Mobile app by Cross the Hurdles for people with disability

Empowering people with disabilities calls for a broad range of socio-economic inclusions and the Indian government is currently amending the Disability Act of 1995 to meet the norms of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. The country has an estimated 40-45 million such people according to provisional figures of 2011 Census, but spends only 0.0009% of its GDP on disability, which indicates low access to education, information, job market and other essential facilities.

Since easy access to critical and specific information can immensely help people with disabilities, a Delhi-based NGO called Cross the Hurdles has launched the first-ever android app a couple of days ago to bridge the knowledge gap. Named after the organisation, the new app is an information resource containing everything one needs to know about special education, career guidance, employment opportunities, tax benefits, health tips, legal advice, assistive technology, accessibility and more. Simply put, you can find all relevant information here - be it schools for autistic children, libraries for the visually impaired, shops for buying disability aids & equipment or blood banks in your locality. The app can be downloaded for free from Google Play Store and the organisation will soon launch the iOS and Windows versions of the app.

In the next phase, there will be a number of in-app features including video conferencing, on-demand sessions with experts, disability counselling services and chat forums. The app will be always free for users although the NGO, led by Abha Khetarpal, is looking to raise money through sponsorship and advertising. To download Cross the Hurdles, you will require Android 2.3.3 or up.

Source:Business Insider

Hope in India as Mandatory Access For People with Disability Takes Shape 

Source: India America Today dated June 8, 2013

ARTICLE | JUNE 8, 2013 - 6:43PM | BY INDIA AMERICA TODAY NEWS SERVICE

New Delhi - In the developed countries, it is taken for granted that there is universal access for the disabled and physically challenged person, but not so in developing countries, so it was hailed as historic when the Medical Council of India (MCI) recently asked all medical institutions in India to be disabled-friendly and submit a compliance report as soon as possible.

Accessibility of health care facilities to persons with disabilities is abysmally low in India because of architectural barriers, lack of ICT facilities and attitudinal barriers. Even medical students, paramedics, non-teaching employees and faculty with disabilities face numerous barriers in medical institutions. This should change if there is early and proper implementation of the MCI-issued directive to the deans and principals of all the medical colleges and institutions in India to promptly submit a compliance report on accessible institutions to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Welcoming the directive, disability activist Satendra Singh, a medical specialist at University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) in Delhi who is himself disabled, said, “This is a significant move, as medical institutions are made more accountable, which is in line with Sec 46 of PWD Act 1995 and article 9 of the International law UNCRPD, which makes it obligatory for India to implement reasonable accommodation. This is not something only for disabled because a universally designed ramp or toilet will help all, be it disabled, elderly person, or pregnant female."

Singh had relentlessly advocated to the chief commissioner for persons with disabilities (CCPD) to pass directions to MCI to make access audits mandatory in all medical inspections; to include persons with disabilities in all disability matters; and to de-recognize all such colleges which fail accessibility standards. The CCPD, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, is the highest apex body in India, with the power of a civil court and pan-India jurisdiction.

"To me this should have been done long ago and without anybody fighting for it. What Dr. Satendra Singh is doing is not only praiseworthy and commendable but also a path-breaking move in the establishment of universal design," said Abha Khetrapal, counselor for the students with disabilities at the University College of Medical Sciences, (UCMS) and GTB Hospital in Delhi.

Singh is the coordinator of the Enabling Unit, which he created under the UGC (University Grants Commission) guidelines for ensuring affirmative actions concerning persons with disabilities. This is the only such body in any medical school in India. Singh also formed an Equality and Diversity Committee, which has student, non-teaching staff and faculty members and all are persons with disabilities, in line with the mantra "Nothing for us, without us."

Khetrapal, who is a non-institutional expert on the committee, said, "The formation of Equality and Diversity Committee needs to be used as a model not only by the medical colleges, but by all the institutions providing higher education, as separate counselors for students with disabilities may not be found even in many renowned universities of the country. Moreover, all the members of this committee are persons with disabilities and they can represent themselves better than the non-disabled people."

Khetrapal urged MCI to take urgent action for the speedy implementation of the directive, saying, "I now hope that the new chairman of MCI, Dr. R.K. Srivastava, brings the required and desired changes. Another move that has to be done is to include disability studies as a subject in medical education."

Mincing no words, Khetrapal who is the founder and president of Cross the Hurdles (www.crossthehurdles.org/ngo), an organization fighting on behalf of the disabled, said, "It is an irony that those who are getting trained to be the health providers of the community have to suffer due to such an inaccessibility. I wonder why does MCI have to be directed by the CCPD office? Why couldn't Medical Council of India issue such a directive itself? Why do we have to wake up the authorities from such a deep slumber to at least give us what our rights are?"

Source: India America Today dated June 8, 2013

Symposium on “Integrating the Medical and Social Models of Disability: Time for a New Paradigm

Symposium on “Integrating the Medical and Social Models of Disability: Time for a New Paradigm 15th June, 2013

Indian Spinal Injury Centre (ISIC) and Cross the Hurdles (CTH) are jointly hosting a one-day symposium on Integrating the Medical and Social Models of Disability: Time for a New Paradigm” on Saturday, 15th June, 2013 at ISIC, New Delhi.

Following is the list of speakers and their topics:

1.      Dr A K Mukherjee, ISIC- Defining Disability in 21st Century

2.      Dr. Poonam K Singh, Advisor (International Health) MOHFW, GOI- Keynote address
3.   Dr S Y Kothari, ISIC- Current approach towards disability

4.      Shivani Gupta, AccessAbility- Barriers accentuating disabling conditions
5.   Dr Satendra Singh, UCMS - Embracing the Social Model: The UCMS experience
6.   Dr. Uma Tuli, Amar Jyoti - Successful model of social & medical inclusion: a case study
7.      Maj. DP Singh - Advocacy efforts in rehabilitation

8.      Abha Khetarpal, CTH - Promoting Disability Studies in Healthcare

9.   Dr. H. S. Chhabra, ISIC - Integrating the Medical and Social Models of Disability: Time for a New Paradigm

10. Panel discussion: Consumer perspective

Concept Note of the Symposium

Disability studies provide nuanced ways of thinking about disease, medical ethics, and social justice in health care. It plays the role of a cultural studies field that bridges interdisciplinary academic scholarship, medicine, and patient activism along with fostering collaboration among disciplines and between the common man and the professionals.

Medical models of health care often overlook the social dimensions of health and health care. Disability studies, on the other hand, contrasts the biological model with a social model. It lays stress on finding how much can the suffering of different bodies be relieved through the adjustment, not of biological variables, but of social variables. It unpacks the role of ableism, pathologization, individualization, isolation, confinement, and lack of access in producing human suffering.

The Medical Model of disability perceives disability as a functional impairment. An integrative, biopsychosocial approach towards disability by collaborating health care and Disability Studies is required for mainstreaming of disability in an inclusive developmental agenda. Disability Studies encourages perspectives that place disability in social, cultural, and political contexts.

Available opportunities to learn about disability and rehabilitation must therefore be strengthened by ensuring that the society acquires not only the specific knowledge and skills, but also the attitudes required to provide effective service to persons with disability. Collaboration between health care professionals, university academics, persons with disability, and disability interest groups may help in ensuring that everyone is adequately sensitised to issues about disability. Disability studies, if introduced in various fields of education, especially medical education can offer an explicit commitment to assist disabled people in their fight for full equality and social inclusion. Thus a successful integration between Medical and Social Models of disability would be brought about.

TravelAbility: Inaccessible Sim's Park, Ooty

Crossing the hurdles for the sake of beauty

I love venturing into the Nature and travel places to explore the natural beauty scattered throughout our beautiful country. My love of lakes leads me to Ooty this year and I also climbed the highest point of Ooty with the help of my crutches-my better half in quest of all my adventures. While coming back I stopped at Coonoor. The picturesque Ooty and Coonoor are talukas in the Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu. No visit in the Nilgiris is complete without a trip to the very famous Sim’s park of Coonoor.

The park is maintained by the Nilgiris district’s Department of Horticulture, Government of Tamil Nadu. Sim’s Park is an unusual park-cum-botanical garden that was developed way back in 1874 by the secretary of the Madras Club Mr. J.D. Sims and Major Murray.

Naturally occurring trees, shrubs and creepers, are in the park as are many unusual species of plants that have been brought in from a variety of places around the world. The park is situated in a deep ravine on the northern side of Coonoor and covers twelve acres of undulating land. This botanical park is located at a height of 1780 meters above mean sea level. The key attraction of the park is the annual fruit and vegetable show held in May.

This park has resulted by the introduction of many rare species including Rudraksh and Cinnamomum. Most of the plants here are exotic and introduced from almost all the countries. There are graceful trees like Araucaria, Quercus, Phoenix, Magnolia, Pine, Turpentine, Tree ferns, Camellia Eucalyptus, Acacia, Pinus, Cinnamomum etc.

There is a glass house housing different ornamental plants and flowers. On the other side of the park rose garden are maintained. This park can take legitimate pride in having secured more than 1000 species of 255 genera’s belonging to 85 families widely covering almost all the different group of the plant kingdom.

The park is a natural garden and divided into 8 major sections (terraces). Each downward terrace have colorful flower beds, lawns and rockeries carefully laid out to give a symmetric look to the park. You will have to walk down the hill lined with exotic and old majestic trees Shola forests are left undisturbed and they add mystery to the park.

Owing to the unique tropical mountain climate, the garden receives ideal climatic conditions. Uniform rain distribution and less temperature variation enable a long flowering season. This tourist place is situated in Coonoor at a height of 1780 meters above mean sea level. Here the maximum temperature goes up to 30 degree Celsius and the minimum falls to 5°C. The average rain fall of this garden is 150 cm. It extends over an area of 12 hectares of undulating land and possesses a number of natural advantages.

Further down one can see the island garden, where boating is also allowed. The Lily ponds add beauty to this serene place and fishes in the pond add extra delight to kids. The botanical garden is partly developed in the Japanese style and is a favorite destination of tourists.

So far so good. Unfortunately I have to pay heavily for this whole description. Not in turns of money but inaccessibility. If you happen to be a person with disability then this whole pleasure becomes a torture. I have physical impairment and use caliper in my right leg. With this I perform most of the daily activities without much problem.

When I entered the Sim’s Park my first experience was that of delight. I climbed down few stairs and it was then I realized that the whole Park is designed on a downhill. The real problem was that subsequent terraces were having stairs but without any side support or hand railing. There was nothing by which you can take support on your either sides. I had two options. One, cursing the authorities and leave the park; and second to fulfill my desire see the whole park albeit with assistance. I opted for the second.

I called my taxi driver and requested him to send my crutches. Braced with my new armory, I explored every corner of the park.The winding footpaths all over the higher slopes of the park may look the most distinctive and picturesque feature of this park but they tease PwD’s as if saying, “You are not welcome.” I also was destined to take up the challenge and despite shedding lot’s of my electrolytes, I conquered the inaccessibility.

As you move down you see great variety and colour which are great feasts to the eyes. But the sight of a disabled or as a matter of fact an elderly struggling at uneven steps, small kids falling due to lack of support, pregnant females giving this park amiss are not hypothetical sights but a harsh reality which the administration needs to address. Why your accessibility should be different as mine? Why can’t we envisage a place which is accessible to ALL- not only to PwD but also to elderly, pregnant females, small kids and even extra-terrestrials?

The theme of the International Day of PwD’s this year is – ‘Removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all.’ For people living with disabilities, the situation of inaccessible parks is an illegal denial of our Human Rights. I hope Government of Tamil Nadu will take an access audit of this historical venue at the earliest and come up with an appropriate strategy to make the Sim’s park experience a memory to cherish rather than ruing it as another torture for PwD’s.

(This article was written by me for the inaugural edition of quarterly e-magazine of Cross the Hurdles. Abha Khetarpal launched this magazine on the eve of IDPwD. The complete December 2012 issue is available here.)

Keeping You Abreast; Breast Cancer Awareness Handbook

E-Book or Download

Living with a disability does not make a female immune to the risk of breast cancer. On the contrary, studies have shown that there are higher rates of death related to breast cancer among women with a disability, even when diagnosed at the same stage as women without a disability.

Having regular mammograms can lower the risk of dying from breast cancer.But DO NOT think that breast cancer is a death sentence. Rather it is a wake up call. It makes you aware of the fact that how fragile life can be. But at the same time do not forget that that there are no shortcuts with breast cancer.It is high time that you should become aware of the things that you have to do in order to survive. You have to be your own advocate. With the help of this handbook learn how examine yourself. THIS IS YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR LIFE.

Unfortunately, till now, there has been no accessible information for the breast cancer prevention, breast cancer self examination and breast cancer awareness in our country for the women with disabilities.

I am glad to announce that this is for the first time such information has been compiled here in our country. Cross the Hurdles has prepared a Handbook for the women with disabilities and their care providers so that their breast health is properly taken care of. It is available in both Hindi and English for the reader's convenience.

This information is available in accessible format in the form of E-Book uploaded on website. You can read it online or Download it easily.

For further information write to: crossthehurdles@gmail.com

Abha Khetarpal, 

President,Cross the Hurdles

Handbook on Tax Concessions and Exemptions for PwD's

Cross the Hurdles has released a handbook on the Tax Concessions and Exemptions for the People with Disabilities in India. This handbook is available both in Hindi and English. Abha Khetarpal, President of this NGO states, "We are delighted to inform you further that to make this activity completely an ”inclusive one”, we have also released it in Braille. Our main objective behind releasing this handbook is to provide correct and updated information to the People with Disabilities at their doorstep or touch of a button which would help them to know about the rights and facilities available to them."

Read online  or  Download

Hard copy: Available in English, Hindi and Braille at their registered office 12/51, Ground Floor, Corner Flat, Shubhash Nagar, New Delhi-110027

Website: www.crossthehurdles.org
Email: crossthehurdles@gmail.com; abha.khetarpal@gmail.com

Barfi: Commitment Despite Challenges!

Abha Khetarpal, President Cross the Hurdles and member, Enabling Unit, University College of Medical Sciences reviews the movie Barfi:

No wonder Barfi is all set to be sent as India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film nomination for the 85th Academy Awards in February 2013.  Anurag Basu, the director, deserves much applause for making such a sensitive movie.

Though a romantic comedy, the movie deals with all the shades of human psychology and behavior. The plot basically revolves around the story of a man, the protagonist, Barfi, who is deaf and mute by birth. He is shown to be involved with two females at different points of time in his life. Relationship with both the girls, gives him two different perspectives of life.

The first one Shruti Ghosh/Sengupta, is shown to be amused by the antics of Barfi, amazed by the way how he copes with his challenges playfully and ultimately falls for him because of his out and out romantic nature. Like any other teenage girl she is infatuated by his endearing and happy-go-lucky nature.  She is stunned by the way he lives his life to the fullest and even despite of his disabilities he is able to take care of his old father. But this girl herself plays mute when she has to bow down to the pressures of her mother who thinks her daughter’s life would be destroyed by marrying a ‘’disabled man’’. The girl Shruti is shown to be submissive, doubtful and prone to fall for superficial abilities of a Bengali babu, whom she marries. She succumbs to the lures of the so called physical and monetary capabilities of another man. This man has a perfect body but has a disability of lack of emotions!

Though she likes Barfi, she could not gather guts to open her mouth and say even a word. Barfi is shown to be deaf, but this girl, with her actions, proves that she is nothing less than ‘’a dumb’’ human being. She is shown to have a greater disability of character when she says, ‘’Sach puchho to mujhe Jhilmil ke kho jaane ka dukh nahi tha, balki khushi thi ki ab Barfi mera hai’’ (She was not sad that Jhilmil was lost but rather happy that now she would be able to possess Barfi). She is shown to be envious when she says, “Barfi adhura tha, lekin uska pyaar poora tha’’. Now she, after having a nightmarish marriage with her chosen one who is an abled bodied man, realizes that how much able Barfi was and how incomplete her ‘’normal’’ man was! But still she could not develop that sensitivity to understand how much pain she has inflictedon him. When she meets him in Kolkata after six years, she could not even utter a single word. While Barfi is shown to have no complains and grudges against her. He is not at all bitter.

Aaah! The so called ‘’abled’’ world, how selfish you can become!  How easy it is for you to show your cocked up ‘’compulsions’’.

Relationship is a matter of convenience for the this normal group of people. This is skilfully shown by portrayal of the character of Shruti and through the characters of Jhilmil’s parents. They want their daughter because they want money left to her by her grandfather. Otherwise the treatment given to this autistic girl by her own parents is emotionally shocking. The parents are shown to be ashamed of the disability of their daughter. They themselves are not ready to accept. Nor do they believe in including the girl in social gatherings taking place in their own home. And this is not a fictitious revelation. This happens all the time around us. Anurag has just shown courage to bring out such heinous behavioral practices. The society too is shown insensitive which all the more disables a person. The people in the party do not hesitate to laugh at a girl who is enjoying the music, a girl who so innocent, a girl who does not even know the ways of this selfish and cruel world.  By making fun of this autistic girl, Jhilmil, they prove that it is the society that does not let people come out of the stigma of disability. And she shows her anger by yelling at them and crying out, “Chup karo’’( stop laughing).

The so called civilized and sophisticated group of people are shown to be nothing less than beastly creatures.

And the best part happens to be the second half of the movie. I must say it is has the best dialogues ever written, best dialogue delivery ever heard and the best music ever listened to! You must be wondering what I am talking about!

The conversations between the mute Barfi and autistic Jhilmil do not need any language nor are dependent on the ear catching love phrases. They both talk heart to heart.  Their expressions have greater verbosity. The love and relationship which they stand for echoes far away with higher decibels than we human beings can hear. They understand each other by looking into each other’s eyes. Love has no boundaries, no disability, no sham, no manipulations, no strategies…Its purest forms dwell in the hearts of those who believe in it. Barfi has his own ‘’trust test’’. He cuts the branch of the tree. First he stands with his friend under it. Then he stands with Shruti under it who gets scared being hit by it without trusting his love and affection for it. And when he stands with Jhilmil under it, Jhilmil just holds his shirts and  shows her trust. She knows she is safe with him. True love trusts and protects. It is not scared of the burdens, responsibilities and hardships coming its way. True love does not need ceremonies and rituals. When Shruti asks Barfi if they had exchanged rings, he tells her in sign language that when they had exchanged hearts, exchanging rings does not matter!

Barfi and Jhilmil, lived together. They were shown to be with each other till their old age caring and sharing all through their lives. Together they symbolize Commitment Despite Challenges!  They have the biggest ability in them and that is they are able to find happiness in togetherness.

A great movie, great performances by the actors and great music, Barfi deals with the complex mazes, darkest tunnels and brightest spots of human psyche!

Source: Mindful Cogitations (think differently)