In India Project Nashta.

• Author: Tontisirin, K.
• Position: Column

1981. Samadhan is just an idea. In Delhi's low-income resettlement colonies, residents are a heterogeneous mix of different cultures, religions, languages and even cuisine. With no resources for information, awareness or available services, families are apathetic at best to the disabled amongst them. Some blame Karma, the evil eye, bad blood brought in by the daughter-in-law (never the son), the full moon and a variety of other events as the cause for the disability. This was the scenario into which Samadhan stepped. Our entry point into the target community was a child with intellectual disability, his mother and family. Twenty years down the line, we are happy with the progress achieved, not only with the disabled but with the women of the community.

Initially, our focus was on intellectual disability, but it gradually developed into a facility for all disabilities. With the support of the nodal centre, an early intervention unit for infants and pre-schoolers soon became available for home visits. These visits made us realize that the uneducated mothers had instinctively developed extremely innovative coping mechanisms. From making colourful mobiles out of broken pieces of glass bangles, to stringing colourful pieces of cloth the local tailor had thrown out, these mothers had demonstrated commendable resourcefulness and creativity. They were providing their children with training for cognitive skills we would usually associate only with the well-educated. This experience triggered the concept of "Mothers Group". We saw this as an opportunity to get the mothers together for sharing with and learning from one another. It would be a venue for a safe catharsis away from family and potential criticisms, and hopefully it would lead to solidarity among the women .

In an effort to get mothers of children with disability involved in the activities of the centre, we asked them to help the vocational training unit in the production of papier mache handicraft items. These were brightly coloured peacocks, parrots, caparisoned elephants and wall hangings--all very ethnic and beautifully made. Hitherto, the process had been laborious and slow, as the students were at different stages of development with varied intellectual capacities. With the help of the mothers, the quality, rate and completion of the production improved. We could now market the handicraft products. A central government outlet was our first buyer and soon we were selling them at...