User:Prakash Gaurkhede/sandbox/Gramin Adiwasi Samaj Vikas Sansthan

Gramin adiwasi samaj vikas sasthan work on two types of disabilities – Physical and Mental. I work to improve the lives of PWDs (persons with disabilities) and PWMI (persons with mental illness) for improving their lives through an integrative approach for integrating them into the mainstream society. In India, the DMHP (district mental health program) covers 200 districts so far. Chhindwara is one of the districts. But the Chhindwara district doesn’t have a psychiatrist or medicines. PWDs have to travel up to distance of 70 kms if they have to avail any government scheme or access treatment. Therefore the government system is ill-equipped to cater to the needs of PWDs and PWMIs. The aim is to restore the dignity and autonomy of PWDs and PWMIs by mobilizing local resources, reforming health local health institutions and advocating for reformed laws. We have created a new system of CBR (community – based rehabilitation) for PWDs and PWMIs. We use India’s 1995 Disability Act as a springboard for introducing strategic interventions at various government levels, mobilize the PWDs to seek their rights and entitlements by creating leaders among them and empower them through livelihood trainings and linkages for realizing their potential to contribute to economically and socially. For PWMIs we have mapped traditional and religious faith healers as well as involve ANM, ASHA workers and anganwadi workers as key influencers in communities to access psychiatric services at the PHC level. GASVS is widely acknowledged as an organization that works for the empowerment of PWDs and PWMIs in Sausar block and Chhindwara region. We will engage with the government agencies both at the village, taluka, district and state levels respectively to convince them to make disability inclusion a priority and motivate them to gain ownership of the issue. We will advocate with the local agencies to access 3% of government grants allocated to PWDs under the poverty alleviation plans. This allocated fund remains unused. We will train local health and government officials and institution to integrate PWDs and PWMIs fully into mainstream society. The program will focus on demystifying the fear that people have of working with PWDs and PWMIs showing them that accommodating them is not technically complicated but quite simple. We will also work with women disabled in the areas of reproductive health, income generation, micro-credit and vocational training. Women will also be invited in annual conferences to voice their concerns at the state level. We also work with CWDs (children with disabilities). We will closely work with the rural education system and provide adequate information and tools to smoothly integrate them into the schools with their peers. Those schools which were not admitted CWDs will open their doors to them and the course contest will be disability friendly, aimed at slow learners and those have hearing and visual difficulties. For the visually impaired, Braille versions of textbooks will be made available. With regard to mental health, traditional healers, temple priests and dargah ‘mujawars’ will be taken into confidence and their support sought to refer patients to PHC level clinic. This will also minimize the abuse of PWMI in the hands of faith healers. This network is of crucial importance for the continued well being of PWMIs as mental illnesses are chronic and need medication and treatment for life. We will engage the entire village community and teachers to detect mental illness early, organize caregiver groups and village disabled peoples organizations to create an enabling environment for the rehabilitation of PWMIs and PWDs. Recovered PWMIs will be provided support for starting livelihood options. Those with chronic illness requiring medication for life time will be linked to free medication