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A special saga
Rajinder Johar in New Delhi.
ALICHARAN, A polio victim who sells audiocassettes at Lal Kuan now lives happily with his family. Jitender Kumar, a victim of Punjab terrorism, was able to open a small tea stall in New Delhi in 1999. Now he owns a house and has bank deposits in the name of his two children. No, the financial support to them did not come from any Government scheme or a donor but from Apna Rozgar Scheme (ARS), run by Rajinder Johar, himself affected by quadriplegia, (paralysis of all four limbs). So far Johar has got more than 180 such cases rehabilitated in Delhi through his organisation, Family of Disabled which now has 1000 members, donors and well-wishers across the country and one chapter in Bangalore.
Johar initiated this scheme for disabled people below the poverty line. "Under this scheme those who are uneducated and unskilled disabled and can't be employed at all, are provided three per cent quota in jobs available, such as a small general store, or a stall selling tea, eatables, cosmetics, tobacco products or a repair shop or anything else that does not need formal training," he informs. After identifying, locating and verifying the credentials of the candidates, the organisation arranges up to Rs.3000 to help them be self-employed. These differently abled persons are recommended to him through hospitals, NGOs and other such quarters.
It was by sheer destiny that after his Intermediate from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, he was introduced to a two-and-a-half year diploma course in occupational therapy, meant for treating people with different disabilities. While joining the course, he might never have thought that one day he would have to apply the therapy to himself. In 1986, intruders broke into Johar's house, then a father of a three-year-old daughter. Johar tried to catch them but they opened fire. He received four bullets on his foot and one in the neck. As a result he developed quadriplegia and lost his job as a senior occupational therapist.
In 1992, Johar thought of starting an organisation for disabled people. He gathered five like-minded people and began making phone calls and writing letters to different NGOs, hospitals, organisations, the electronic and print media. His cable TV wallah displayed advertisements free of cost. The continuing effort resulted in Family of Disabled.
He also realised there was no magazine for the disabled working at the micro level despite Delhi having over 200 NGOs at the time. The need culminated in a magazine, Family of Disabled, FOD, now a major source of income for the organisation.
"Our funds were meagre, so to generate money we started making greeting cards and also hunted for new disabled artists. We started getting responses from many parts of India. Now every year we invite designs from these artists. The artists, whose designs are approved, get Rs.800 to 900 per month. So far we have introduced 800 new faces," beams Johar.
Johar can be reached at www.familyofdisabled.org or on telephone numbers, 25597328 and 51570140.
RANA SIDDIQUI
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