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CBR Forum E-News Bulletin
A Compilation of News, Information and Updates in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities
December 2009
Disclaimer This e-news is a collation of articles/ news from national and international sources. The contents of the same do not necessarily represent the views of CBR Forum.
CBR Forum E-News Bulletin
– A Compilation of News, Information and Updates
December 2009 - CBR Forum - E- News Bulletin
Networking, Advocacy and Lobbying – in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities and enhance the potential to exercise these rights.
Compiled by:
C. Mahesh, Advocacy Coordinator
SEASONS GREETINGS
BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR - 2010
A: INDIA
Diploma exam turns test of patience for this disabled
AHMEDABAD: Darshita Shah, 44, was forced to sit in the parking lot of a college to answer her exam for diploma in food and nutrition.
RTE Act to cover kids with disabilities
NEW DELHI: Children with physical, learning and speech disabilities would now be put under the disadvantaged category in the Right to Education Act.
Hire teachers for disabled kids: HC
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday pulled up the Delhi government for its failure to appoint special teachers for disabled children in state-run schools and said they should be hired before the next academic session begins.
Kendriya Vidyalayas to hire special teachers for disabled
NEW DELHI: Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and the city government on Friday told the Delhi High Court that special teachers for differently-abled children would be recruited in Kendriya Vidyalayas.
CBSE guidelines mere norms on paper
LUDHIANA: Life is tough for them but a silver line of hope flickers. At a time when private centres are coming forward and NGOs all ready to extend their help to children with learning disabilities, the guideline introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to support them hardly hold any significance in true sense. Schools understand the problem of students but when it comes to accepting them, they are still not open.
When will our schools become inclusive?
Children with disability have as much right to education as anyone else. And it is the duty of schools to provide for them. With the World Disability Day behind us, an appeal by JO CHOPRA.
Insurer to pay Rs 50L to disabled girl
MUMBAI: It was a accident that left her a paraplegic for life. She was just 11 years old in 1993, when her life lost the assurance it holds for children. Now 16 years later, the Bombay high court has finally helped ease some of her misery and after pulling up the insurers, directed New India Assurance Company to pay her compensation which with interest amounts to almost Rs 50 lakh.
BEST driver gets justice after 9 yrs
MUMBAI: On 16 July, 2000, BEST bus driver Srirang Jadhav was hit by a stone as Shiv Sainiks protested against the impending arrest of their chief Bal Thackeray. Jadhav, who had been driving BEST buses for 27 years, fractured his right finger, underwent a surgery and could no longer drive. A year later, he was sacked without a termination letter. No reason was assigned.
India court admits plea to end life of rape victim
India's Supreme Court has admitted a plea to end the life of a woman who has been in a vegetative state since 1973.
Against mercy death, KEM remembers Aruna as she was
For 36 years, a room in Mumbai’s King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital’s ward 4 has been reserved for one special patient. Behind locked doors, hidden by brown curtains, lies 61-year-old Aruna Shanbaug, a former nurse at the hospital who has spent three decades in a vegetative state in the room after a brutal sexual assault.
Plan to curb inhuman practices against women with psychiatric problems
THE Tamil Nadu government has evolved a seven-point action plan to curb inhuman practices against women with psychiatric problems on the pretext of “exorcising evil spirits”.
Thousands of deaf protestors bring Planning Commission to a standstill
D.N.I.S. News Network, India: As the Government celebrated another cosmetic World Disability Day on December 3, around 2000 hearing impaired people from across the country under the banner of National Association of the Deaf (N.A.D.) stormed Yojana Bhawan in New Delhi, which houses the office of the Planning Commission, protesting against the non-implementation of the XIth Five Year Plan.
Source: DNIS - Vol 6 Issue 13 - Dec 15, 2009
Disabled children taken for a ride
HUBLI: The International Day of Disabled Persons turned out to be a traumatic experience for over 500 disabled children here on Thursday.
People with disabilities demand equal rights
CHENNAI: On Thursday, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, several activists as well as people with disabilities gathered at the Munroe statue on Anna Salai and raised slogans, urging the Centre to keep its promise of giving them equal rights.
World Disabled Day is a paradox of sorts
MYSORE: The annual observance of the World Disabled Day is a paradox of sorts. It is yet another day for the disabled persons, who are deprived of benefits meant for them.
Coming soon: A law to guarantee govt services
In what is being billed as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s next big move after Right to Information, the PMO has decided to implement the concept of service-level agreements. This will mandate penalties to be deducted from salaries of dealing officials if there are delays in providing citizen services like issuing ration cards and driving licences.
Could we join to create enough voice to also include "Issue of Disability Certificate" in the same too? - Geeta Chaturvedi, Khushboo Welfare Society - for Persons with Mental & Multiple Disabilities , Gurgaon, geeta.khushboo@gmail.com
Disabled can enter Jagannath Temple in wheelchairs
As the country observed World Disabled Day, the authorities of the Jagannath Temple in Puri today decided to open the doors of the famous shrine to physically challenged persons in wheelchairs.
Orissa to launch special drive for identification of disabled
Bhubaneswar: The Orissa government today decided to launch a special drive from January 1 to identify disabled persons and provide them with kits, officials said.
IWAS Games to showcase the fight against odds
Highlighting the human capacity to fight against odds, the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) Games 2009 got off to a colourful start at the Sree Kanteerava stadium here on Tuesday.
The recently concluded International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (I.W.A.S.) World Games in Bengaluru was nothing short of a national shame.
Source: DNIS - Vol 6 Issue 13 - Dec 15, 2009
International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) Games 2009 - Anything but international!
Dirt stains on the bathroom walls, water-logged floors and cockroaches running about - the bathrooms at Sri Kanteerava stadium certainly do not look like its hosting an international sporting event.
‘Disabled’ not abled at the meet
The synthetic track wasn’t the only thing blazing in the afternoon heat at the Kanteerava stadium in Bangalore, where the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation Games (IWAS) 2009 got off to a start on Tuesday.
They play to fight discrimination against the disabled
BANGALORE: They have overcome their physical disabilities and now are trying to fight discrimination on the sporting field.
Disabled sailor completes Mumbai-Goa voyage
PANAJI: Triumphing against all odds, TV actor and writer Salil Chaturvedi, who is paralysed below the waist, led a four-member sailing expedition from Mumbai to Goa in a campaign for equal access for the disabled.
BookBole.com provides them with access to books, materials
Website for disabled to share knowledge.
As he walked along the steps of a law college in the City, Rahul Cherian thanked the stars for his ability to lean over a crutch.
New terminal friendly to the differently-abled
NEW DELHI: The much-awaited Anand Vihar railway terminal, which was inaugurated on Saturday by Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, besides catering to East-bound trains is also being touted as one of the most disabled-friendly railway stations in the country.
Govt buildings not disabled-friendly
PUNE: With December 3 being observed as World Disability Day, a survey done by nine law students in the city yet again draws attention to the fact that, despite the compulsory norms stated in the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, most government buildings yet do not have full-fledged barrier-free architecture for the physically disabled.
KOCHI: EMS Memorial Town Hall has been the venue of many a programme either organised or attended by the physically challenged. But they have always had great difficulty reaching the hall. Now the town hall has got a face lift in favour of the physically challenged.
Change design of skywalks to make them people-friendly'
Mumbai: Two DNA readers, KP Padiyar & Ashok Datar, want the government to alter the blueprint to increase usability.
Drive to spot disabled; ramps for easy access
BHUBANESWAR: The State Government will launch a special programme to identify the physically challenged persons in the State from January 1.
Disabled continue to struggle for access
Government job reservation observed more in the breach
Accessible Ahmedabad, inclusive city
Ahmedabad: A team from 'Samarthyam', a Delhi-based organisation working as a national centre for creating accessible environment, was in the city recently to train 35 architects and interior designers and discuss ways for making existing public and private buildings disabled-friendly.
NGOs & society should tackle disability, says HRC chief
PATNA: State Human Rights Commission chairperson Justice S N Jha on Thursday said the state government alone cannot cope with the problem of disability. Both society and NGOs would have to come forward to tackle this problem, he pointed out.
Disabled get together to make a movie
Kamini Mathai, TNN 28 November 2009, 05:33am IST
CHENNAI: Shooting has just been wrapped up in Madurai for the movie Maa', a love story with a difference every single cast and crew member involved in the movie is disabled.
Walk the green talk with disabled
Samarthanam -- Trust for the Disabled is organising its fifth Bengaluru Walk-a-thon 2009 on December 5 to commemorate the International Disability Day.
Moodbidri: Determination Despite Physical Disability Won Him Bride
Moodbidri, Nov 30: Marriages are made in heaven, but celebrated on earth, so goes an adage. True to this, a bridegroom with artificial hands tied a nuptial knot to a normal woman here recently.
Special kids raise awareness on disability
VARANASI: Forgetting their physical and mental constrains for a while, a number of mentally and physically challenged children participated in programmes to raise awareness on disability at Asi Ghat on Sunday.
IBM Receives GoI's National Award & NCPEDP's Hellen-Keller Award
IBM announced that it has received the National Award by the Government of India and the Helen Keller Award for year 2009, given by the National Center for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), for its commitment to creating an inclusive environment at workplace, especially for people with disabilities.
11th N.C.P.E.D.P. Shell Helen Keller Awards wind up to a full house
D.N.I.S. News Network, India: The 11th N.C.P.E.D.P. Shell Helen Keller Awards came to a close on the night of December 2, on the eve of World Disability Day. The award ceremony began shortly after 7 p.m. and was hosted at the India International Centre Auditorium, New Delhi.
Source: DNIS - Vol 6 Issue 13 - Dec 15, 2009
New software to provide record of children with disabilities
CHENNAI: Children with disabilities will soon have a comprehensive record online of their personal history, medical intervention and academic performance, thanks to a new software developed by the state authorities of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
Sankara Eye Hospital launches ‘Nayantara’ on World Disability Day
Sankara Eye Hospital (SEH), Bangalore, launched Nayantara, a forum to support parents of children suffering from blindness or significant loss of vision to commemorate World Disability Day.
City NGOs unite to mark Int'l Day of Disabled Persons
VADODARA: To mark the International Day of Disabled Persons, over 26 NGOs in the city have joined hands to host an 11-day fest to encourage people with disability.
Bangalore firms turning disabled-friendly
BANGALORE: Nisha P, 22, brews coffee at a popular coffee outlet here. Murali C, 28, works as systems operation lead specialist in an IT company in this tech hub. Not a big deal unless one realises Nisha is hearing impaired and Murali, visually challenged.
NGOs' job training for disabled bears fruit
A mistake made by doctors cost a seven-month-old her movement. Manisha Bhurke, now 41, is paralysed below the waist and hates to look back into the past.
Disabled get chance in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad: Varun Panchal, 23, works as a liftman in a well-known firm in the city, while 26-year-old Sheetal Patel keys in company details as data entry operator. Both these people are physically challenged. Panchal and Patel are a mirror image of the vast disabled population in the city that is fast finding employment in various firms in the city.
Workshop to discuss problems of disabled
JAIPUR: A two-day workshop, “Livelihood for Persons with Disability: Issues and Options,” will be inaugurated by Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday.
Reaching out beyond disability
VIJAYAWADA: The physically challenged Guduri Nalinesh Babu (44) of Mandadam village in Guntur district turned his disability into an opportunity to help several others suffering like him to stand on their legs. Nalinesh Babu lost both his legs in a road mishap while going to school at the age of 12. His parents used to spend Rs 7,000 to arrange Jaipur limbs for him every year.
Govt urged for relaxation of pension rule for disabled
MANGALORE: Dakshina Kannada district administration has requested the state government for relaxation in rules pertaining to grant of monthly pension to physically challenged persons residing in the areas affected by spraying of endosulfan by Karnataka Cashew Development Corporation.
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday announced that all those suffering from diseases caused by the endosulfan pesticide in two taluks in Dakshina Kannada would get a compensation of Rs 50,000 each. In addition, Yeddyurappa said he would sanction a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 each to those who suffer physical deformities consequent upon the spraying of the pesticide in the two taluks.
Web accessibility no longer an afterthought
(CNET) -- Yahoo's Victor Tsaran knows how much time Web designers spend agonizing over color and font-width choices when laying out an application.
Like most kids his age, Auro doesn't want his friends to see his mum dropping him off at school. He's not very fond of girls, and most of his jokes involve the potty and what you place on it.
Disability on Celluloid – Bollywood
B: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Poverty cut doomed unless disabled empowered: UN
GENEVA — The United Nations warned Wednesday that attempts to halve global poverty will be doomed unless the world's estimated 650 million disabled people are pulled out of neglect and discrimination.
UN - On International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Secretary-General Says Reaching Global Development Goals Should Benefit All People. Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, today, 3 December, in New York:
Stevie Wonder Chosen UN's Newest Messenger of Peace
The UN secretary-general marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities by welcoming music star Stevie Wonder as the organization's newest Messenger of Peace
Disabled workers 'worst hit by cuts in recession'
Charity accuses employers of targeting disabled for redundancy
One in 20 disabled people has lost their job in the last 12 months as the recession hits the most vulnerable the hardest – and the worst is yet to come.
Rugby player paralysed in first match overcomes disability to become lawyer for top City firm
It was just 20 seconds into Matt King's first professional rugby match when the teenager collapsed after a player crunched into him.
Geoff Holt on solo mission to become first disabled sailor to cross Atlantic
Disabled sailor Geoff Holt is on a mission to cross the Atlantic as well as exorcise ghosts of the past 25 years.
Qantas gives jobs to prisoners over disabled
Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities Bill Shorten says he wants Qantas to explain why it chose cheap prison labour over a company employing people with disabilities for the re-packaging of its in flight headsets.
Disabled students form union for lobbying, social events
Tired of dealing with inaccessible buildings, overworked counselors and an administration disabled students say is too slow in addressing their grievances, students are banding together to create a group they say will advocate on behalf of the university’s disabled population.
Mum egged daughter on in attack on disabled girl
BASHED and taunted in a park, the girl cried for help. But every time she cried out or tried to get up, she was hit again, either with a fist or a tree branch.
No charges for care workers who left severely disabled women for hours
WINNIPEG — Shock, bewilderment and disappointment greeted news Tuesday that criminal charges will not be laid against two care workers who abandoned two severely intellectually disabled women in a cinema parking lot for hours.
Families with disabled children in Northern Ireland have the same hopes and dreams as other families but often face bureaucracy and prejudice.
One-Fourth of U.S. Adult Healthcare Costs Tied to Disabilities
Just over one-quarter of U.S. adult health care spending was associated with disability in 2006, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
The study, published in the January-February issue of Public Health Reports, found that disability-associated health care spending for U.S. adults totaled $397.8 billion in 2006, which was almost 27 percent of U.S. adult health care spending.
Legislative Parliament of Nepal Ratified the UNCRPD-2006
On 27th December, 2009, Nepal became the 77th and 47th country to ratify UNCRPD and its optional protocol respectively.
Disability not a limitation for Smilley
A team which includes Stay Focused, Sunrise Centre and Sunset Divers, assisted Special Olympian Andrew Smilley with his first scuba diving experience on Tuesday, 8 December at the Sunset House.
1st Arab Conference on Mental Disability starts in Libya
WAM TRIPOLI, Dec 13th, 2009: The UAE is taking part in the first edition of the Conference on Mental Disability, organized by the Arab Association for Mental Disability.
Bulgaria President: No Income Criteria for Disability Payments
The proposed income criteria for payments to people with disabilities have been abolished after an agreement between Bulgaria President Georgi Parvanov and PM Boyko Borisov.
Swiss cut disability payments to Kosovo
Switzerland’s disability insurance programme will stop sending money to Kosovo over concerns of fraud and abuse, authorities said on Tuesday.
Australian bushfire warning alerts fail to reach disabled
CANBERRA, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Federation of Disability Organizations revealed on Thursday the new bushfire warning alerts fail to reach millions of people with disabilities.
Assisted suicide: disabled should not be allowed legally to kill themselves
People should not be allowed legally to commit suicide just because they are disabled, campaigners have told Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions
Pleas for disabled British man facing execution in China
Akmal Shaikh, aged 53, from London, faces the death penalty after he was convicted of smuggling heroin. But he suffers from bipolar disorder and those close to him say they are sure that he was tricked into carrying the drugs.
Disabilities in Old, Young Studied in Developing Nations
A new study suggests that dementia, not blindness, is the leading cause of disability in the elderly. Another shows the relationship between disability and a lack of nutrition and education in children. Transcript of radio broadcast:
C: RESOURCES – Newsletter, Publication,Journal, Guideline,Website
India and Human Anatomy - Educational Material for the Visually Impaired and Deaf Blind
The ONLY comprehensive educational material for the visually impaired and Deafblind which helps give the students a very graphic, never-before detailed tactile insight. This atlas is Researched, Designed and Created by the Staff, Deafblind, Blind and Deaf Young Adults of Helen Keller Institute for Deaf & Deafblind and printed by young Deaf adults at M.A. Rangoonwala Computerised Mini Braille Press, Byculla (W), Mumbai-11, Phone: 23019215/23087052, Fax: 91-22-23018211
E-mail: hkidbind@hathway.com OR balaberoz@gmail.com
Website: www.helenkelleridb-mumbai.org
Disability at a Glance 2009: a Profile of 36 Countries and Areas in Asia and the Pacific
Published by UNESCAP
Monitoring the Human Rights of People with Disabilities Country Report India
Report published by D.R.P.I. and Swadhikaar in collaboration with the Center for Culture, Law and Society - NALSAR University of Law, the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped, the AP State Legal Services Authority, the Asmita Resource Center for Women and Leonard Cheshire-South Asia.
Click on the following link for the report
http://www.yorku.ca/drpi/India.html
The following two videos are of Kurt's feat of crawling the Kokoda Track. For those not familiar with its significance the Kokoda Track crosses the Owen Stanley Ranges, the backbone of New Guinea and was the final stand against the Japanese during the Second World War to prevent an invasion of Australia.
Welcome to DaDa - Disability and Deaf Arts
Newsletter of Design for All Institute of India – Dec 2009
http://www.designforall.in/newsletter_Dec2009.pdf
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Disclaimer: This e-news is a collation of articles/ news from national and international sources. The contents of the same do not necessarily represent the views of CBR Forum.