WINGS ON WHEELS (EMPOWERING DIFFERENTLY-ABLED)

Hardships are something that makeup a common plethora of occurrences in one’s life. We encounter it on a day to day basis, however not to be mistaken that people at times and in certain scenarios face deprivation more damaging than the average man does. Such is the case with differently-abled commoners and especially children who do not have access to proper cooperative facilities since their early days. As a responsible citizen, one should always take care of the most vulnerable and neglected groups of society. When Amal Academy assigned us to undertake a megaproject we had tons of ideas in our minds. From education to women empowerment, we had garnered a good sum of suggestions but when one of our group members proposed a plan to help people with disabilities. We immediately agreed and knew that’s what we wanted to do as we all were empathetic towards this disadvantaged sector of society. Disabled people are subjected to different types of barriers throughout their life. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes these barriers as being more than just physical obstacles with the definition extending to: “Factors in a person’s environment that, through their absence or presence, limit functioning and create disability.“ Lack of accessibility, improper health care, low representation, an attitudinal barrier, and not the inclusive education system, all account for hurdles faced by this community.

“Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you are needed by someone” -Martina Navratilova

With technology booming and the world around us turning digital, one should also be able to change with time. We are evolving and learning new skills every day to keep up with the pace of the ever-changing world. We are self-sufficient for this change but disabled people who have limited accessibility and insufficient resources are often left out of this opportunity to learn even basic technical skills which immensely affects their life. Technology will help people with such challenges to perform every-day tasks. Computers, the internet, and freelancing skills will make it easier for disabled people to interact and partake in business activities. However, technology is not that readily available to people with disabilities, creating a technological barrier which we are determined to eliminate.

GOALS

To make them capable of getting along with the rapidly evolving world and Amal’s principle of growth embedded in our hearts, we decided to provide them with basic education with the help of technology and aid them as they grow and prove themselves as functioning members of society. We will be conducting 2 hands-on training workshops in a month covering the basic know-how of computers and obtaining access to the internet while improving their skills to make them stand out in the professional environment. With a firm belief in the principle of kaam, kaam aur kaam we hope to open new doors and also let them compete with others which will boost their confidence and make them feel appreciated in their communities.

As part of our project, we will also be conducting awareness campaigns through social media, starting from the coming week to aware parents of their child’s needs from an early age while also directing them towards organizations that can help their children to be better independent people. We will be raising funds for them by using social media platforms and by organizing physical donation drives to provide them with the tools needed to practice the skills we are going to teach them.

INITIAL STEPS

To bring our ideas into action, in the initial phase of the mega project, we searched for organizations that are already working with differently-abled people, internationally and locally. We also read up on and documented certain disabilities and challenges children face since birth or early childhood. After a more in-depth analysis, we shortlisted some organizations that fit our two main criteria, one being nearby due to travel restrictions because of COVID and second, for the institutes to be particularly catering to those with physical challenges. We then reached out to the enlisted institutions but only two of them agreed to assist and collaborate with us for this project. We were able to book a time slot with them to develop an understanding of their working environment and policies. However, due to the ongoing protests in Karachi during that period, we deemed it unsafe to travel and thus rescheduled the visit to the forthcoming week. Our visit to DWA (Disable Welfare Association) proved to be successful as they agreed to work with us while informing us of their policies, working environment, and also methods for us to improve our plan of action. We assessed a few students who are studying there and have created Google Survey Forms compiling basic computer questions to understand their current standing in this field.

The disability is not the problem. The accessibility is the problem. Mohamed Jemni

STEPS TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS

In the first week, we will be sending our Google Survey forms to analyze the prerequisite knowledge of computers, technology, and the internet, which will help us in devising courses making it specific and understandable. We will also be working on the proposal which has to be submitted to DWA. In this proposal, we will be presenting our ideas to help the differently-abled and our goals which include courses we are going to deliver through workshops. Courses will be designed on PowerPoint Presentations with illustrations to make learning easier and more interactive.

Through the incorporation of ek aur ek gyarah, we have distributed tasks to ensure 100% efficiency. In the second week, some of our circle members will be visiting the organization to have an insight into the overall learning and teaching process, to get a better idea regarding course preparations, so that learning can be made easier if needed. We will be having a meeting with the organization’s focal person regarding the activities/courses that we are going to offer and ask for suggestions or ideas from them. After the visit, we will work on the refinement and structuring of the content for a workshop. We will be organizing a hands-on training session by the end of the second week.

In the third week, we will be designing feedback forms to check the progress of students, how much they have learned from our course, what were the challenges faced by them to improve our content for the next workshops. Keeping Amal’s value of acceptance in mind we will also be organizing some public awareness sessions, urging people to better cooperate and work towards integrating the differently-abled as equal beings and citizens. A fundraising campaign will be planned to assist the general public to be a part of this cause.

RESPONSIBILITIES

REFLECTIONS

Teamwork makes the dream work. It would not have been possible without the efforts of every member that we can pursue this noble idea and lead our way to execution.

1. Different creative minds refined raw ideas into well presentable ones.
2. The reason behind our well-appreciated megaproject proposal were the efforts of Ek Aur Ek Gyarah and bringing Amal into operation.
3. Through honesty yet constructive feedback we help each other improve by providing valuable feedback in areas of development which is a great benefit of working in a team.
4. Everybody gets to do what they’re best at which boosts the productivity of the group.
5. Members learned to respect one another’s perspectives and also support them which radiates positivity in the group.

There are pros & cons of everything so do have working in teams. Despite enjoying many benefits of teamwork we also came across some challenges:

1. Due to the busy schedules of all members, it was difficult to arrange a time slot that suited everyone’s feasibility.
2. Due to the lack of availability of team members, the workload has to be distributed unfairly sometimes.
3. Some of the members were not contributing readily as they were hesitant to put up their ideas.

Mega Project has already started making a difference in both the personal and professional growth of all the members. In addition to the development of soft skills, it has developed a sense of social responsibility which has been motivating the group to be committed to the project. The following megaproject will be having a beautiful impact in improving the lives of disabled kids, this will build a sense of acumen in the circle members while completing the project. Along with that, the project can clearly exhibit the qualities of a better and more strategic planner who can think outside the box due to the challenges involved in this project. There are some of the mainstreams that we are sure we will be having a good opportunity to learn are:

• Interpersonal skills
• Accepting Failure
• Risk Management
• Social Responsibility
• Putting yourself in challenging situations.
• Knowing the cognitive abilities of the individuals
• Developing a sense of satisfaction by helping others
• Planning and Strategizing

“It's not a disability, it's a different ability.”