Persons With Disabilities

Inclusion isn't as difficult as it looks—that's the message Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust has been sending out to parents, teachers and school administrators. Its model of inclusive education, which has been implemented in its schools in Delhi and Gwalior, ensures that students with and without disabilities study together and learn from each other.

With the donations it received, Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust has been able to complete the construction of a new building for its barrier-free school in Gwalior. "The school has shifted to the new building which is more spacious and has different wings for all activities," says Dr Uma Tuli, the NGO's founder. "The building is totally barrier-free and has all the necessary infrastructure for inclusive education, medical and rehabilitative care, and skill development."

Rajinder Johar has been making the voice of the disabled heard for over two decades. In 1986, he was shot in the chest and the spine during an attempted robbery in his house, which left him paralyzed for life. After battling depression for six years, Johar started a biannual magazine featuring unheard stories from the disabled in India. But the need to do something more goaded him on and he started the Family of Disabled.

One of the long-cherished projects of the organization was to build a multipurpose centre for the disabled. Johar had spent all the organization's resources on buying land for the centre, but it was yet to be built. Then came the donations from the viewers of the show, which filled in the necessary gap. Family of Disabled was finally able to begin the construction of the building in Najafgarh, Delhi. At the centre, Johar plans to provide vocational training to the disabled on topics such as computers, cooking, tailoring and cutting, among others.