Key Events
2011
10th –20th November: APD Horticulture Fair, Jeevan Bhima Nagar
The horticulture fair at our JBN campus is an annual feature. This year the event was inaugurated by Mr David Marlborough, CEO of Northern Operating Services.
This year the fair also featured the “Courtyard Cafe” which offered food and drinks made by trainees from our “Cooking and Gardening for Women with Disability” programme.
The fair was well attended with participation from several of our volunteers and donors. Funds raised through sale of plants will be utilized for APD’s disability development programmes.
22nd - 29th July: APD Garden Fair, Lingarajapuram
APD’s annual “Garden Fair” was inaugurated by Uttarakhand Governor Ms. Margaret Alva. She planted a Cassia sapling and commended APD’s efforts towards nurturing the environment through training in gardening and landscaping.
The Garden Fair is testimony to the hard work of the differently-abled persons under APD’s horticulture programme.
Under our horticulture programme, which was started 26 years ago, persons with physical and mental disabilities are trained to be self-reliant. The 10-month free residential training in gardening is conducted at our premises in Jeevan Bima Nagar and Kyalasanahalli in Doddagubbi. People trained in horticulture are recruited by companies and residential societies.
2010
24th -27th December: INCHARA
APD organized “Inchara” a residential programme for speech and hearing impaired children and their caregivers at Christ Primary school, Bangalore. For the first time, 418 participants from 19 districts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu were provided such a large platform to interact and share their views and explore various opportunities for development.
Various innovative and educational activities devised by APD enabled the participants to become aware of their rights and sensitized them on the importance of self awareness, education, capacity building, life goals, communication and skills for self employment including art and craft.
Finding so many children with a similar disability gave the participants a sense of belonging. Significantly, the children realized that there were many in society willing to help them get ahead in life.
12th December: Awareness campaign by APD’s Mental Health Department
The Mental Health department of APD conducted a ‘wall writing’ programme in Kolar and Mallur Taluks to create awareness in the community about issues related to mental health.
The campaign benefited 3000 people from 24 villages. The messages conveyed through the “wall writing” event covered symptoms, causes and types of mental illness, their treatment, family responsibility etc.
Vivekanand and Team performed two street-plays on the subject at the Kannada Government School and Mahadeva Schoo in Babujinagar on 20 and 21st of December. 25 teachers, 365 children and 170 persons from the community participated in the plays that attracted an audience of over 560.