Times of India
09 July 2011
Bangalore, India

‘Never–the–less’, a month–long, volunteer–driven campaign, was launched on Friday in 6,000 government, aided and private schools in Bangalore (Urban, Rural), Dharwad, Gadag and Haveri. This is an initiative of Fourthwave Foundation in partnership with Sarva Siksha Abhiyan.

Over 6 lakh children were engaged through painting, skits and audio–visual screenings on the themes of ‘inclusion’ and ‘diversity’, and interaction with disabled persons.

Diana Vincent Joseph, director, Fourthwave Foundation, said: “Other than physical infrastructure for the disabled, the cornerstone of this initiative is you and me. It is up to us to open our minds to people with disabilities and understand them for what they are. ‘Never–the–less’ is a movement to make us look beyond their disability and to assess them for what they are capable of.”

On July 15, student volunteers from 200 colleges will spread this message on campuses and in public places through exhibitions and audio–visual screenings. They will create awareness about the barriers and battles faced by persons with disabilities every day.

The campaign will invite college students to give suggestions and solutions through mobile video clips on simple ways of removing barriers for the disabled.

The campaign will end in a conference to be attended by stakeholders on July 22 at Christ University. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SPARE A MOMENT: This new volunteer campaign aims at opening society’s mind to children with disabilities