Day 4: Visit to EnAble India from Ruth

Imagine a world without limits
where the mind is set free
where there are no barriers
where there is inclusion
where there is respect for what I can do
where there is belief in my ability
where I can stand proud and indeendent
let's work together and make it reality.

This poem on the wall of the staff room of EnAble India sets the tone for the whole organization.

Founded in 1999 by Shanti Rhahavan and Dipesh Sutariya to enable disabled people in India to find employment, the organisation now helps blind,hearing impaired and other disabled people all over the country to find meaningful employment and achieve economic independence.

Shanti was our host today and explained that the inspiration for starting the organisation resulted from her brother's diagnosis with retinitis pigmentosa and his eventually becoming blind. Although he was a bright young man, a graduate with great potential, he was turned down after first interview for 70 jobs. He eventually achieved a good position through his own efforts and now follows a career with big companies like Tata and IBM.

Shanti inspired him by helping him to see that becoming blind did not prevent him from doing a range of exciting and new activities- snorkelling,kayaking,rock climbing- things he had never done before. She has subsequently been the inspiration behind Enable India and today she truly inspired all of us!

In India today, there are estimated to be:

• 70 million people with a disability
• 12-20% of these are visibly impaired
• 80% of those are as a result of glaucoma
• only 2,200 disabled people gain employment each year

Shanti had a slogan. She said WDATGOPP is what they do which means We'll Do Anything To Get Our People Placed. They have already successfully placed 490 of their people into permanent employment over the past four years. The reason for this is largely Shanti's enormous commitment, enthusiasm, energy and personality. She explained the whole process of trying to change cultural attitudes and the incredibly innovative steps she takes to help the disabled people learn the skills they need and the employers to realise the benefits of taking disabled people into their workforce.

The issues she has to address:-
Society’s view of disabled people i.e, They are objects of pity and seen as ‘good for nothing’
Lack of awareness amongst companies of what talented disabled people can offer their companies.
The lack of jobs that disabled people can do (eg. because of access issues)
Disabled candidates have not been prepared for the workforce
Disabled candidates lack confidence
The lack of quality training for disabled people
Shanti said she had tackled these issues systematically. She considered how to create demand and looked at the supply/ demand mismatch. To create demand in companies she approached big corporates and worked collaboratively with them to indentify their needs which gave her the time to prepare potential candidates through training programmes she developed personally. She now regularly places graduated in High-Tech companies who in time are coming back to her to fill new positions as they arise.
For non- graduates Shanti has identified a number of other positions such as Brew master in a coffee shop or petrol pump attendant which are suitable roles for the hearing impaired. With the use of dry-wipe boards, communication with customers is achieved. This leads to a satisfied outcome when placing a deaf person in appropriate employment.

Shanti has many other ideas for future development but she said she doesn’t want to ‘boil the ocean’

This was a truly inspirational visit and we all came away filled with ideas admiration for what EnAble India has achieved