International Day of People with Disability

First toll-free helpline for disabled launched

Now help is only a phone call away for people with speech and hearing disabilities in the eastern part of the country with the launch of a toll-free helpline Tuesday, the first in this region.

Ushering the International Day of People with Disability, Bengal Speech and Hearing Aid Pvt. Ltd. (BSHPL), the largest chain of clinics for hearing and speech disability patients in this part of the country, kicked-off the venture here.

“Previously the disabled were not able to access information due to lack of such measures. But now with the helpline, they can get any information they want,” said audiologist and speech language pathologist Somenath Mukherjee, managing director, BSHPL.

The Persons With Disability Act (PWD), 1995 extends equal status and opportunities for participation of people with different abilities.

However, due to a dearth of information, the speech and hearing-disabled people have not been able to exercise their rights.

“For anyone seeking any kind of help in the form of information on treatment, clinics and even information regarding the rights provided by the PWD Act of 1995, this toll-free number would come as a form of genuine assistance,” said Mukherjee.

The helpline number is 180030001620.

The relatives and friends of people with speech and hearing disability can call and enquire on their behalf.

Source: Business Standard

 

International Day of People with Disability: Let’s Celebrate ability

The International Day of People with Disability is observed to celebrate people across the world who are living with any kind of disability. The International Day of People with Disability is coordinated by United Nations Enable, which works to support and promote the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities and mobilize support for their well-being. The symbol of Enable is the blue UN symbol and the word “enable”

General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 1981 as the International Year of Disabled People. The theme of the year was “full participation and equality”. After this, they proclaimed 1983 until 1992 as the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons.

Any disability results because of an impairment that may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental, or some combination of these. A disability may be present from birth, or occur during a person’s lifetime.

According to estimates, almost one billion in the world suffer from some or the other kind of disability. Due to this, they have to face social exclusion and prejudices, lack of employment opportunities and the inability to pursue personal fulfilment. These obstacles make their survival very challenging and they often fall into the pit of depression and misery.

In India, the situation is even grimmer where the problem of accessibility and inclusion of disabled persons into the mainstream of society remains a big challenge. Also the problem of unemployment for the disabled, physical abuse and inequality aggravates the situation further.

But let’s not lose hope and try to promote a more accessible world for the disabled people where they live without any stigma and thrive on their abilities.

Source: Zee news