Jaipur, Feb 15, 2020: Sarthak Educational Trust and NAAI have been trying persistently for over a decade to highlight the issue of nearly 30 million Persons with Disabilities in the country, empowering them to find jobs and unleash their entrepreneurial potential. Sarthak through 18 skill building centers have empowered more than 18000 PwDs with the support of 1000+ corporate houses. This information was given by Dr. Jitender Aggarwal, Founder & CEO of Sarthak Educational Trust.

One of the potential center of Sarthak located at Jaipur and supported by NSDC and The Hans Foundation is working towards vocational skill building and Sustainable employment opportunities of Persons with Disabilities since May 29, 2015.In the state of Rajasthan, the center was inaugurated by Union Cabinet Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. Embarking its journey of 5 years, the organisation is providing free of cost training in IT, Retail and Hospitality sector to enhance the digital literacy of Persons with Disabilities in India. Availing the benefits of training, more than 1289 PwDs have been trained and900 Persons with Disabilities have been successfully placed in leading corporate houses namely Amazon, Reliance Fresh, D Mart, Vishal Mega Mart, Lemon tree and many others.

Looking at the census data of PwDs in Rajasthan, 15,63,694 persons are disabled out of which 1,88,989 are of age group (20-29). Hence, the need for their inclusion is quite evident, and thus setting up more such centers, where not only vocational training but also employment support is provided, is a significant step. Sarthak through such interactions and various advocacy events emphasize on need of proactive approach which needs to be adopted by prime stakeholders to build an empowered nation.

Sarthak calls for support from various stakeholders such as Government, Corporate, Media, Civil Society, Academicians, Researchers, and Persons with Disability, and their families to ensure inclusion of Persons with disability. We appeal to Government to carve out facilitative environment for divyangs, along with Corporate to actively step forward in providing required support system. We equally request media to uproot incorrect notions, stereotypes, and prejudices associated with disability, and facilitate sensitization and orientation for inclusion of PwDs in all walks of life.

Sarthak recently launched knowledge bank and Disability Information Portal at www.sarthakindia.org targeted at Divyangjan to address the challenge of disability inclusion in the country by offering employment support to PwDs, Parents Interaction Forum, Alumni Forum, Corporate Sensitization to create inclusive and cohesive workplace for PwDs. The services also include Sensitization Workshops, Accessibility support, Job Mapping and Tie-ups to provide skilled PwD workforce on regular frequencies.

Further, soon Sarthak Global Resource Centre will be inaugurated at Gurugram and mobile app will launched to address the pressing needs of disability sector in India. Sarthak also through its sister concern, NAAI would be hosting International Abilympics in New Delhi, India in 2024.