Voice of 'Family of Disabled' - a magazine covering disability
Tue, Oct 21 01:55 AM http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20081021/1074/tod-launch-pad.html Physical disability caused by quadriplegia may have hindered Rajinder Johar's work as a doctor but it gave him the inspiration to help other disabled lead an independent life. And so began the Family of Disabled 16 years ago by Rajinder Johar, who wanted others like him to have a better life. It began with the publication of a bi-annual magazine called Voice of FOD. A simple black and white magazine, it didn't cost too much to produce and there were small advertisers who brought in funds. Preeti Johar Basra, Johar's daughter, who also works with FOD, said, "The magazine contains anything and everything related to disability. There is information about organisations helping the disabled, activities and also reviews of books and movies written by or featuring any disabled people." When the magazine started, it was sent out to acquaintances; today it is available only through subscription. The organisation felt the need to expand in 1993 when a victim of Punjab terrorism, who was suffering gunshot wounds, came to them for help. He was in a bad financial situation and even his family members refused to support him. Preeti's uncle and his colleagues collected funds and helped him establish a confectionary shop. "We wouldn't give him money. Instead, we bought him confectionery products," explains Preeti. The shop is a booth provided by the MCD and still exists in the Sewa Kutir Blind School in North Delhi. He was the first beneficiary of the Apna Rozgar Scheme, one of the many projects for the disabled run by FOD. Since then, their projects have been aimed at making the disabled financially independent. Today, they have 400 people covered by the scheme. Under the second project, FOD also started selling greeting cards that were printed using paintings made by the physically handicapped. The cards were sold through corporate networking and they took bulk orders from firms. Unfortunately, the modern-day culture of sending SMSs and e-mail led to losses in the venture and it had to be stopped altogether. "This year, we stopped because artists don't benefit from the cards as much as they do from painting for exhibitions," says Preeti. It was then that Beyond Limits started, a space to exhibit paintings made by the disabled. Some of the artists under this scheme are professionals who have done their Bachelors or Masters in Fine Arts while others are absolute first-timers who have never painted in their life. FOD does not give them any training, but promotes their works. There are about 50 artists who take part regularly in these exhibitions. "We give the artists 80 per cent of the amount received on selling the paintings. This way they are able to make good money. We take 20 per cent, unlike regular art exhibitions where 40 to 50 per cent of the sale is taken away as commission." FOD is also involved in funding the education of disabled children from the economically weaker sections of society. To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
