Compassion is a gem of human virtue. Agnostic by nature, it does not confirm to challenges and constraints. It is the calling of soul one cannot suppress. It doesn’t come with rewards but is a reward in itself. And those who venture into the space they know how blissful the rewards are though equally aware of the challenges that pave the path.
At the podium, was a similar persona from social sector, who left the corporate following his calling for the cause.Mr Dipesh Sutariya, co-founder EnAble India reminisced about how a personal misfortune catalyzed the genesis of EnAble India. It was during his stay in USA when a phone call dropped the bomb. His brother in law, Hari Raghvan had lost his vision all of a sudden. Sutariyas decided that it was important to help Raghvan stand on his feet. With their support and perseverance, Raghvan majored in management studies from a well-considered institute in Mumbai. But there were challenges awaiting. Despite appearing for 73 interviews, he could not land a job.
However, the big break came, when, Raghvan was spotted by a Tata Finance executive and was offered a role in the finance department. There was no looking back. Raghvan could do justice to his work with help of speech software. Today, holding a senior position at one of the MNCs, Raghvan is a success story inspiring many others like him.
The urge to help Raghvan was at the root of EnAble India foundation which was founded in the year 1999. Economic independence and dignity for person with disability are very crucial. Economic independence can be a game changer. But the path is paved with challenges and one needs to be innovative and creative to work through the road blocks.
Differently-abled people have to be trained individually before they join the job- market. Each individual may be a unique case in himself asking for individual training. These can be anything including cerebral Palsy, Mental Illness, Hearing impairment, Intellectual disability and Autism or multiple disabilities.
In India there are 70 million suffering from various disabilities and this number is larger than population of some countries. Other challenges include social mindsets and unawareness about the perils faced by disabled persons. Besides there are limited job opportunities. Sutariya’s team at Enable has created special programs and solutions to spread awareness on the issue. Some leading challenges include transportation, communication, and visual barriers.
Equally important it is to convince the corporate world to hire persons with disability. It creates alternate pools of talents. He cited examples of Shell Petroleum Company that has hired disabled person for the role of traffic attendant. Other examples include Café Coffee Day, Costa Coffee Dominos, KFC who have hired and trained them and enjoy their success. He said training is important to secure job in the market.
Talking of blindness, he highlighted how it eroded the confidence of the person besides the other constraints it brought along. It was important to accept the fact and then find out ways to face the same. Positivity could make a whole lot of difference in their behaviour and attitude.
It was a profound experience for the young audience how EnAble India impacted the lives of scores of differently abled persons and give them the respect and independence that is human right. Around 2000+ are self- employed in rural areas, 4500+ with disabilities have found gainful experiences, and there are 600 employers engaged with EnAble India for inclusion to foster business.
The audience watched a video that showcased the training of differently abled persons preceding their employment with leading organization such as EMc2. It also highlighted their grit and determination. It was inspiring. It spotlighted the majesty of holding a hand that needs you; magnificence of making that hand strong enough that it contributes to the society and cares for self. Life has many dimensions. Compassion is one.
The second speaker of the day Mr Rohit Varma, Founder R Square Consulting. Varma was happier happier sharing his journey from a small town in Madhya Pradesh to Bangalore, rather than advising career moves. He shared how he moved into sales and relocated to Bangalore, once he could not realize his childhood dream of joining the air-force. Later he joined ‘Just Dial’- a new concept in sales. It was soon followed by an opportunity with an emerging company Kobian. It was this stint that let him understand marketing better. It had the diverse elements of marketing– communication, field interaction with dealers and distributors etc. Life had been a roll coaster he admitted .
He advised the students aspiring to enter Marketing & Sales, to understand consumer behavior and spend time in market. Also, he shared vignettes of his journey into Photography and Wild Life and why was it important to conserve nature and wild life. Success demands unfathomably intense passion.
Also he urged the students to have unwavering faith in themselves and a ‘never- give- up’ attitude.
