Physical Health India Project #35780

Empower 120 differently abled kids in Tamil Nadu

by VOICE Trust

Project Report | May 18, 2024
Roshan is now walking, running and playing and you are the reason.

By Janet Preethi G | Project Leader

Measurements taken for calipher

Greetings from VOICE Trust. First of all, we would like to share our gratefulness to all the amazing supporters who have transformed lives of differently abled child.

Roshan, being the 3rd child in the family. Had issues during birth, as being a premature baby. Doctors say, a nerve got cut in his right leg and therefore, the growth level comparing both the legs, the right one is short. Roshan's father is a samosa vendor (street food famous in India) in their village. He earns Rs. 50 to Rs. 75 per day (Less than a dollar). He found it difficult in getting treatment for Roshan, during that time our team member Mrs. Victoria shared about this child to us.

So we supported him with a calipher for Roshan and now he is able to walk, run and play. The entire family is happy that Roshan is able to play with his other friends now. He is going to school on his own by walk along with his other friends.

Once again we all thank you for your continued support.

What are the significant challenges faced by individuals with physical disabilities?

Limited accessibility:

Access to public spaces, transportation, and buildings remains a persistent challenge for people with disabilities. Inadequate infrastructure and a lack of universally designed environments often create obstacles, limiting the mobility and independence of individuals with disabilities.

Social stigma and discrimination:

Prejudice and misconceptions about disabilities contribute to the social marginalization of people with disabilities. Stereotypes can hinder their opportunities for education, employment, and social integration, perpetuating a cycle of exclusion and isolation.

Educational barriers:

Despite legislative efforts to promote inclusive education, barriers persist within educational institutions. Inaccessible facilities, a lack of appropriate accommodations, and a shortage of trained educators contribute to the academic challenges faced by students with disabilities.

Employment disparities:

The job market can be particularly challenging for individuals with disabilities. Discrimination, inaccessible workplaces, and lack of accommodations often limit their employment opportunities. Addressing these issues requires a concerted effort from both employers and policymakers.

Healthcare disparities:

Access to quality healthcare can be compromised for people with disabilities. Barriers may include physical inaccessibility of healthcare facilities, lack of accessible information, and the neglect of specific healthcare needs. Bridging this gap is essential for ensuring the overall well-being of individuals with disabilities.

Financial strains:

Living with a disability can incur additional costs, such as medical expenses, assistive devices, and specialized care. Financial strain is a common challenge, and social support systems must be strengthened to alleviate the economic burden faced by individuals and their families.

Technological gaps:

While technology has the potential to empower individuals with disabilities, there is a significant gap in access. Not all assistive technologies are affordable or readily available, limiting the ability of people with disabilities to leverage the full range of technological advancements.

Transportation challenges:

Public transportation systems are often not designed with the needs of individuals with disabilities in mind. Insufficient accommodations, such as wheelchair ramps and audible announcements, create barriers to independent mobility.

Mental health considerations:

The emotional toll of living with a disability should not be underestimated. Individuals may face higher rates of depression, anxiety, and social isolation. Mental health support tailored to the unique challenges of disabilities is crucial for overall well-being.

VOICE Trust is looking for virtual volunteers to fundraise in GlobalGiving and write effective reports. If interested please email to connect@voice-trust.org

Practicing to walk normally

Thank you for supporting Roshan

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Feb 1, 2024
New Life, thank you for being the reason!!

By Janet Preethi G | Project Leader

Rishwanth is now ready for balanced walk, thankyou

Persons with disabilities comprise at least 4 to 8 percent of the country's population. Children with disabilities in the country are subject to multiple deprivations and limited opportunities in several dimensions of their lives. Their families and caregivers also go through lot of stress and challenges in having a person with disability at home.

Community-based rehabilitation is very appropriate in our cultural setting, where social and community bonds are strong and deep-rooted. The challenge is to harness the potential of these bonds for rehabilitation related social action programs. Nevertheless, CBR programs need to draw their resources from existing community development programs and should integrate with them. The concept and practice of CBR has come down a long road. CBR builds on and validates existing indigenous knowledge and information systems, while facilitating access to relevant information and ideas from outside the community. Community-based rehabilitation is implemented through a joint effort between people with disabilities, their families and communities, and the appropriate health, education, vocational and social services.

Thus, the universal mission of CBR is to:

Enhance activities of daily life of disabled persons.
Create awareness in disabled person's environment to achieve barrier free situations around him and help him in meeting all human rights.
Create a situation in which the disabled persons, participates fully and assimilate ownership of their integration in to the society. The ownership lies with the affected persons.

Father and mother of this son resides in Sirganur village at Mannachannalur taluk, Trichy District. He is the first son. The happy couple did not marry in close blood relation .Without knowledge of her husband and family she took a very strong decision to abort her baby, she took medicine without the consultation of a doctor. Though she took medicine the baby started growing within and later during the birth there was an issue that, water present in the uterus was not enough.

It was a premature baby born in 8 months and since vaccum was used during the delivery , the baby had a lower IQ than others.The mental health of their son was not known to them until one and a half years. Later they took him to a doctor noticing abnormal changes in his activities.

As he progressed from Crawling to balancing himself to walk, VOICE Trust has contributed in giving him support by getting his instrumental support from hip to toe for him to walk. Grandma is taking care of him and the whole family is now happy and thankful towards our GlobalGiving and VOICE Trust.

With support from Trinity Institute, Canada, we celebrated World Disabled Day 2023, Christmas celebration and nearly 330 Differently Abled Children participated along with 50 Children. We are attaching the pictures as well. They provided gifts, cakes, sweets, chocolate, non veg meals, games for kids, transportation and happiness.

VOICE Trust is looking for virtual volunteers, if anyone is interested to support us please send an email to connect@voice-trust.org

Differently Abled Children getting gifts

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Aug 18, 2023
She is not facing balancing issue now, thank you all for your support!!

By Janet Preethi G | Project Leader

Fixing of belt and calipher

Greetings from VOICE Trust.

Thank you all for your continued support until now, with your help we have reached 25+ children and hopefully together along with you we will give sustainable lives for differently abled kids.

India has 20.42 lakh disabled children aged between 0 and 6 years. Around 71% of them - 14.52 lakh children - are in rural areas. There are 5.9 lakh disabled children in cities. Of them, 11.04 lakh are male and 9.38 lakh are female children. Among them, 1.49 lakh children have multiple disabilities.

Children with hearing and eyesight disabilities form the lion's share among them. All age groups put together, there are more than 41 lakh children with eyesight problems and 47 lakh children with hearing disabilities in the country, says the latest report on 2011 Census released on Monday.

There are more than 5.80 lakh children in this age group with other disabilities like autism and cerebal palsy. Uttar Pradesh has the maximum number of children with disabilities. Bihar is next on the list with 2.90 lakh children. Maharashtra has 2.17 lakh children with disabilities. In the south, undivided Andhra Pradesh has 1.27 lakh children, followed by Karnataka - 92,853 - Tamil Nadu - 62,538 - and Kerala - 26,242.

In India, a majority of the disabled resides in rural areas where accessibility, availability, and utilization of rehabilitation services and its cost-effectiveness are the major issues to be considered.

Being the second child of dailywage farmer, Logeswari is doing her 6th grade and was identified issues in balancing at the age of 3, the family was not able to afford for proper treatment as they were struggling for food, she needs someone to take care of her while walking because she often falls down due to lack of balance in her hip bone. The family sufferred a lot and VOICE Team gave pysiotheraphy initially but that was not a permanent solution. Somedays, she was not able to go to school if there were no one to accompany her. Being a good student in academics, she missed classes. Because of you help we gifted her belt for her hips, calipher for her legs and walker to practice maintaining balance. Until this activity has begun, we have spent the maximum money for Logeswari and that's worth it. Her face glows when she said I am able to walk alone and independent. Though initially she faced discomfort and pain and being a child she expressed unwilligness to wear the belt, but as she started practicing she accepted it and regular theraphy and practice will make her more stronger.

Thank you once again for transforming Logeswari's life and making her independent..!!

We are in need of your help, any volunteers interested in supporting us virtually (report writing, managing campaigns in GlobalGiving, fundraising) please email us to connect@voice-trust.org

Practicing to walk

Thank you for gifting her uninterupted education

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