India, the largest democratic country in the world, is marching ahead strongly on the growth and developmental front and is poised to be the leader in the market economy. This role creates and increases far greater responsibilities on us in ensuring that the benefit of the developmental cycle reaches each and every citizen of this country, including the abled and the disabled ones. It has been enshrined in the Constitution of India to ensure equality, freedom, justice, and dignity of all individuals and implicitly mandates an inclusive society. With increase in consideration of quality parameters in all spheres of life including availability, access, and provision of comprehensive services to the disabled

Concept of disability and rehabilitation

The goal of medicine is to promote, preserve, and restore health when it is impaired and to minimize suffering and distress. These goals are embodied in the word prevention. Successful prevention depends upon knowledge of causation, dynamics of transmission, identification of risk factors and risk groups, availability of prophylactic or early detection and treatment measures, an organization for applying these measure to appropriate persons or groups and continuous evaluation and development of procedures applied. For better understanding of the subject, it is necessary to have clarity of sequence of events leading to disability and handicap.
Disease → Impairment → Disability → Handicap
Disease is a condition of the body or some part or organ of the body in which its functions are disrupted or deranged.
Impairment is any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function
Disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. Handicap is a disadvantage for a given individual resulting from an impairment or disability that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal (depending on age, sex, social and cultural factors) for that individual. The concept of handicap also includes the role of the society in creating barriers and limiting opportunities for people with disabilities.

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation involves combined and coordinated use of medical, social, educational, and vocational measures for training or retraining the individual to the highest possible level of functional ability. The three main strategies for rehabilitation of disabled are institution-based, outreach, and community-based.
In general, rehabilitation encompasses the following:
• Early detection, diagnosis, and intervention
• Improve, facilitate, stimulate and/or provide services for people with disabilities, their families and attendant
• Medical rehabilitation i.e., management of curable disability and lessening the disability to the extent possible
• Social, psychological, and other types of counseling and assistance
• Training in self-care activities including social graces, etiquette, mobility, communication, and daily living skills with special provisions as needed
• Provision of technical, mobility and other devices
• Specialized education services
• Vocational rehabilitation services including vocational guidance, training, open placement, and self-employment
• Certification of degree of disability and provision of available concessions/benefits
• Community awareness, advocacy, empowerment
• Follow-up

This project strives for giving PWDs the opportunity to live their lives with dignity and that they are given the facilities and conditions that do not smother their mobility and activity. Further, this project will collaborate and

Coordinate with the fragmented program doing in this space in India, increasing the impact of the work.

According to the United Nations, India is home to 70 million disabled citizens, with more than 80% of them unemployed. Of those who do find work, a staggering 98.5% work in the informal sector, without income security or access to financial services. Vishwabharathi has been providing

skills training and advocating for the employment of persons with disabilities since 2012, as part of our larger commitment to improving the lives of marginalized communities and supporting inclusive development.

From past 7 years, through a partnership with many donors, vishwabharathi is providing basic needs, computer education, monthly ration, white canes, eye glasses, CD players, clothes, medical care for 200 visually challenged, those who are living in Bangalore and some other district in KARNATAKA. Doing awareness and advocacy Campaign, providing calipers, crutches wheel chairs for disabled.

BELAGU – a program and initiative to Aids and appliances of the challenges faced by persons with disabilities, with particular focus on advocacy for their employment BELAGU which means “light, aims to raise funds for skills training and employment support for more than 500 persons with disabilities, as well as creating awareness and advocate for inclusivity of people with disabilities in employment and in greater society.