This year the celebration of International Day for People with Disability was marked on December 3rd based on the theme: “Building Back Better: Toward a Disability-Inclusive, Accessible and Sustainable Post COVID-19 World.”
The celebration was done through various activities following the Covid guidelines. Distribution of food kits was done at field level among people with disability associated with the program. The kit included items such as wheat flour, pulses, sugar, and rice. These kits were given amongst communities of Doiwala, Dehradun, Haridwar and Rishikesh.

To facilitate early intervention regarding rehabilitation of any child with disability it is important to identify the issue and refer for necessary rehabilitation. Among various types of impairments visible or not, impairment regarding learning is not so obvious, neither is it commonly identified in one go amongst family and society. To facilitate comprehensive screening of the children with any potential impairment a Centre for Learning Disability was inaugurated at Himalayan Hospital on December 3rd by Honorable Vice Chancellor Swami Rama Himalayan University Dr Vijay Dhasmana. The clinic will be managed by the pediatrics department, in which doctors will visit from other specialties as well to ensure complete check-up of the child’s impairment.

The celebrations were conducted within the Covid guidelines. However, that didn’t limit RDI to reach out to larger number of audiences. The discussion was taken up on digital platform through webinar. Based on this year’s theme the webinar included speakers from NIVH, Social Welfare, Inclusive Education, Swami Rama Himalayan University and Rural Development Institute. Topics covered included: Inclusive Education, Disability Status and Challenges in Uttarakhand, Government Policies, Programs for People with Disability, Health Challenges for People with Disability Regarding Covid-19, Importance of Community Based Rehabilitation and Its Scope. The event was viewed live by participants from organizations across Uttarakhand, including those working on the issues of disability. The event was well received amongst the audiences.