Mandi's Volunteering Opportunity: Balajothi

  I have started volunteering for a wonderful NGO, Balajothi, that supports people with disabilities.  It is a center where people with disabilities can come for anything from special education to physical rehabilitation.   It is open to people of all ages.  This center is located in an impoverished area where people of lower socio-economic status have access to it.  I volunteer four days a week and work in the classroom, mainly with young kids.  

  Balajothi may sound like a common NGO in the U.S.,  but for India it is really quite extraordinary.  Indian society in general places a large emphasis on pride, shame, and family. Therefore, people are more likely to hide things that are seen as shameful to their family. Thus, people with disabilities have often been isolated from society as a whole.  In addition to this, people with disabilities are often considered a burden on the family because they will never be able to provide for themselves.  This causes many families to neglect the needs of the person with a disability or to abandon that person completely.    

  Government institutions also exist when families do not chose to care for the person with a disability. However, these are of questionable and varying qualities.  Many of them will feed, clothe, and provide shelter for individuals with disabilities, but that is usually as much as they will do.  Abuse is rampant and includes anything from verbal abuse to restraining people with chains.    

  Disability rights has a long way to go in India.  This is crystal clear simply from the name that is used to describe people with disabilities, "spastic."  However, organizations that exist, such as Balajothi, do crucial work in advancing the rights of people with disabilities in India.  They not only provide services for people, they also work to raise awareness of disabilities in the society at large.  I am very excited to have found this organization and am looking forward to all that I will learn from this experience.  

  Please check out the Balajothi website for more information.  

http://balajothi.org/index.html