Advocacy and Support

Campaigning and recognition by local governments

Before the inception of Sense International (India), deafblindness was an unknown term. It has been the role of Sense International (India) to lobby with the Government and work towards the recognition of deafblindness. In the past 9 years, we have actively worked with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and other related Ministries such as Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health etc.

Recognition of Deafblindness:

"It was resolved that we continue to work towards the recognition of deafblindness as a separate and unique category of disability. This should be reflected in all relevant legislations, statutory documents and schemes as well as official policy documents including the PWD Act, National trust Act and those applying to education, social welfare, health, employment and rural development. Deafblindness must be certified as a separate disability".

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has revised the Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fittings of Aids/Appliances (AD IP Scheme) and have included "Communication equipment's for deafblind and Braille attachments for telephone for deafblind persons". Further, parents whose income is within Rs 5,000 per month the equipment will be available free. For parents earning Rs 5,000 to Rs. 8,000, it will be available 50% of the cost".

Some of the initiatives are listed below:

• In the First Deafblind International Asian Conference, Sense International (India) identified "Recognition of Deafblindness" as one of its key resolutions. This resolution stated: "In order to help in the planning of services and to help empower deafblind people to take their rightful place in society we urge the recognition of deafblindness as a unique and separate disability. This should be reflected in all relevant legislation and official policy documents, including national Disability Acts and those applying to education, social welfare, health, employment and rural development".

• Presentation of a paper on "Inclusion of Multiple Disabilities" in the draft national policy at the Rehabilitation Council of India Workshop on National Policy on Special Education held at National Institute for Mentally Handicapped, Secunderabad.

• Participation in the Drafting committee meeting of the National Policy on Special Education wherein it was agreed to include Multiple Disability in the National Policy.

• Akhil Paul, Director, Sense International (India) was nominated as a member on the Board of Directors of the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. The Trust has been set up to enable and empower persons with disabilities to live independently within their own families and to promote measures for the care and protection of the disabled people. Sumitra Mishra, Deputy Director- Programmes has been nominated in the National Trust as an expert in multiple disabilities.

• Akhil Paul participated in the Expert Group meeting for preparing course curriculum for training of Master Trainers and Health Professionals sponsored by WHO and Govt. of India

• Akhil Paul and Sumitra Mishra participated in the 150 minute live tele-conference on deafblindness in the joint venture of National Trust, Indira Gandhi National Open University and Sense International (India). The programme was telecasted live all over the country and there were many phone calls from various parts of the country.

• Akhil Paul participated in the North Zone Workshop on Disability & Census 2001. The Govt. of India had decided to conduct a survey to assess the total population of disabled people.

• Rehabilitation Council of India and the Madhya Pradesh Bhoj National Open University have included a module on deafblindness in the Foundation Course on Education of Children with Disabilities as part of the Teacher Training Programme.

• Sense International (India) conducted one day workshops on Deafblindness as a part of the month long Master trainers Course for state representatives. SII also facilitates and directly supports territory level care givers training (Especially in Delhi) conducted by National Trust.

• Sense International (India) was invited for giving inputs in the area of mental retardation with additional sensory disabilities into the curriculum development for Parents and CBR workers for a one year Distance Learning course being developed by IGNOU, which is the largest Open University in India and Asia.

• There was also a meeting with the Head of the Department of Continuing Education and the reader and lecturer of the department. IGNOU has shown keen interest to work more closely with Sense International (India) for developing a Distance learning course on deafblindness and multiple disabilities.

• Influenced and included “multiple disabilities” in the UNESCAP manual on disability.

• Active intervention in national consultations of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on education policy has led to inclusion of alternative/ home based education for multiply disabled.

• Policy level inclusion in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for working on ‘How to include deafblind in SSA”.

• Representation on the Expert Round Table on CBR for Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, Regional Centre of the Commonwealth of Learning, (COL) Vancouver, Canada.

<< back

Registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950.
Registration No: E/11279/Ahmedabad