Helpers of the Handicapped- Naseema

DISABILITY is a state of mind and one can rise above physical impairment and lead a successful life with a sense of commitment and dedication is proved by

Naseema Mohammed Amin Hurzuk was born in September 1950 at Solapur, Maharashtra, India. She was a happy active teenager taking part in sports and cultural activities when she was struck with paraplegia at the tender age of 16 years. Her father who was her strongest support died soon after she became paraplegic. Naseema silently suffered the trauma and physical discomfort for several years. During this difficult period her family stood solidly behind her. Her father’s motivation in the form of a couplet always ringed in her ears. 

“Khudi Ko Kar Buland Itna Ki Har Taqdeer Se Pahle – Khuda Bande Se Khud Pooche Bata Teri Raza Kya Hai – Raise yourself to such a status that God himself would ask you your wish.

With inspiration and motivation from Shri Babu Kaka Diwan a paraplegic who ran his own industry, drove his own car and traveled by airplane Naseema overcame her personal grief and completed her graduation and got employment in Central Excise Department on her own merit where she rose to the position of Deputy Office Superintendent before resigning to take up ‘Helpers’ work full time. She participated in the “Stock Mandville Games” for the handicapped held in London in 1973.

While in London she met handicapped persons from all over the world. Seeing the facilities for the handicapped in London and confidence of handicapped from developed countries Naseema decided to work for the physically handicapped. She formed an organization with a few but soon realized that her idea of social work and rehabilitation of disabled was very different from her colleagues. She started anew and formed ‘Helpers of the Handicapped, Kolhapur’ in 1983 with her close friend Rajani Karkare Deshpande and others.

Naseema has received several awards and recognitions.   A few recognitions are as under:

• A portrait of her life and work was included in the book “Daughters of Maharashtra” a record of exceptional Maharashtrian women.
• She was appointed by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India on the Committee under the “National Commission for Women” as a “Member of Expert Committee on Disabled Women” as well as on the Committee under ‘National Trust’ for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation & Multiple Disabilities. This three member committee comprised of the District Collector, Indian Red Cross Authority and Naseema.
• She was invited as a Special Guest for the International Year of Women’s Empowerment 2001 celebration by Maharashtra Foundation in New Jersey, USA.
• She was appointed as a Member of the Advisory Committee of Stri Abhyas Kendra (Women’s Study Centre) of Shivaji University, Kolhapur.
• Naseema was honoured with the CavinKare Ability Award for Eminence for her contribution to the disabled community through her NGO `Helpers of The Handicapped'. 

Naseema has humbly received all awards as representative of ‘Helpers’. She acknowledges that she could not have done anything without whole hearted support of her colleagues, donors, and well wishers.

RUMA ROKA- Noida Deaf Society

It’s world where silence speaks and world flow through actions. But, it inhabitants draw their strength from a dream of being self-reliant and independent. With an aim to fulfill this vision, the Noida Deaf Society (NDS) was started two years ago by Ruma Roka. Today, the organisaton gives vocational training to those with hearing impairment in computers, conducts comprehensive Indian Sign Language classes, along with written English classes to facilitate communication.

Explains Roka, who set up NDS with the help hearing impaired volunteers, “The motive behind starting this was to let the hearing impaired specialize in training programme through computer lesions and basic English-speaking course to sustain them after their basic schooling as there are no proper higher educational avenues for the hearing impaired in India.

She got thinking on this when some hearing impaired friends volunteered to help her to do interpretation work in schools and hospitals. Today, the organization has 58 students pursuing different courses. The NDS presently has two certified hearing impaired teachers for the basic office application sign language course. Other than this, there is a specialized DTP course, which has been created by NIIT media staff and is being conducted twice a week on a voluntary basis by the NIIT media staff.

But the road to success was not easy. Roka faced opposition from the parents of the hearing impaired children. 

“Parents do not know whom to turn to when they realise that their child is born impaired of hearing. Their struggle begins right from the time the child is born and efforts taken to make him live like ‘normal” children are fraught with barriers. Since they feel that success is only possible if their child can talk, they are usually against sign language training and prefer speech therapy which is definitely not the way to provide education, since the child is born hearing impaired. We have to extensively counsel parents before they understand our strategy.” she says.

Other than providing education to the hearing impaired in Noida and NCR, NDS is also paving the way towards self-employment for the instructors. Says Himanshu Sharma, who works as an instructor for the MS office course,

 “I feel that I am able to make a difference to this small community of hearing impaired.”

Nisha Thomas, who was born hearing impaired and is presently pursuing her DTP course at NDS, says, 

“I am looking forward to working as a graphic designer. But, there was a time when I was practically losing communication with everyone around. I felt so isolated, but not any more. With my training, I now that I can stand on my feet and help others like me.”

Ruma Roka says "I always wanted to do something for the less privileged in our society. In 2004 I learnt the Indian Sign Language. This got me in touch with the deaf community and I started researching about the deaf, their issues and the needs. The more time I spent with the deaf, the more I realized the need to do something. There was no looking back from that point. I realized that there were complex issues facing the deaf in the country including lack of education facilities, lack of resources especially designed keeping the needs of the deaf in mind, no avenues for holistic development and so on. Most importantly there is no access to quality training leading to sustainable livelihood.

I found that in India deaf education was in a bad condition. Deaf students are often forced to speak and use of sign language is discouraged. I also found that since schools are not really preparing the deaf for a responsible and independent life, the deaf end up in menial jobs and get deeply frustrated.

To address some of these issues and to bring about a positive change in this marginalized community, I started an organization called Noida Deaf Society (NDS) in 2005. I started from a small two bed room flat belonging to my husband. I just had five students and I was the only trainer. Through word of mouth the organization started growing. We started teaching English using sign language – since we believe that if the deaf picked up English, they could communicate in the workplace with the written word and hence be employable in multiple professions. Thereafter we started training in basics of IT and subsequently expanded trainings to include Life Skills, Grooming, Desktop publishing and graphics and work ethics. When I started, I was the only trainer but today we are a strong team of 15 which includes 12 deaf trainers and support staff.

Our goal is to enable the complete integration of the deaf into the mainstream through education and specialized vocational programs leading to gainful employment. At Noida Deaf Society we understand the constraints of the Deaf and focus on their abilities to bring out the best in them. We have used the visual medium of IT to enable learning. Training programs are conducted by Deaf trainers as we feel that they best understand the needs of the Deaf and also act as role models for the community. Training is conducted in Indian Sign Language using visual aids and multimedia based material. Our trainings have been developed based on market research and are job oriented in nature.

Training in Life Skills and Work Ethics is a key focus area towards preparing the youth for employment. Regular exposure to the industry is provided through guest lectures by professionals, industry visits and workshops. We are also actively engaging with the industry to build sensitivity and raise awareness about the Deaf through workshops, mentoring programs, collaborative industrial training, employee volunteering and sign language orientation. We have so far been able to employ over 170 youth in leading organizations in profiles such as Graphic Designing, Backend IT and Data Entry, Retail, Hospitality, Teaching, Export Houses, Production Units and so on.