About-us | vishwabharathi trust

DR.Yesudas Halolikar

President –Entrepreneur,Social Activist,Film Director,Motivational Speaker

Our History Who we are...

In 2012-13 Smt.Saraswathi N envisioned an organization to provide opportunities for the deserving, young, and talented children with disability of any form, or from marginalized economic backgrounds. Thus, more than a decade ago, Vishwabharathi came into existence by providing aids and appliances to the deserving students. Since inception; Vishwabharathi has been working to empower the visually impaired, disabled and underprivileged people in India. Vishwabharathi supports the visually impaired, differently able, underprivileged and to keep in pace with the rest of the society by providing medical care, Basic needs, food support for needy people, vocational training, placement based rehabilitation and achieve personal independence. However the long term focus of Vishwabharathi is shaping an inclusive society which provides opportunities—without any discrimination—for the development of the visually impaired, differently abled, underprivileged and senior citizens.

Our primary approach is to poverty alleviation through transformational development is called ‘area survey programme’ (ASP). Each ASP focuses on a geographical area and covers Disability, Underprivileged, Old age& it is a long-term involvement of minimum 10 years, rooted in the community and in partnership with the civil society, NGOs and the Government.

Vishwabharathi consciously focuses on people groups and areas in our country that are socio-economically vulnerable. Hence majority of the ASPs in rural and isolated tribal areas specially focus on the unreached, marginalized and disadvantaged people.

ASPs focus on the basic needs of underprivileged, disabled, old age people, to get basic rights from the government for example: for the disabled we help to get their bus pass, monthly pension, some government rehabilitation schemes for PWDs, their health, and education. Providing access to water for drinking and agriculture, building food security and household resilience through income generation and access to credit, directly impacts the well being of underprivileged, disabled, old age& leprosy affected people. Every community is also sensitized on aspects of environment, gender, persons with challenges, care for the vulnerable and peace building. The communities are involved in designing and implementing the long term programme.

The main aim of the ASP is to empower the people so that they can eventually own (meaning self-manage) their development process. We seek to place ownership and resources in the hands of the community based organizations (CBOs) and to build their capabilities. The CBOs include Women federations, Development Committees, yuvak Mandals, Child Parliaments, Self Help Groups, Child Protection Committees, and Children Clubs etc.

While this approach facilitates the sustainable transformational development of the communities, the main focus of this development is the well being of underprivileged, differently abled, senior citizens and mainly visually impaired. The building up of the community in this fashion facilitates the equitable development of every underprivileged child differently abled, senior citizens and mainly visually impaired, in the community, bringing with it a promise of a life filled with dignity, justice, peace and hope.

VISHWABHARATHI AIMS TO:

• Impart education across fields of study
• Provide support, care, advice and social opportunities to preserve dignity and enhance independence and quality of life.
• Provide access to Braille aids and appliances
• Provide access to a library for the visually challenged
• Promote awareness and support, including advocacy measures to support policy making at the Governance level
• Support overseas research to advance in the field of vision health
• Provide financial assistance in case of need
• Provide affordable accommodation in case of need
• Co-operate with social bodies interested in helping and preventing blindness and/or assisting the visually impaired persons to give the best possible output

Training :

To begin with, VRP conducted Basic Rehabilitation Course for the visually challenged covering life skills and mobility and also initiated courses for employment officers and orientation & mobility instructors, which in due course were withdrawn. Soon after however, appreciating the wide range of training requirements of its clients VRP initiated a number of need-based courses as well as vocational training courses in physiotherapy and acupressure & massage.

Basic Rehabilitation :

The course makes a blind person realize the Three A’s – Accept blindness, Adjust to blindness and Achieve despite being blind. This cost-free training course is conducted twice a year. Each batch is of 3½-month duration. The 30 trainees admitted per batch are given intensive training to develop skills in Activities of Daily Living which covers: Self-care (brushing, bathing, grooming, eating, etc.); Orientation & Mobility (safe indoor and outdoor travel techniques using the White Cane); Home Management (sweeping, making bed, simple mending, cooking, ironing, sewing, identifying currency and so on); Communication (Braille reading and writing; social etiquette etc.

Confidence-building to lead a normal and productive life takes place through activities like physical training, participation in sporting and cultural activities, visits to public spaces, familiarization with public transport etc. Trainees are also provided vocational guidance, exposure to work avenues open to them and assistance in identifying occupation that suits them most. They are given a small monthly stipend.

VRP has the capacity to provide lodge and board facility to around 22 trainees.

Short-term Need-based activity :

Activity for Adolescent: This preparatory course gears up for adult life, youth in transition age – primarily those who appear for secondary/higher secondary exams. Trainees are introduced to community-based experiences; given career guidance through lectures; and trained in disability-specific skills, physical fitness and basics of day-to-day chores. The program helps them recognize and manage the physical, psychological and emotional changes they go through during this transitional phase, and gives them the confidence to pursue further education.

Vocational Training :

Covers trades like making candle/incense sticks (agarbattis), liquid soap/phenyl, garlands/torans (door-hangings), envelopes, popcorn, chocolates and ubtans (face and body packs) etc., besides training in sewing, servicing gas-stove, and other manual jobs as well. Students undergo intensive training in at least three trades. These trades when pursued as a vocation can provide a livelihood. Demonstrations on marketing skills are also organized.

Women’s Special programme :

This full-time course of 1½ month duration has been exclusively designed for all-round development of visually challenged women who are 18 and older. The Course covers orientation & mobility; Braille and communication skills; Yoga and recreation; domestic science with special emphasis on food preparation, nutrition, child care; grooming and personality development – including social etiquette; self-defense etc. Trainees are also counseled and taught vocational trades. Those from out of Mumbai are provided residential facility. The training renders these women confident enough to lead near-normal life.