The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : `Voluntary organisations should not depend on donors alone'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 27, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

`Voluntary organisations should not depend on donors alone'

Voluntary organisations working to help physically challenged persons should not entirely depend on donors, Abhik Biswas tells K. Satyamurty

"Many non-governmental organisations for the disabled keep sounding out one donor after another as they exhaust their funds. They should think in terms of getting a steady income from projects the disabled can work at," says Mr. Biswas who has been associated with Mitra Jyothi that works with the visually impaired.

One "gold mine" he has found is that most large hotels need sewing kits for guests who may urgently need to repair the hem of a dress or stitch a button. These are required in thousands and need minimal technology. A few spools of thread in different colours, some buttons, a couple of needles and it is ready.

"NGOs can think of more such objects and not necessarily greeting cards alone. It boosts the self-esteem of the disabled persons engaged in making them because they are earning funds for the organisation that supports them," says Mr. Biswas.

While the State Government's recent decision to reserve jobs for the disabled is welcome, the private sector should pitch in too, he feels.

He has done his bit for this and some companies have gone in for voice-activated computers that even those without vision can handle. Supporting small and medium enterprises through the free-to-use software mode is another of his activities. This has developed into finding clients for small software developers who do not have the marketing reach of the giants. "Their users in turn can be the smaller businesses who cannot afford the licensed proprietary software packages but can rent the alternative products on a pay-for-use basis," he says.

Mr. Biswas has also successfully run a speciality restaurant for several years. "Biryani Palace on Castle Street was able offer a choice of at least 10 regional variations of this delicacy each day. But catering is not an easy business and the management had to be turned over to another group. I still maintain my interest in that field," he says. This abiding interest will soon take him to Spain. He will display his culinary skills at the food festival there and hopes to come back with a whole lot of new recipes.

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