Ms. Sminu Jindal

February 15, 2011

Stand up and be Counted- Census of India 2011

New Delhi, February 10, 2011:

The head count for the Census 2011 has begun today. It is important to be counted especially if you are a person with disability or you have a member with disability in your family be it child or an elderly parent.

Majority of people with disabilities in our country are confined within the four walls of their homes. This is not because they are not capable of participating or contributing in the society but because there are no facilities for them. Most public facilities – transportation, water and sanitation, health services, educational institutions, workplaces, markets, religious places and theatres – are inaccessible or difficult to get and use, for persons with disabilities. One of the reasons for this is that there is no authentic data on number of people with disabilities in the country. They are not counted.

In the previous Census conducted during 2001 only 2.13% of the population was reported disabled. According to various other estimates, World Bank Studies and the United Nations, 5-10% of the population has disability. One of the reasons for this underestimation was that there was hesitancy on the part of census enumerators to ask the question on disability or a presumption that there were no persons with disability in the household and a reluctance of part of certain families to disclose that there was disabled child/member in their family.

: Participants of the awareness rally were persons with disabilities themselves who will go to all parts of the city to spread awareness on the need to be counted.

“Census 2011 is at your door. Bring the missing millions to the forefront; don’t hide them behind closed walls. Yes, I am talking about children, adults and elderly with disabilities. Ensure you answer Question 9 when enumerators come to you! By hiding them you deny them that right of being a citizen and you deny the Government an opportunity to plan for their empowerment. This is the time to change! And you can change it by enumerating people with disabilities! STAND UP and BE COUNTED. Let them reap the benefits this great democracy called India has to offer to them. I strongly urge each one of you to ensure that no one gets left out in this head count. Inclusive Census can only ensure Inclusive India!” said Ms. Sminu Jindal, Founder-Svayam, Chair-ARUNIM, MD-Jindal SAW Ltd.

: Ms. Sminu Jindal along with other officials flagging off the awareness rally for Census 2011

We all must be aware that 5-Year Plans, Yearly Plans, Policies, resources and facilities are calculated and planned on the basis of Census data. It is therefore extremely crucial that realistic data emerges from the Census.

If you are a person with disability or have a member with disability in family, you should not miss out on answering a question on disability. If you do, there may be no improvement in facilities for persons with disabilities and their families for the next ten years, till the next Census takes place in 2021!

Census of India 2011 has with great efforts of disability sector included Question No. 9 on disability and the disabilities covered are, disability of Seeing, Hearing, Speech, Movement, Mental Retardation (M.R.), Mental Illness, Multiple (More Than One) and Any Other. Ensure that you answer it for the simple reason – if you are counted- you are planned for and a budget is allocated for meeting your developmental needs. Even if there is no member with disability, they should ensure that the column is filled with a NO.

regards

Svayam Team

News Coverage in The Hindu:

NEW DELHI: “Stand up and be counted” is the clarion call for the disabled by various disability rights organisations to have themselves enumerated in the final round of the 2011 Census now under way across the country.

While the enumerators have, this time round, been intensely trained and sensitised on dealing with the issue of disability during the count, various non-government organisations have also chipped in by asking their members not to hide any details as they would help in planning for the future.

Svayam founder Sminu Jindal, herself a wheelchair user after an accident at the age of seven, said children, adults and the elderly with disabilities should ensure they answer question No. 9.

“By hiding them [the disabled] you deny them the right to be a citizen and deny the government an opportunity to plan for their empowerment. Let them reap the benefits this democracy has to offer. Ensure that no one gets left out in this head count. Only an inclusive Census can ensure an inclusive India,” she said.

Ms. Jindal lamented that a majority of the people with disabilities remain confined within the four walls of their home not because they are not capable of participating or contributing to the society, but due to lack of facilities.

Most public facilities — transportation, water and sanitation, health services, educational institutions, workplaces, markets, religious places and theatres — are inaccessible or difficult to get around for persons with disabilities.

Stating the reasons for this as lack of authentic data on the number of people with disabilities in the country and their not being counted, she said now that the Census is taking them into consideration it is time to stand up and be counted.

To read more please visit website of The Hindu at http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/11/stories/2011021166160700.htm

October 25, 2010

“Svayam Accessibility Awards” announced

Media Release:

To host these awards at TRANSED – 13th international conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and the Disabled persons to be held from September 17th -20th 2012 at New Delhi, India.

Svayam (an initiative of Sminu Jindal Charitable Trust) and the host of the 13th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled People- TRANSED 2012, today announced institution of the first ever Accessibility awards. To be given on the sidelines of the conference, the awards will be conferred on agencies involved in development and maintenance of most accessible public places. These awards will play a pivotal role in encouraging the development of policies, practices and relationships to ensure that achievements on accessibility are sustainable and meaningful.

The Theme of TRANSED 2012 is – “Seamless access for all: Universal Design in Transport system and built infrastructure, a key element in the creation of livable cities.’’

“It is an effort to recognize committed businesses and organizations that go significantly beyond the legal requirements of providing excellent accessibility initiatives to accommodate people with disabilities. The three different categories of the award will be – Transport, Heritage Site /Place of Tourist Interest and Hospitality. The awards will acknowledge agencies taking social initiative and will motivate others in the community to step up and take positive action,” said Sminu Jindal.

Svayam was awarded the bid for the 13th TRANSED at Transport Research Bureau of USA against Germany and South Africa. TRANSED 2012 is designed to review advances in research, profile international breakthroughs and explore perspectives for technological innovations in response to the mobility challenges of an ageing population and persons with disabilities. It also aims to examine ways to address challenges associated with improving mobility and transportation needs for the elderly and disabled.

Svayam has been making tremendous efforts for making India accessible to all. It has been closely working with various groups/ agencies to provide an inclusive infrastructure for all. Svayam was also awarded the National Tourism Award of Excellence jointly with ASI for making the World Heritage Site of Qutab Minar in New Delhi as Most Accessible & Disabled Friendly Historical Monument.

About TRANSED

Founded in the 1970’s by Professor Norman Ashford (University of Loughborough) and Professor William Bell (University of Florida), the International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled People has been held twelve times in ten countries. From its roots as a small, specialized meeting among a handful of researchers, the conference today attracts between 200 and 600 delegates from up to 40 nations on six continents. Conference proceedings are a standard reference for researchers, planners and operators alike, and are referenced in the TRB Transport Research Information System TRIS.

Professionals and consumers throughout the world recognize the TRANSED series conferences as the key forum for scientific and philosophical advances in the pursuit of mobility and access for elderly and disabled people.

About Svayam and its founder Ms. Sminu Jindal

Svayam an Initiative of Sminu Jindal Charitable Trust has been working towards providing independence and dignity to people with reduced mobility. Svayam has been engaged in making various public places accessible to all especially the elderly and disabled.

As the result of an accident at the age of eleven, the founder of Svayam, Ms. Sminu Jindal became a wheelchair user but this did not deter her spirits and she is dedicated to the cause of improving the lives of people with reduced mobility. She devotes extensive time, resources and energy to realize Svayam′s mandate to work towards making public infrastructure accessible to all including reduced mobility people.
Discharging a dual role of being a successful businesswoman, as the Managing Director of Jindal SAW Ltd., and a person dedicated to creating social consciousness by way of Svayam, Sminu Jindal was undeterred by time or familial constraints. She has and continues to carry out all her roles, including being a mother of two children, beautifully. Every new role adds a new facet to her personality.

Svayam aspires to make India barrier free and provide universal access to all. It aims at not only generating awareness about the trials and tribulations of people with reduced mobility (that includes the elderly, expecting mothers, mothers with new born babies as well as toddlers and persons with disabilities) but also mould the opinions of public and policy makers in favour of public private participation in providing and executing accessibility solutions.

March 17, 2010

Wheeled Warrior – An article focusing Ms. Sminu Jindal, Founder-Svayam

Wheeled warrior (To read from source click here)

By: Swati Kumari, Date: 2010-03-15, Place: Delhi, Mid Day

The wheelchair doesn’t confine Sminu Jindal’s spirit from working towards finding work for the the differently-abled, like herself

And thus she spoke: Sminu Jindal has moved many with her determination

35-year-old Sminu Jindal thinks no movement must be restricted to that. She is busy juggling office work and household chores on a wheelchair, but there’s always room for more. Paralysed waist downwards, Sminu does not believe on sitting on her laurels. She is the founder of Svayam — an initiative that has been working towards providing independence and dignity to people with reduced mobility. Svayam has been engaged in making various public places accessible to all, especially the elderly and the disabled.

She is also the chairperson of ‘Arunim’ (Association for Rehabilitation under National Trust Initiative in Marketing) and Managing Director of Jindal SAW, apart being a mother of two. We could finds out how this Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2009, who was recognised by the World Economic Forum as an under-40 leader, manages it all.

How did you muster the courage to start your own cause?

I was confined, but I never allowed my spirit to be chained. On the contrary, it added wheels to my determination. I wanted to take life head on, not only for myself, but for the millions of others who needed support. That’s the reason why Svayam was conceptualised. The results are already showing. I feel that the government is now far more sensitive about introducing disabled-friendly outfits in sectors that affect the day-to-day lives of people.

How did you decide to be a part of Arunim, and what is its role?

National Trust discussed the launch of a first-of-its-kind Marketing Board for the disabled ‘ARUNIM’ (Association for Rehabilitation under National Trust Initiative in Marketing) with us, and invited me to be the chairperson. I was highly obliged. Arunim was launched to act as a step towards economic empowerment of persons with severe to profound disabilities, who have limited opportunities for open placement. We them in securing livelihood and capacity building through production of goods that are market-driven, making them competitive and market compatible.

And your third role, that of an MD.

Things started changing once I joined a part-time MBA programme at the Fore School of Management. I chose to do a part-time programme, because by this time I was in-charge of a unit that was not doing too well. So, I really had to give it my best there and in the evening I would go and study. While I was ascending the ladder in business, I also had to face skepticism. In a Marwari society, you really do not find women at work. People think that women just can’t do it when it comes to industrial work.

What does your typical day look like? One hour of yoga and cardio exercises, lots of work in office, digging information on ‘crystal therapy’ and giving constant feedback to different organisations who approach me, besides being involved in Svayam’s and Arunim’s activities as well.

Did you find enough support?

My parents have been really supportive since my childhood. I am so glad that they were tough when they needed to be tough. Of course, they were kind and loving, too. I really appreciate their faith in me. My family is full of selfless people, who have helped me to understand myself.

I have not had a problem in accepting my condition, and neither has my husband. I am a mother of two, (Arjan and Anav) aged six and three, and divide time between work and children along with Svayam. I expect my kids to become more sensitive and actually take forward my work at Svayam.

How can the common man make a difference in such a cause?

I believe that growth is possible when you include everybody. Hence, everyone whether able-bodied or mobility challenged, should be treated with dignity and given equal opportunities.

It’s a matter of developing the right attitude, and believe me, it ain’t rocket science!

October 1, 2001

The Hindu covers Launch of Svayam Portal: 01 October 2000

A website for disabled

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 01, 2000.

Though a small step towards helping the disabled people reap the benefits of Internet, a non-governmental portal was launched by the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Digvijay Singh, at a function here today.

Providing an interactive platform for the disabled to voice their opinion, concerns and hopes, the website svayam.com claims to act as a bridge between the disabled and over 2,500 institutions working for the cause to improve quality of life of physically and mentally challenged people. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Singh hoped that the website would go a long way in helping the cause of the disabled.

“The aim is to provide information regarding education, rehabilitation, vocational training, employment, legal and other such issues to the disabled and their families to enable them to be aware of the avenues available to them,” said Ms. Sminu Jindal, the brain behind the website. Physically challenged, Ms. Jindal is the director of the Saw Pipes.

According to Mr. Indresh Batra who has developed the site, svayam.com would soon have large text option for people with low vision and voice enabled sections. The portal would soon be available in different languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Oriya, Marathi, Gujarati and Malayalam.

“In the next phase the portal would also offer services like on-line shopping centre, on-line bookings and e-payment,” he said.

Source: The Hindu