the same to express their solidarity. Impact The community sensitized to issues related to Food in a rights perspective. There was clear understanding of the proposed bill and the existing provisions of the government on food security for the people. Four of the women's group members got their ration cards successfully by filing a complaint to the commissioner on food security. Several groups have been formed in the community as a result of our efforts on community mobilization. The important ones are: 1. Parents group comprising of 20 parents of children with disabilities who are focusing on linking their children to facilities available in their communities. For eg. Efforts to make services of Aanganwadi accessible to children with disabilities. 2. Twenty-one youth members with diverse abilities under the banner of their initiative Vikalang Ekta Manch are emerging as self-advocates. Initially powered by AARTH-ASTHA, this group now has developed capability to make their own plans, network and attend meetings independently within and outside Delhi. Highlight of their empowerment is their active participation in the consultations for the Draft Persons with Disability Act. Their current agenda is to ensure access to inclusive education for all children in their respective communities. 3. Women's group of 15 members who through their strong advocacy movements were instrumental in getting Aanganwadis in their

communities. They are also developing as pressure groups to monitor the activities in school.

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Empowered mothers of young children bring a huge difference in their community. Govind Puri slums,which is a cluster of four camps and with the population of more than 50,000 did not have any Aanganwadi centre for children when there has to be one aanganwadi centre in every 1000 families. This is a violation of child right under Right to Food for children from below poverty line category. Not having a single Aanganwadi in such a densely populated area will not only affect the development of child with disability but also other children as malnutrition affects the development of all children. With the increased level of awareness and information, the parents of young children took up this issues. Written complaints were given by the community members on opening of Anganwadi's which was not addressed to. The issue was brought up in the Jan Sunvai that was organised by Delhi Neenv Forces along with AARTH-ASTHA. As a result of this DCPCR (Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights) has issued an order to the Ministry of Social welfare to open ample number of Anganwadi centres in Govindpuri with proper facilities. We are glad to report that so far fifteen Aaganwadi centres have opened in Govindpuri camps. The teachers have been appointed in all these Aanganwadi centres.

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AARTH-ASTHAs Young Adults Our Pride

Guddu Pandey Guddu Pandey is a young adult of 20 years. For Guddu Pandey, who hardly ever had gone beyond his locality independently, going for training in Bhopal with no family members or AARTH ASTHA staff, was itself a major achievement. Guddu was selected, for Training the trainer workshop organized by Bharat Special Olympics, for his interest and abilities in sports. A week long stay away from the family enhanced his confidence and independent living skills. The training was on Bochi game, and through this training he is now a resource person in the community for other people with disabilities

Rakesh Rakesh successfully completed higher secondary school from a local government school, under all ordeals. He was keen to pursue computer training. But family could not support him financially. He got the support from Womens Relief & Rehabilitation Trust for doin g Diploma in computer Application.The organization primarily supports only women and children. But Rakeshs struggle and determination moved them deeply. At the same time, Rakesh also was offered a job in a very well known company. Rakesh managed both successfully. He now not only has computer skills, but also has saved some money that will fulfill his dream to become a graduate.

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Pradip Pradip, after completing his higher secondary school, further qualified himself in computers .He got funds for buying a computer. Pradip amazes all by his multitasking abilities. He devotes his early mornings on jobs undertaken for designing. Then he goes to work. In the evening he trains students on computer. In the midst of all, he is pursuing higher education through correspondence.

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RUSTEES, STAFF & MANAGEMENT

BOARD OF TRUSTEES
1. Ms. Radhika Alkazi - Founder & Managing Trustee ASTHA. 2. Ms. Sudha Vohra -Executive Director-ASTHA - Basic developmental Therapist 3. Mr. Feisal Alkazi - Trained Social Worker and Counsellor; Author and Theatre Director. 4. Mr. Vivek Dhir - Managing Director World Phone Pvt. Ltd 5. Dr. Gopi Devdutt Tripathy - Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Delhi 6. Ms. Krishna Das Head of Pallavanjali Institute of Actualization, Gurgaon; Trained Counsellor

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STAFF

Mrs. Radhika M.Alkazi Mrs. Sudha Vohra Mrs. Jayashree Ganapati Mr. A. Hamza Disability Resource Centre Ms. Arundhati Pauline Gomes Mrs. Hina Mehrotra Mrs. Jyothi Rajeevan ABILINE Mrs. Sumita Ghosh Roy (left on long leave from Feb.2011) Ms. Renuka Bhagat Making Schools and Community Inclusive Ms. Rajasree V Mrs. Kumud Prabha (left in February 2011) Mr .Sajid Ali (Joined in March 2011) Mrs. Meera Nagar Mrs. Anuradha Jasrotia Community Based Rehabilitation Mr. Binod Kumar Bharati Ms. Niranjana Chowdhary Ms. Seema Gurung Ms, Kajal Bhatia Ms. Dazy Ms. Rinku Ms.Haseen Akhtar

Centre for Children with Special Needs Ms. Uzma Qamar (left in May 2010) Mrs. Kiran Kumari(Shifted to the project: Making schools and Communities Inclusive in July 2011) Mrs. Anu Gupta Mrs. Bhawna Choudhary (left in January 2011) Mrs. Bharati Sale Ms. Neelam Verma (left in February 2011) Mrs. Sukhdevi (left in March) Mr. Neeraj Kapoor (Resource Person) (left in March2011) Mr. Manish Arora (Resource Person) (left in March 2011) Consultants Ms. Mary Cuttle Mrs. Madhumati Bose Ms. Zoe Mccullam Support Staff Mr. Kishore Kumar Mrs. Samoli Mrs. Sabana Khatoon Mr. Radhey Shyam Choudhary (Guard)

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REPORT FROM THE MANAGEMENT

Over the past year we have been working with the staff to develop a 5 year strategic plan for AARTH-ASTHA. As part of this work: Open Space sessions were facilitated with the whole organization to discuss the issues staff believed to be important Series of workshops were run taking groups of staff through a process of Organizational Development Interviews were conducted with staff to gain personal perspectives on AARTHASTHA A final document was prepared by Mary Cuttle a VSO volunteer who has been with us for two years. We are now working towards a realistic plan that can be implemented over the next five years. The RTE Bill became an ACT on 1st April 2010. As an organization we have strongly advocated the Right for every child including all children with disability to be a part of the general setup and not be in a special setup. Hence we worked during the year towards the inclusion of the children coming to the Center for Children with Special needs in the government and other schools in and around the community they were staying so that they were able to exercise their right to be in a legitimate environment. Following this we closed the centre from 1st April2011.

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this journey.

CKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2010-11

An important component of AARTH-ASTHA's journey is about creating impact as a group by joining hands with many Corporate, Organizations, Foundations and Individuals. And together we touched the lives of many. We are pleased to have you all as our partner in

OUR MAJOR FUNDING INSTITUTIONS

Action Aid, India Asha for Education( Seattle Chapter, USA) Charities Aid foundation India Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment National Trust for the welfare of Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental retardation and Multiple Disability Nish Chit ( Netherlands) Sir Dorabji TATA Trust Voluntary Service Overseas

CORPORATE & INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORTERS

Ashok Leyland AKC Freight Point private Ltd Bansuri charitable society Blue bird Logistics (P) Ltd. CICO Technologies Limited Client Associates DCM Shriram Industries Ltd. DSS Image Tech Pvt. Ltd GAIL( I) Ltd GEBR.PFEIFFER(India) Private Limited Grey Cells Research Services private Limited Hero Honda Ltd ICICI Lombard GIC Limited Indian oil Corporation Ltd ITC Limited Jeevan Sadhana Charitable trust Kyndal Northern India Trading Co ONGC Ltd Pioneer Client Associates Ltd Robbins Tunnelling and Trenchless technology Royal Bank of Scotland Shelka Marketing services Pvt. Ltd Sleepwell Limited Swing Cargo Movers Taksal Pharma Pvt. Ltd Triveni Polymers Pvt. Ltd T.P. Roy Chowdhary & Co Pvt. Ltd Viridian Foundation Women's Relief and Rehabilitation Trust World Phone Limited Logistics plus India Pvt. Ltd Market Xcel Data Matrix Pvt. Ltd

THROUGH GIVE AS YOU EARN (GAYE) PROGRAM (AN INITIATIVE OF CAF)

AMEX Glaxo Smithkline 34

Royal Bank Of Scotland Sriram School

INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS
Mr. Ramesh Kumar Naroola Mrs. Prem Batra Mrs. Seetha Venkatraman Ms. Kartyayini Inamdar Mr. Ranjit Duggar Mr. Vinod Kaul Mrs. Shalini Yadav Ms. Robita Ghosh & Mr. Gaurav Gupta Mrs. Krishna Das Mrs. Priyanka Haldea Mr. Vikas Chopra Mr. Gulshan Batra Mrs. Meena and Mr.Ramji Dr. Bani & Prof. Abhijit Roy Mrs. Debatri & Mr. Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya Dr. N. Mandakini Dr.N. Subrahmaniyam Mrs. Sudesh Mehra Mr. Sushanta Kumar Roy Dr. Madhu Bajaj Mr. S. L. Ganapathi Ms. Vickie Rai Mr. Satya Sashikant Koniki Ms. Jyoti Ganapati Dr. Niloy Roy Mr. Rajat Mittal Dr. Aparna Basu Ms. Mitali Choudhary Ms, Ruchira Ghosh Mr. U.K.Deb Ms. Seema & Mr. Anurag Sondhi Ms. Poonam & Mr. Abhishek Bhotika Ms. Seema Bhargava Kapur Mr. S.K.Das Mrs. Harjit Sikand Mrs. Jean Croakford Mrs. Sunita Auluck Mrs. Khosla Mr. Shantanu Dhar Mr. Alkesh Arora Ms. Sonia Mehta Ms. Punit Kaur Mr. Brainerd Prince Ms. Anne Mccallum Ms. Nidhi Mahajan Mr. Rajesh Sharma Ms. Sanija S.P. Ms. Tanya Julka Mr. S. S. Deshpande Mr. Ashutosh Kumar Choudhary Dr. Swarna Mani Mr. Ramawtar Sharma Mr. S. Sevlam Mr. Biswaranjan Basu Mr. Harvinder Singh Mr. Sanjai Banerji Mr. Arnab Guhathakurta Mr. Ranjai Banerji Ms. Gopikaa D Mr. Sandeep Singh Ms. Richa Bharadwaj Mr. Sandeep Saberwal Ms. Anubha Pokhriyal Ms. Neha Sharma Mr. Faisal Ahmed Mr. Manjot Bawa Mr. Manish Vij Ms. Richa Burman Mr. Rajat Jain Mr. Utkarsh Saxena Ms. Meghna Dev Mr. P. K. Mahindra Mr. Siddharth Sehgal Mr. Ganesh Sethuraman Mr. Brij Dutta Mr. R. Krishnamurty Mrs. Kamal Sekhri Mr. Jim Berlin Mr. Naran Andreyev Mr. Justin Corrritore Mr. Fred Rizzuto Ms. Julie Sloaski Mr. H. K. Agarwal Mr. Ashok gupta Mr. Matsura Nao Ms. Smruti Rajagopalan Ms. Shobana Suresh Ms. Deepa Mukund Mr. Mani Shankar Mr. Zoeb Raniwala Ms. Arundhati Pauline Gomes Mr. C. Rao Ms. Kulsum Rashid Mr. Srijan Mrs. Rajeshwari Venkatraman Ms. oumya Ms. Sharada Mr. R. Balakrishnan Mr. Ravi vishwanathan Ms. Poornima Vishwanathan Mr. R. Vishwanathan Mr. R. Anantharaman Mr. Ravi sarvothaman Dr. Renu Gera Mrs. Sharmila Wadhwani Mrs. Anupama Sahay Mrs. Lalita Bhan Ms. Urmila Katakam Mrs. Jayashree Ramanathan Mr. Ajai Banerji Mr. Kartik Jagadesan Mrs. Brinda Jagadesan Mrs. Bhawani Murali Mrs. Vidya Shankar Mr. S. K. Banerjee Mr. Alok Chatterjee Mr. R. Panchkaran Mr. S. Mallik Mr. Amit Gupta Ms. Sharmistha Goswami Ms. Pushpa Manral Ms. Ashu Garg Mr. Navjeet Gupta Mr. A Sitaraman Mr. Bajnan Parai Mr. Kailash Kothari Ms. Swati Ms. Neelam Dhuppar Mr. Jitender Jagbani Mr. Biswajit Bhowmick Mr. Kabir Roy Mr. Sarit Banerjee Mr. Kailash Binjola Mr. Swapan Roy Mr. Avinash Srivastava Mr. Narendra Kumar

Congratulations to Mr. S.L. Ganapathi for being a second highest Individual pledge raiser in Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2010

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Special Thanks to Mrs. Anjolie Ela Menon (Padma Shri Awardee) for her gracious presence for the play, Keep Tightly Closed in a Cool Dark Place. Mr. Feisal Alkazi and members of his theatre, Ruchika Theatre Group & Little Actors Club of Ruchika Theatre Group, for providing opportunities for us to raise funds through their two wonderful plays, Keep Tightly Closed in a Cool Dark Place and Robin Hood Ms. Karuna Shriram, Ms. Malini Dhir, Ms. Nivedita Singh, Dr. Reena Ramachandran, Mr. Sanjai Banerji, Mr. Pradip Choudhary, Mr. Rakesh kumar, Mr. Jayaraman, Mr. Vikas Chopra, Mr. Michael Rosenkrantz for supporting us in raising funds. ICICI Lombard GIC Ltd team for participating in Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2010 for AARTH-ASTHA. Mobile Creches, Delhi Neev Forces, Bal Bhawan, Human Rights Law Network Mahak, Delhi, Puppet show, Mr. Rupin, Field work trainee, Amity University, Mr. Dhruv Manu Dhokalia and Mr. Praveen Kumar of VSO for their association with us and contributing meaningfully to various activities of AARTH-ASTHA.

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AARTH-ASTHA
AARTH ASTHA | Basti Vikas Kendra | Bal Mukund Khand | Giri Nagar | Kalkaji | New Delhi 110019 Telephone: 011-26449026, 26227720, 26466251|Email: aarthindia@gmail.com, asthaindia@rediffmail.com | Website: asthaindia.in | Timings: Monday to Friday | 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Please visit our page AARTH-ASTHA on Facebook. ABILINE NUMBERS: 011-26466250 | 1800116800 (Toll Free) | Email: aarth.helpline@gmail.com

OW YOU CAN SUPPORT AARTH-ASTHA.

Become a Sustainable Donor

By funding us you will be joining our community, and together we will be able to: Educate and rehabilitate more children with disability, so that they can lead a life with dignity. Reach out to those children who have been most marginalised and persons with disabilities in our communities, and support them to access the services to which they are entitled. Enable the children to explore and take part in the world outside their communities Develop the children's ICT skills so that they can communicate independently, access information and learning materials. Empower young adults with disability to assimilate leadership skills. Reach out to remote areas in India with needs and rights based information. Create awareness and sensitivity about disability through workshops. Update our technical knowledge.

You can also support us in various other ways:

You can Be an associate of AARTH-ASTHA, and help us raise funds. Help with desk research, and consolidate the data collected thereby. Help to design communication materials Help in web designing and updating Help in making teaching-learning materials.

Although the organization is known as AARTH-ASTHA, the registration and the bank accounts are in the name of ASTHA.
All donations exempt from Income Tax under 80G/All time FCRA Clearance.