Delhi, 08th December 2021: The right to education is a universal right, which should be accorded to everyone, including persons with disabilities. If given the right to education and nurtured in the right way, more persons with disabilities can emerge as future leaders and contributing members of society, panelists said at a panel discussion held by SOS Children’s Villages of India to observe International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD).
SOS Children’s Villages of India is India’s largest self-implementing childcare NGO. The NGO recently held a panel discussion on the topic: “Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world.” In keeping with COVID-19 protocols, the panel discussion was conducted online through SOS Children’s Villages of India’s Facebook page.
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The key panelists were Ms. Ira Singhal, Brand Ambassador for Department of Disability, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India; Dr. Himangshu Das, Director-National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD) & Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Institute for Persons with Physical Disabilities (PDU-NIPPD) and Jayanthi Narayan, Special Educator from India, currently holding a position as a visiting Professor at the University of Northampton, UK.
“People are not just about their disabilities, they are also about their abilities, so we need to focus on their abilities and remember that disability does not define people,” said Ms. Singhal, Brand Ambassador for Department of Disability, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment who by example has shown that nothing is impossible to achieve for disabled people. Ms. Singhal is the first person in India with disabilities to top the prestigious Civil Services Examination. She is also a brand ambassador for the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Niti Ayog, and is on the National Panel for Accessible Elections, Election Commission of India.
Singhal reminded people with disabilities that they have talent and their focus should be on nurturing their talent rather than focusing on their disabilities. “Remember that the world will see you as the way you see yourself. If you see your abilities and talent, that is what the world will see, but if you see your disabilities, the world will see you as a disabled person.”
Dr. Himangshu Das, the Director of the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities(Divyangjan) (NIEPMD, Chennai) said that India will see far more leadership and participation of people with disabilities from all segments of society in the post-COVID world, given the focus of the government on greater inclusivity of disabled people. “The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 are being seriously monitored by both the Center and the State Governments. With reservations, policies, schemes, and legal tools becoming more pro-active, disabled friendly, and inclusion based, we will see a lot more participation by people with disabilities.”
“Those with special needs too have the right to education. Reach and teach them! Watch them blooming as great leaders and contributing members of our society.” Said Dr. Jayanthi Narayan
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Mr. Sumanta Kar, Secretary-General, SOS Children’s Villages of India said, “The pandemic has created havoc in our lives particularly for the Children with special needs. Such children require physiotherapy and other treatments for which we hire external specialists. Since we restricted the number of people to visit the village, we immediately trained SOS Mother and coworkers to perform basic therapeutic treatments with the help of online sessions by professionals. We have also enrolled our children with special needs in various competitions which will help them enhance their skills. It is our responsibility to bring awareness about the challenges faced by such children and the need for inclusion for us to evolve and build a better society.”
International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) was initiated in 1992, through the recommendation of the United Nations General Assembly resolution. It is observed on December 3, every year, with the idea of promoting the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness about persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic, and cultural life.
About SOS Children’s Villages of India
Established in 1964, SOS Children’s Villages of India provides children without parental care or at the risk of losing it, a value chain of quality care services that goes beyond childcare alone, ensuring comprehensive child development. Our customized care interventions such as Family Like Care, Family Strengthening, Kinship Care, Short Stay Homes, Foster Care, Youth Skilling, Emergency Childcare, and Special Needs Childcare are aimed at transforming lives and enabling children under care into self-reliant and contributing members of society. The organization empowers vulnerable families in communities to become financially independent, thereby enabling them to create safe and nurturing spaces for children under their care. Today, over 6,500 children live in more than 440 family homes, inside 32 SOS Children’s Villages of India, in 22 States/UTs, from Srinagar to Kochi, and Bhuj to Shillong. They are lovingly cared for and nurtured by over 600 SOS Mothers and Aunts. As India’s largest self-implementing childcare NGO, SOS Children’s Villages India directly touches the lives of around 30,000 children every year.
For more information, please visit: https://www.soschildrensvillages.in
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