Project History and Mission

The Ganjam District Orthopaedically Handicapped Welfare Association(GDOHWA) is running the project Samarth, meaning "able", which has set out to eliminate discrimination towards and dependency among disabled children in the Ganjam district of Orissa. The project covers 9 GPs (gram panchayats) over a total area of 20-22 kms. K. Ananda, the General Secretary and Project Coordinator, has been working in this field for more than 20 years. Ananda is well respected in the region and is approached by a lot of families with disabled members for help with securing their rights from the local authorities.
There are 1-1.5 disabled persons per household in this region. These children have either never been to school or have very rudimentary education, and are regarded as a burden by their families. Fathers are mostly (95-99%) migrant laborers in places such as Gujarat, Bombay etc. They do not send back funds frequently - they visit once in a while (1-2 years) and in this period, infect their spouses with HIV. The mothers mostly work as farm and construction laborers. The aim of the project is to train and educate the disabled children in order to eventually mainstream them into educational institutions and society. Children from the region are taken into residence at Samarth and sent to regular schools nearby.

WAH Budget Proposal

More on Samarth

There are about 80 million persons with disability in the country. Low literacy rates, few jobs and widespread social stigma have made disabled people amongst the most excluded in the nation. With at least a third of the general population still illiterate, special education tends to fall between the cracks. The lack of co-ordination between NGO and governmental efforts, fundamental differences in the philosophies of government ministries responsible for policy formulation, and the absence of a systematic feedback mechanism lead to the continuance of policies that are ineffective and unable to meet the needs of disabled children. And where suitable policies do exist, the lack of teacher training for inclusive schools and inefficient methods for the identification of children with special needs do not allow for their effective implementation at the ground level. Samarth is trying to bridge just that gap.

The model employed by this project is to take disabled children into residence with the goal to make them as independent and self-reliant as possible. Liaison and interaction with local school to modify school structure and system was a huge innovation in laying out a platform to reach out to the disabled kids. Creating awareness about the disabled children situation in schools and arranging special training for teachers to work effectively with disabled kids are well worth mentioning. Another vital step is to involve involving the local community by creating Village Education Committees with participation from local leaders, parents and disabled people. This aids in bring about a bigger impact and change in the whole community catering to different set of people. This model is not currently implemented elsewhere, at least within the state of Orissa. It is a well defined and contained project which is easy to monitor from Asha's perspective, and conversation with the Project Coordinator has indicated the possibility of expanding a similar approach to other districts in collaboration with other NGOs. However, due to its residential nature, the projects usually require larger funds.

Success Stories:

Rina Dikhit, 34, suffering from 75% orthopaedic disability.
One of four siblings, her father is visually impaired person and works as a priest. Rina has been working at Samarth for the last 8 years. Prior to that, she was brought up in her uncle's family. After coming to Samarth, she was trained in type writing and computer skills. Three years back a sum of INR 50,000 (~$1100) was arranged from NHFDC, with which she has started a small business. Now, she is working as the teacher in a Govt. school and is the assistant secretary for GDOHWA.

Chandra Sekhar Sutar, 35, suffering from 90% cerebral Palsy
One of three siblings, his father is a retired Govt. servent. 10 years back, a sum of INR 3,000(~$70) was procured from a DRI scheme with which he had started a small business. Observing his aptitude for business, GDOHWA arranged a sum of Rupees 50,000/- from NHFDC to renew his business. He is now a successful businessman, has been married and has a daughter. He is also working as the vice-president for GDOHWA.

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