Story of Bufano Who Inspired Many Physically Disabled Persons

Lisa Bufano who died a few months (October 2013) back was a disabled American interdisciplinary performance artist whose work incorporated elements of doll-making, fabric work, animation, and dance.

Because of a life-threatening staphylococcus bacterial infection at the age of 21, Bufano became physically disabled (a bilateral below-the-knee and total finger-thumb amputee). Later, she started her theatrical performance and dancing career when a professor at the University of Linz doing research on the lives of amputees discovered her web page and offered her a stipend to perform in Vienna.

Bufano once said: "Despite my own terror and discomfort in being watched (or, maybe, because of it), I am finding that being in front of viewers as a performer with deformity can produce a magnetic tension that could be developed into strength. I attempt to channel this tension by exaggerating the mode of physical difference (for example, presenting myself on stilts)."

Many people with disabilities remember her life and her inspiring words when facing with harsh realities in life. The world of the people affected with disabilities is a very tensed one. They daily pass through so many worries and difficulties. Even the brave Bufano had finally committed suicide. So, think about the predicament of the less courageous who are confronting the pain of disability in each moment of their lives!

Bridging India Foundation Aspires to Create Smart Links from Schools to Work Mentorship

People with disabilities in India go through physical, social, and economic discrimination and face lack of equal access to basic resources, such as education, employment, healthcare and social and legal support systems.

Opportunity Collaborations bring together nonprofit leaders, social entrepreneurs, and social investors to move together towards poverty alleviation in the people with disabilities.

Bridging India Foundation aims to foster a Bridges from School to work mentorship thereby helping young people with disabilities the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed through employment. 

One such school where Bridging India Foundation has links is Dr. Bansi Dhar School – Bansuri Charitable Trust; Kota, Rajasthan. This is an educational institution for 500+ students from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds where many with different abilities have been mainstreamed. Children with special needs, disabilities receive vocational training along with guidance and advice to ensure their long term rehabilitation and education.

Another educational establishment in this connection is Learning Matters India, which helps children with learning disabilities become better learners. Collaborations through Bridging India Foundation will help provide them assistance with advanced tools, techniques and technologies as well as teacher trainings.

Bridging India Foundation focuses on abilities, and not disabilities, of physically disabled persons. Come; join hands with our great effort! Your involvement matters!!

All Is Not Well for People with Disabilities in India

Recently there was news about an employee of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) who lost his job due to disability and had to take his case to the court in order to get proper compensation from the employer. Read the full story here.

In this scenario, the Bridging India Foundation has decided to help the needy by coordinating the works of different organizations working for people with disabilities in India. At Bridging India Foundation, our ultimate goal is to enable people with disabilities, in India, to have equal access to knowledge, information, education and training.

The founder of Bridging India Foundation had voiced her concern about the predicament of people with disabilities in her very appealing blog article, 'I have a Dream'.

There should be barrier-free access facilities for the disabled people at public places like offices, shopping malls, healthcare institutions, banks, community and religious institutions in every city in the country.  The need of the hour is full implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act 1955 (equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation).

 

Street and building infrastructure (such as signage with audio signals, sufficiently wide ramp in public buildings for wheelchair users etc.) should be accessible, safe and ensure dignity for all, including physically disabled persons. 

Inclusion of the Disability Factor in the Census 2011 and India Govt's Efforts in Addressing the Issues

India's Census 2001 showed that over 21 million people (around 2.1% of the total population) as suffering from one or the other kind of disability, the website of the Office of the Registrar of General & Census Commissioner said.

Among the total disabled in the country, 12.6 million are males and 9.3 million are females. Data had been collected on 5 types of disabilities and disability ‘In seeing’ at 48.5% stood at No.1 position. The figures of other types of disabilities were reported as: Disability ‘In movement’ (27.9%), ‘Mental’ (10.3%), ‘In speech’ (7.5%), and ‘In hearing’ (5.8%). 

Uttar Pradesh with 3.6 million disabled people topped the states in the country. Bihar (1.9 million), West Bengal (1.8million), Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra (1.6 million each) were the other states with significant numbers of disabled. Tamil Nadu is the only state, which has a higher number of disabled females than males.

However, Rama Chari, director, Diversity and Equal Opportunity Centre (DEOC), the Bangalore-based organisation that conducted a research study with the NGOs in recommending the right kind of questions to be included in the census questionnaire, said: “Last time, NGOs had to really fight hard to include disability-related questions. The ineffectual nature of the questions and the insensitive handling of the queries by enumerators meant that the result was incorrect.” 

Rama Chari added that the figure given by Census 2011 about the percentage of disabled people in India is a misleading one given that several international agencies, including World Health Organisation (WHO), have been claiming that the numbers could be anywhere between 2% to 10%. But, the sector regards getting the questions in after a particularly tough battle with the officials was a victory last time.

Now, regarding the efforts of the India Government in addressing the issues of the people affected with disabilities, here is an excerpt from The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s website: “Though the subject of "Disability" figures in the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, The Government of India has always been proactive in the disability sector. It is not only running seven National Institutes (NIs) dealing with various types on disabilities and seven Composite Regional Centers (CRCs), which provide rehabilitation services to PwDs and run courses for rehabilitation professional but also funds a large number of NGOs for similar services and also a National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation (NHFDC) which provides loans at concessional rates of interest to PwDs for self-employment. Besides, the Union Government is a party to (i) Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asian and the Pacific Region - adopted at Beijing in December, 1992, and (ii) The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which came into effect in May, 2008.” 

 

You can find here a list of organizations under the Division of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment: Organizations on disabilities.

Intolerance Is Violence, said Vikram Seth - We Think It's Most Applicable for People with Disabilities in India!

Vikram Seth, the storyteller who helped India capture the world's imagination, was one of NDTV's 25 greatest global legends honored by President Pranab Mukherjee on December 14. In the award ceremony, he said, “Intolerance is violence, and accepted intolerance is violence with the acquiescence of society.”

Vikram Seth was at his sardonic best as he delivered a touching speech at the function. He emphasized that intolerance in the family setup would be disastrous and that we cannot have the spirit of intolerance in the country as a whole. 

 

 

One should link Vikram Seth’s speech with the situation of people with disabilities in India. Why do people with disabilities face intolerance in the Indian society, and why are they left with no option to choose? Why do we make them lose the option to have the opportunities that the rest of India has -  be it going out shopping, sightseeing, eating at a restaurant etc. etc.?

We need to plan and create an environment that is inclusive and welcoming by treating people with disabilities as people first, a soul first just like yours and mine and their disabilities should only come later.  Instead of trying to outcast them due to the disability factor, we need to see, as a nation, how we can measure up to support them.     

People with disabilities are at many instances gifted with great talents. We should be more tolerant and give them the opportunity to prove their God-given gifts. The virtue of a society can be measured by the way it treats the poor and the people with physical, mental or learning disabilities.  

G8 Dementia Summit Vowed to Fight the Disease Globally

Leading nations have committed to developing a cure or treatment for dementia by 2025 at the inaugural G8 dementia summit held in London on 11 December 2013, a BBC report said. Health ministers of G8 nations unanimously agreed to significantly increase funding for research to meet that goal. The G8 summit called for catalyzing investment at a global level. 

People affected by dementia around the world is expected to treble to 135m by 2050. Dementia is heading towards being the biggest health and care problem of a generation, the report further said. In this scenario, the G8 called on the World Health Organization to identify dementia as "an increasing threat to global health" and to help countries adapt to the dementia time bomb.

In the later stages of their disease, Dementia affected people need full-time care as their brain function wastes away. There is growing concern that some countries will simply not cope with the growing burden of dementia.

PM David Cameron told the summit: "This disease steals lives, wrecks families and breaks hearts." He called on governments, industry and charities all to commit more funding as the UK aims to double its spend.

David Behan, chief executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), said: "We know that these people are often vulnerable because of their condition and can rely on a number of services across health and social care to support their physical, mental and social well-being."

Bridging India Foundation applauds the good intention of G8 dementia summit and its concrete plans to fight dementia on a global level. We also appeal to such world forums to seriously consider the issues of all people affected with various types of disabilities. 

Bridging India Foundation is on a mission to even the odds for people with disabilities in India, because it’s an uphill battle even for the individuals and organizations serving them. 

Come, connect with us on social media so as to help our noble mission: 

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I have a dream

Social entrepreneurs, philanthropists,

I nurture a dream for the betterment of persons with disabilities in India.
 
You know how in India we hide people with any kind of disability behind the door or not let them see the world outside while here in the US they get to have a pretty normal life in many cases.  My dream is to have such options available for people with disabilities in India as well.  There are many with physical, mental and learning disabilities who are just discarded out of the society even in the upper middle class simply due to the shame and stigma attached to it.

I believe that the disabilities are luck of the draw and any one of us could be disabled any day or have a loved one disabled, so why do we punish those born with disabilities and their mothers with shame and stigma.  Every child, every human being, has the same desires and dreams, and so is mother's love; it’s the same for her child even if the child is born with a disability - hence the sadness that these mothers live with for the rest of their lives, besides the life being more challenging with a child or a family member with a disability, needs to be addressed and lessened as far as the society could do.

Since in India we have made great strides in learning and adapting all about the pop culture; valentine day, fathers’ day, mother’s day, Ruby Tuesday along with the sneakers and jeans - in other words, we have become pretty Americanized in every other way - so I believe that it’s high time we learnt some of the really good things from the American culture as well like the American Disabilities Act etc. to make accessibility provisions for people with disabilities.

I feel it’s mainly due to the lack of education to break these taboos and start the conversations about people having kids or family members with disabilities. I want to see if we can make strides in educating the middle class - with the education of the kids in the schools to be inclusive. It can be very easily understood by the kids that the people with disabilities are often gifted with great souls and attitudes and have a lot to teach us all.  We can educate students in the universities that the worst disability is bad attitude and that we live in a society where we reward good looks and bad attitudes every day, and so we need to examine our preferences on sheer looks!

I have a dream to create enough awareness about this subject through proper education so that people feel comfortable talking about it. I have a dream to get something like a properly functioning Indian Disabilities Act at the earliest! I am confident, with help and support from strategic and social entrepreneurs, we can make strong strides in this goal. 

Would you be willing to help?  Would you be willing to serve on the board for Bridging India Foundation; I would love to have someone like you to support us in our effort.