FAMILY OF DISABLED (FOD)

LOCATION: New Delhi, India
AREA OF WORK: Sustainable employment opportunities for the disabled

A lot of dreams lie idle on the bed they are dreamt on. But that wasn’t the case with Dr Rajinder Johar. He not only dreamt from the bed he was confined to after he became a quadriplegic, but he started an organization, Family of Disabled, from that very bed in 1992 in Delhi. Dr Johar introduced unique programs for the disabled to assist them in living a self-reliant and dignified life. These programs didn’t need disabled people to assemble under one roof; they could be rehabilitated in their immediate surroundings instead. The role of the organization didn’t end there. It extended the support in attaining education, earning livelihood, providing assistive devices for aid in daily living, training, circulating information, promoting artists and artisans, etc.

The organization’s core target group are those disabled people who belong to poor socioeconomic backgrounds and the marginalized. They initiate them into trades of their own choice. For instance, they have over a thousand people in Delhi running their own tea shop, fast food joints, beverages, confectionery items, tailoring shops, among other such ventures. Friends of Disabled has been able to reach out to thousands of people with disabilities directly and at least a lakh indirectly through its various programs.Their rehabilitation center in Najafgarh, Delhi, imparts training in – Newspaper pencils manufacturing, cutting and tailoring and basic computer skills. Their merchandise boasts of many products like multi-use envelopes in cloth, traditional Indian bags, masks, passport holders, visiting card holders, coasters, table mats, pocket squares. In addition to this they also sell original artworks, paintings, sculptures and other handmade products which they sell to local Indian markets through fares, stalls and other personal connections.