What gift would you give to a visually-impaired child? Most of us would find ourselves browsing through shelves of Braille books, comparing prices of music players or looking for custom-made walking sticks for the blind. The rest would be as baffled as Prarthana and Prateek were when the couple was invited to a corporate event for visually-impaired kids. After gift-wrapping the music systems they had bought eventually, the duo pondered over a stereotypical pattern invisible to our fully potent eyes.
“When we hear about a person with a disability, why do we tend to focus on his/her disability instead of considering them as a human being, to begin with?” asks Prarthana, who started GiftAbled Foundation with her husband Prateek, to provide livelihood opportunities to differently-abled individuals who are considered a liability to the mainstream society. So far, they have successfully employed over 500 disabled persons, aside from creating widespread awareness to break the myths and stigma surrounding disability.
Ashwini (Name changed) who is paralyzed from hip to bottom is making artificial jewelary Fruit of 12 years of dedication: GiftAbled Foundation
Once a corporate employee working in IBM, Prarthana quit her job to devote herself towards the social sector entirely. For the past 12 years, she had actively volunteered with over a hundred non-profit organisations, when she discovered that disability as a social cause is given the least priority, primarily due to lack of awareness and age-old pitying attitude towards disabled people.
As per the latest census data of over 2 crores differently-abled Indians, hardly 1% are meaningfully employed. “You can often find a person with a disability holding an MBA degree, yet finding employment as a mere cashier in some small-scale organisation,’’ shares Prarthana, talking about the motivation behind starting GiftAbled.
GiftAbled Foundation Needs Your Help To Buy A Mobile Therapy Van To Help Specially Abled Children Get Regular Training
Team GiftAbled
“I remember about ten years ago, one day I was walking down the road when I saw a group of children pointing towards me and sharing a hearty laugh. Curious, I approached them and found out that they were not laughing at me, rather they were a bunch of hearing-impaired kids communicating in sign language. I realised how little we know about the world of these kids, and that’s when I decided to learn sign language,’’ narrates Prarthana.
Shylaja Asangi, program manager at GiftAbled training people on sign language
“When I started attending sign language lessons, the questions I faced were if I was deaf or if anyone in my family was deaf. Even now it is unimaginable to learn something specifically designed for differently-abled people,” she adds, “While most are busy debating about the insensitivity of the terms we use to designate disabled persons, I felt we ought to do more work at the ground level.”
In 2013, they launched GiftAbled Foundation with the aim to secure employment to the physically and intellectually disabled people, as well as to sensitise the mass about disability.
Livelihood programme by GiftAbled
Before launching GiftAbled, Prarthana and Prateek met with beneficiaries across different organisations, to have a better understanding of their everyday problem. “What we realised that once they are undergoing rehabilitation therapy, no one is thinking about including them in any productive activities,” explains Prarthana.
They came across a girl who used to be a Bharatnatyam dancer until an accident left her wheelchair-bound with a severe spinal cord injury. Yet, she managed to earn her own living by making cosmetic jewellery. “Her indomitable zeal led us to believe that others like her can also be trained to be a part of the working population,” shares Prarthana.
Today GiftAbled provides vocational and skill-development training to specially-abled adults, and the handicraft products made by them are marketed to corporate organisations and among the general public.
Sushil who is an intellectually disabled person, now block prints at least 4 shawls a day
“We are trying to create opportunities for them not out of sympathy, but empathy,” clarifies Prarthana, while talking about their highly popular wooden carvings which are sculpted intricately by one physically-challenged artisan and polished by another who is visually-challenged. Their exquisite craftsmanship leaves no trace of their disabilities on the beautiful pieces that adorn our living rooms. Innovative items like jute and ikkat laptop bags, multipurpose stands, watch-cum-pen-holders are in high demand among customers.
“When we met Jyoti, a hearing-impaired artist, she could describe the theme of her paintings to me using sign language. I felt that stories of overlooked artists like her need to be brought into the limelight,” shares a determined Prarthana.
Besides, GiftAbl…
