Peoples Organization and Advocacy

Rights. Representation. Reform.

APD endeavours to enrich the lives of people with disabilities, advancing them to an even platform from where they can access rightful opportunities, justice and social engagement. The People’s Organization and Advocacy group works across seven districts in Karnataka attempting to:

  • Encourage PWDs to get connected with their communities and extended social groups and develop leadership and self advocacy skills
  • Influence specific policy and legislation that promotes inclusion and removes barriers to participation of PWDs in all aspects of social life
  • Engage with local, district and state governments to ensure appropriate implementation of various provisions of the Disability Act
  • Create mass awareness about disability issues and rights and build a positive view of disability especially in non-urban areas
  • Support innovative groups and federations at the grass root level, so community organizations can drive social change
  • Provide strategic direction, develop resources and documentation for advocacy

This initiative has been able to reach about 11500 people last year through targeted urban advocacy and community group programmes.

Over the years, APD has amplified its role in advocacy and nurturing of community based disability organizations to fill the gap that exists in self advocacy capabilities, effective lobbying, growing grass roots CBOs and sensitizing stakeholders. 

APD has worked to develop community leadership skills in the disability sector and create mass awareness among the general public and authorities, using its technical know-how and networking potential.

Speaking in February 2011, after an orientation for members and officials of the corporation, Bagalkot Commissioner Mr. Shinde said, “We were not aware until now of the Disability Act, the UN Convention on Rights of People with Disability and the new government order to reserve 3% in the corporation budget for disability work. Today we have received orientation on laws and provisions impacting people with disabilities. Moving forward in this direction, our corporation undertakes to conduct a disability survey in all 35 wards in the Bagalkot corporation limits, with the support and co-operation of our elected members. We will also provide 3% allocation in our plans and budgets for people with disabilities. We want become a model corporation in North Karnataka in our support for the disabled and towards this, we have also constructed disabled friendly ramps in our corporation building.” (Paraphrased from his original Kannada Statement)

Urban Advocacy

APD’s Urban Advocacy work in Bengaluru and municipalities of Kolar, Bagalkot, Chikkaballapur and Bidar:

 

  • helps people claim rightful benefits under the law in education, livelihood and mobility assistance, transport concessions and housing schemes
  • sensitizes BBMP and municipal commissioners and other government officials on disability issues through persistent information dissemination
  •  pushes for delivery of disability rights through joint rallies, media participation and representation of PWDs
  • lobbies with policy makers and administrative bodies for compliance with the Disability Aact
  • partners with Janarogya Andolan and Samajik Parivartan Janandolan to take up the cause of disabled people

Consider these definitive transformations APD has been able to drive over the years:

 

  • Influenced Rs. 20 crores allocation by BBMP in the last two years for disability work
  • Got the Government Order passed for 3% reservation of funds for disability in the Karnataka budget, in accordance with the Disability Act
  • Influenced first time budget allocations for disability by municipal authorities in Bidar and Bagalkot
  • Enabled delivery of entitlements to over 5000 people in 2010 under housing schemes, NREG Act or in the form of ID cards, transport concessions, medical certificates etc.
  • Filed 150 RTI petitions each year relating to denial of education, denial of health, denial of ICDS and lack of  sign language interpreters
  • Had a medical board established in Chikkabalapur district to provide disability certificates to PWDs
  • Had the audiology programme in Kolar District re-instated
  • Helped five disabled youth become Gram Panchayat members - taking leadership roles in their communities 

Advocacy at Work in Kolar District

 

Kolar District had a peculiar problem. The government had provided for audiologists and audiogram test equipment but the facility had been shut down for 6 months due to administrative problems in the health department. The hearing impaired had been left high and dry.

 

APD’s advocacy unit intervened. In September 2010, the State Disability Collective along with the members of the Taluk and District federations submitted a memorandum to the District Health Officer, District Surgeon and District Disabled Welfare Officer in Kolar. They also highlighted problems faced by PWDs on account of the corruption in the system forcing them to pay bribes to get ID cards and certificates.

 

The efforts bore fruit four months later when the DHO urged the relevant authorities to curb the corruption. In Kolar, the district hospital reopened the audiology department which began providing certificates, treatment and access to hearing aids for S&H impaired persons.

 

See how a little intervention can make a whole lot of difference to a whole lot of people!

Peoples Organizations

APD provides financial, technical and management advice to several community organizations that work as viable interfaces between persons with disability and local authorities. This includes the generic State Disability Collective and three disability specific federations that focus on special needs.

 

Nurturing tomorrow’s leaders:
Village Disability Federations operate within the framework of the State Disability Collective - an organization promoted by APD to empower persons with disability to independently engage with their community and local organizations to address their special needs.

 

The far reaching effects of this community leadership programme became apparent when five members of the disability federation in Sindangi Taluk in Bijapur District, came forward to contest in the Village Panchayat elections. Two candidates, both with locomotor disability, were elected as panchayat members.

 

Not only did this change their lives – giving them recognition, confidence and dignity, but they immediately began to take on issues relating to PWDs, promoting rights under the Disability Act and ensuring access to government schemes. More importantly, their success changed perceptions about PWDs amongst the villagers.

 

Sindangi Taluk has four activists from the State Disability Collective working with over 1200 PWDs across 96 villages. APD played a crucial role in motivating the candidates and helping them in the campaign process, instructing them on the importance of having PWDs in representative positions and bringing forth examples of other PWDs who had become panchyath members. A classic case of “helping the people help themselves”.


State Disability Collective

Spinal Injury Association

Persons with Mental Illness and Caregivers Association

State Deaf Federation

State Disability Collective

 

With over 6000 members, the State Disability Collective is active in the districts of Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bijapur and Davangere in Karnataka. Conceived, in collaboration with CRY, as a forum to promote leadership and self advocacy among the rural PWDs, it now operates through a hierarchical network of Village, Panchayat, Taluk and District Federations. APD has helped the collective build resources and skills to work in the following areas:

 

  • Address specific needs of children with disability through Child Rights Groups that orient children about their rights, and interact with anganawadis and the school system
  • Promote inclusive education and barrier-free infrastructure together with the Education Department, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Samajik Parivartan Janandolan
  • Participate in protests and demonstrations directed at government officials, to get support for local schools that have CWDs
  • Assist PWDs in receiving entitlements and concessions under various schemes
  • Represent people in issues relating to Panchayat reservations, Denial of Health and Denial of Rights
  • Use the RTI Act effectively to urge government institutions to be more responsive
  • Lobby for home based education for the severely disabled, admission of CWDs and re-enrolment of drop outs

Spinal Injury Association

 

Lobbying for the rights of persons with spinal injury, the association has reached nearly 700 beneficiaries in five districts in Karnataka.  The focus is on ensuring mobility, access to health care and entitlements under prevailing legislations.
Through the efforts of the Spinal Injury Association:

 

  • Several people in Chikkaballapur and Ramnagar now exercise their legal right to receive monetary support from the government to meet monthly medical expenses
  • Members get access to therapeutic intervention, mobility aids, home accessibility or surgical referrals
  • Disabled friendly transportation, access audits, health kits and physiotherapy units were made possible in many districts through stringent lobbying with different departments of the Government
  • A memorandum has been submitted to the Director of Health, Department of Disabled Welfare and Department of Women & Child Welfare to seek support for health, social security, access to public places and access to employment for people with spinal injury

Persons with Mental Illness and Caregivers Association

 

The statistics are brutal.

 

Estimates claim that about 1% of the Indian population suffers from some form of mental illness. Any average highway village is supposed to have 3-4 people with mental illness. And there are reportedly just 3500 psychiatrists and 2600 other mental health professionals including psychologists and nurses available in the system.

 

There can be no louder call for urgent action, no greater need to ensure that their cause is taken up at the highest levels to enable access to medical care and community support.

 

Bengaluru, Garden city turned Silicon Valley, ranks #1 in suicide rates in the country- a sober manifestation of severe mental illness.

 

The answer however, does not lie in finding these people and locking them away in institutions. More and more, it has being proved that sensitized communities are the ideal place for healing and rehabilitating PWMIs.

 

The Persons with mental illness and Caregivers Association supports over 800 people in Bengaluru and Kolar. The association:

 

  • Creates mass awareness through street plays, wall writing and handouts
  • Works hard to erode the stigma attached to PWMI across different sections of society
  • Has ensured psychiatric services are available in 4 additional hospitals in Bengaluru
  • Collaborates to develop standards for measuring and certifying mental illness so PWMIs can avail benefits and entitlements
  • Has worked with the government to bring mental health services to Kolar under the District Health Programme
  • Has brought issues relating to mental illness into the forefront, sensitizing senior officials in the health ministry
  • Enables caregivers to collaborate and share their learning and understand Government schemes
  • Conducts community mental health camps together with the District Psychiatric Department.  

State Deaf Federation

 

Recently APD initiated the State Deaf Federation to kick start activities relating to the special needs of people with Speech and Hearing impairment. 

 

Critical issues such as the non availability of sign language interpreters in the community and lack of access to audiology equipment and clinics will be address by the federation as it strengthens its network and presence in the community.