Veezhvadhil vettkam illai. Veezhindhu kidapadhudhan vettkam There is no shame in falling.

What is shameful is staying fallen

S Ramakrishnan, Founder & President, Amar Seva Sangam

Report 2013

Manoj Kumar is back in school after a high-level spinal cord injury at six.

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Spinal Care India spinalcareindia@gmail.com Resources www.scribd.com/SpinalCareIndia.

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About us Spinal Care India seeks to support persons with spinal cord injury / disorders to lead a vibrant life with quality rehabilitation and guidance. We hope to work with different groups doing work in this cause in a few pockets across India.

Initiative Dr Mary Verghese was an alumnus of Christian Medical College, a paraplegic due to an accident in 1954, a great surgeon from the wheelchair and the person who nurtured the specialty Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation to become an inpatient unit. She also set up Indias first Rehabilitation Centre in the CMC Bagayam campus in Vellore in 1963. Spinal Care India is an initiative stemming from the efforts of the Mary Verghese Trust for Physically Handicapped. Her life work gives strength and meaning to many-a-life in India.

We seek to Guide persons with spinal-cord injury Inform, educate and create awareness Support in rehabilitation Influence societal attitudes proactively Link with experienced peer network

Leadership S Ramakrishnan, Founder & President of Amar Seva Sangam, which has completed 30 years, has not let a devastating neck-level spinal cord injury impede his life. He is a role model. To understand the full gamut of his work, visit www.amarseva.org. He maintains a meticulous diary with names and numbers that are regularly updated. Spinal Care India functions under the inspiration, guidance and leadership of Ramakrishnan, who has been at networking spinal injured persons for at least a couple of decades now. Spinal Care India Mary Verghese Trust for Physically Handicapped Amar Seva Sangam PMR Department, Christian Medical College, Vellore Mary Verghese Institute for Rehabilitation PMR Department, St Johns, Bangalore Ramji Public Welfare Trust Partners Plegia.org Rehabilitation Department VHS, Chennai The Ability People, Visakhapatnam Polagam Foundation Soulfree the ganga trust

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Review 2013 was a mixed year for Spinal Care India, not as good as 2012. We made progress on several fronts such as improved networking, rehabilitation referrals, planning, adding more bandwidth to our team and experience sharing programs. Sport was an area where our peers made notable moves. We slipped in networking meets at a couple of locations and in the Toll Free Number going inactive for about 45 days due to handset loss and billing issues with BSNL. We closed the year by joining hands with other groups across the country to set up a Pan-India organisation to represent and support persons wit spinal cord injury / disorders. We hope to enhance our ground level work in 2014 in Tamil Nadu. Identifying injured (new & old), enhancing peer group network, improved vocation guidance, peer meets in more places in Tamil Nadu and a formal structured organisation are key goals for 2014. Direct Role In Ensuring Rehabilitation Efforts by spinal cord injured volunteers of Spinal Care India helped the following persons get access to proper rehabilitation. Pandikumar, Dindigul Mani, Chennai Marimuthu, Chennai Suresh, Chennai Sajjan Mathew, Kerala Parthasarathy, Theni Janardhanan, Dharmapuri Veeraraj, Chennai Lakshmi Devi, Kurnool Ramana, Chennai Satish Pandian, Dindugul Kulanthaivelu, Dindugul Annalakshmi, Redhills Suresh, Villupuram Arunachalam, Sankaran Koil Elumalai, Bangalore Pan India Organisation Towards the last quarter of 2013, there have been encouraging moves towards a Pan India Organisation encompassing several groups across the country that have been working in the interest of persons with spinal cord injury. On the sidelines of the ISSICON 2013 at Coimbatore, persons from South and North met and discussed a draft paper to set up a Pan India organisation as that would be necessary to make a difference at the national level in terms of impact as well as actions. This was a follow-up to brainstorming via emails for six months. Subsequently, a small group of five persons Shivjeet Raghaw, Nitin Goyal, Suresh Krishna, Komal Kamra and Vaidyanathan have been getting into the details of the proposed organisation. The understanding is that all existing organisations will continue working towards their goals. Spinal Care India will join as a sponsor. It will be the Tamil Nadu face of the Pan India organisation.

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Appreciation & Gratitude

in the evolution of the spinal injury rehabilitation model: `Two Indians are jointly responsible for the creation of this model. Dr Mary Verghese, head of one of the first Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Departments in India, was the beacon of hope for many spinal cord injured patients, because she herself was a spinal cord injured patient. The rehabilitation model she used is the now common orthopedic model with its multi-disciplinary approach. Following her demise, Dr Suranjan Bhattacharji continued her work. He had observed that a multiple speciality approach for such patients only fragmented the care, frustrated the doctors, quadrupled the costs, and confused the patients. It became obvious to him that when confronted with the multiple problems of the spinal cord injured patients, the existing models were inadequate as problems spanned

Spinal Care India wishes to record its deep appreciation and gratitude for the enormous difference made to lives of spinal cord injured persons as well as other physically challenged in India by Dr Suranjan Bhattacharji, former Director of Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, and also former Head of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PMR) Department of CMC. He retired on March 9, 2013 after almost four decades of working for the physically challenged through his various roles in CMC Vellore starting as a student). Dr Kurien Zachariah, a physiatrist who worked in CMC PMR, including Mary Verghese Institute of Rehabilitation (Rehab) for several years, and is now Head of PMR in St Johns, Bangalore, in an award-winning paper on PMR Development in India in 2000, summarised the critical role of Dr Suranjan The Most Important Skill The most important skill is examining people. With the technological advances, we are tending to push people into MRIs or abdomen scans without examining them. That will not do for medicine and most certainly not for Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Training people so that the skills of examining are not lost is vital. The joy and the magical effect of touching the patient, caring for them and showing them that you really want to be involved with them need to be preserved. Stage design by Paul Athisayaraj Joshua

across the traditional sub-divisions of surgery and medicine. Dr Suranjan trained himself in the three relevant surgical disciplines of orthopedics, plastic surgery and urology. He then incorporated the relevant parts of the three specialities into Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation as it is being practiced at the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore for the past 15 years. Though this model was created for the holistic rehabilitation of spinal cord injured patients, it can also be used to comprehensively manage any group of patients. Following his retirement, Dr Suranjan has moved to a remote location in Orissa to improve healthcare. With barely any allied health support, he has already rehabilitated his first spinal cord injured person there. We wish to place on record our deepest gratitude for this extraordinary human being.

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Tribute on behalf of peers Minnur Magadhevan, a person who was rehabilitated in 1990 by Dr Suranjan Bhattacharji, paid a tribute to him at the farewell function on behalf of spinal cord injured brethren on March 7, 2013 at the Bagayam Campus of CMC Vellore and presented a memento. We share his poem that also doubled up as his personal memento to Dr Suranjan Bhattacharji.

1800 425 1210

Spinal Care India
Toll Free Setback & Beyond 1800 425 1210 is the Toll Free Number for Spinal Care India. It has been in place for two-and-half years now. We have had about 350 unique callers. There are many repeat callers seeking interaction and guidance on a variety of issues. On an average at least an hour a day is spent in interacting with SCI persons. If it is not possible to take the call on receiving, it is returned within 24 hours normally. The Toll Free Number had a setback for about 45 days in May and June. The mobile was lost and with that the SIM. No numbers were lost as there is a systematic back up with Jayakumar in Vellore. Re-issuance of SIM and billing issues with BSNL took time to sort. We managed to get the service back on track again. We are looking at ways to spread awareness of the number and going about it in a measured manner. We welcome ides and support in reaching the number far and wide. The Toll Free 1800 425 8911 of the Ability People, Visakhapatnam, has been a welcome addition and serves as a dedicated line for callers from Andhra Pradesh. 1800 425 1210 stays a Pan-India number.

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May 26 Ability Day

May 26 is the birthday of Dr Mary Verghese who led a trail blazing life after a spinal cord injury in 1954.

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Networking meet - Tiruvannamalai

Networking meet - Coimbatore

The key organisers were John Samuel, his wife Jesi Thangam and Preethi Srinivasan.

Under the auspices of Spinal Care India, spinal cord injured individuals, living in and around Coimbatore, conducted the annual meet on Jan 20, 2013 at Lifecare Medical Center, Coimbatore. The meet started with the playing of the Maattru Thiranaaligal song written by Minnur Magadhevan (a spinal cord injured person). All the participants were given the option to undergo free blood test (to check sugar, BUN, Creatinine), Ultra scan (kidneys, bladder) and also eye test. Dr Arul, urologist, started the proceedings by giving key inputs on proper bladder and kidney maintenance, followed by a detailed Q&A. Following him Dr Murugan, Plastic Surgeon, provided crucial information on how to avoid as well as manage pressure sores. Then, Dr Parthiban of Lifecare Hospital provided important information about Stem Cell treatment, mainly from personal experience. After breaking for lunch. Lalith Kumar (a spinal cord injured individual involved in HR activities) discussed about the various financial assistance or loans available for the differently-abled. Finally, therapists and social workers from CMC conducted an interactive session providing key inputs on rehabilitation. They also conducted certain games, involving the activity of push-ups. After evening refreshment, all participants parted ways promising to organise an even better meet in Coimbatore next year

Networking meet - Vellore

The key organisers were Bharathrajan, Jayakumar, Palani and Satish.

Networking meet - Salem

June 25 Spinal Injury Awareness Day

This is an initiative started by the Nina Foundation, and endorsed, appreciated and adopted by Spinal Care India.

The key organisers were Sakthivel and Karunakaran.

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Networking meet - Chennai The third Spinal Care India meet in Chennai was well attended despite persistent rains in the three days preceding the get together. 52 persons with spinal cord injury and five members from families of spinal cord injured persons joined the meeting. This marks a steady improvement in reaching out: 18 attended the first meet in 2011 and 38 in 2013. A major step forward was in relegating the medical tests to the sidelines. The entire morning session was marked by a variety of interaction between the participants. Justin Jesudas kicked off the proceeding with an inspiring narration of his rehabilitation (please read separate story). Each of the participants was encouraged to share their experiences happy occasions, challenges, work and needs. Dr Guru Nagarajan and Kannadasan, Social Workers from Christian Medical College, Vellore shared several anecdotes to emphasise the importance of net working and the difference Spinal Care India was making in its short existence. We feel like we have arms in several places in Tamil Nadu summarised their message. The meeting was privileged to be graced by the presence of S.Ramakrishnan, Founder & President of Amar Seva Sangam, who offered valuable insights on his experience of living with spinal cord injury for four decades. Go Ahead in Life was his message. Preethi Srinivasan, Ganesh and Naveen Iyer shared ideas on opportunities to work form home. Please read more about Preethis speech in the separate story. We had a one-hour demonstration of physical exercises and day-to-day activity training tips by Noble Koshy, a Physiotherapist and Samson Daniel, an Occupational Therapist from CMC, Vellore. Cultural activity and indoor games anchored by the enthusiastic volunteers from Nal Vidhaigal Trust marked the afternoon session. The meeting, which started with Tamizh Thai Vazhthu, ended with the National Anthem. An important aspect of the 2013 meeting was that more volunteers from the spinal cord injured community came forward to shoulder responsibility. Noteworthy was the contribution by Natrajan who organised ultra-sound through Aarthi Scans, blood tests and photography of each participant for membership card.

Chennai Meet Key Takeaways: If you have the will and work hard, you can move on and make mincemeat of challenges was the message of Justin. Networking has helped identify more persons needing rehabilitation support Social workers feel more empowered with several persons to direct and offer peer support Self-rehabilitated Sathyalakshmi, aged 60 plus, provided a boost by her dignified presence and views of living with spinal cord injury. Just watching Preethi Srinivasan at the venue was a morale booster to persons who had far less constraints due to spinal cord injury. Ramakrishnans message of Go Ahead in Life was a succinct summary of his extraordinary life over decades with high neck-level spinal cord injury. The deep time and efforts invested by Suresh Krishna (Plegia.org) proved richly rewarding. Five persons were identified and provided training at the Rehab of CMC, Vellore. Wheelchair skills demonstration by Veeramallu held the audience in thrall and proved to be an eye-opener. The volunteers of Nal Vidhaigal Trust were a source of robust support and encouragement to all the participants. The craft works of Vandiathevan , a spinal injured person from Manampoondi near Tirukoilur in Vilupuram district, was admired and received rich applause. The family of Manoharan, one of our spinal injured peers, provided good quality lunch. The meeting was evidence that medical tests and screening need not be the central focus of any such gathering though it needs to a vital part.

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Rehab Mela

Amar Seva Sangam Mela 2013

Spinal Care India members participated and benefited immensely from these two get-togethers. The Rehab Mela in Vellore celebrated its 20th Edition and continues to be a role model.

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Preethi enthralls Chennai Meet

I can challenge anyone with superfast typing skills to compete with me, because I have full faith that with the help of Dragon, I can easily beat them. With Dragon it's just as simple as speaking, and the computer types. The other advantages of using Dragon NaturallySpeaking are: The software has myriad commands that can help you move the mouse, edit written material, check e-mail, and research the Internet.. Some of the commands are "start Firefox", "drag mouse up", "Move mouse down".. With less than half an hour of training, the software can be used to type with ease, speed and accuracy easily comparable with the fastest typists. New words can be taught to the software easily, and the vocabulary can be built to great extents.

Preethi Srinivasan was a budding Indian cricketer and a bright student when a picnic turned into extreme adversity. An accident at sea meant a cervical level spinal cord injury that left her unable to use her hands and legs. Severity did not deter her. A caring family provided great support. As colleges refused admission, her father brought academics to home ensuring that she blossomed. Living with her aging mother and grandmother in Tiruvannamalai. Preethi has set high standards for herself and by her example for others. Her speech was the highlight of the Chennai meet. She spoke, motivated and inspired. She demonstrated how she works as a writer with her eloquent spoken and written English. She has used technology to the hilt and outlined the potential of using Speech Activated Software. `When one is unable to use any fingers or move the mouse much, one's ability to use the computer becomes extremely limited. This is until one discovers the immense potential of a speech activated software called Dragon NaturallySpeaking, which gives tetraplegics the opportunity to be completely independent while using the computer whether it is applications or the Internet, the Dragon is fully equipped to be an efficient and reliable assistant. It is so accurate and easy to train that I would recommend it to even those who can use their hands perfectly well. In fact,

The cost of the software is minimal (` 12,000 last heard) compared with its benefits, as one can easily find work using the software that will make it profitable in less than a month's time.

I was using version 5 for many years, and later was told that nobody was able to use it at all! Necessity is the mother of invention, and I was able to use it just fine. So, you can imagine how easy it must be with version 11, which is light years ahead in terms of quality and ease of use. This particular software also has a special option to choose for the "Indian subcontinent" accent. The Dragon NaturallySpeaking software is my lifeline, because the Internet is my window to the world, and with this software I'm able to use it completely independently. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has trouble using the computer, if we have precise and fluent English language skills.` Preethi Srinivasan has founded Soulfree to work the severely physically challenged with a particular focus on women. Please check www.soulfree.org.

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Justin epitomises inspiration Justin Jesudas gave a rousing speech to kickstart the Chennai meet. A cervical level injury in 2009 turned life on its head. Justin underwent rehabilitation at Rehab, Bagayam, checked out advanced equipment-based therapy and moved ahead with his work. Cognizant, his employer, permitted to him to work out of home. Dogged by stiffness and a few other issues, Justin came back to Rehab, Bagayam for a second stint. He worked hard and went back in a more comfortable state. Then he began to work harder. Independence was his mantra. He evaluated every aspect of his life in minute detail and began to one by one knock off dependency. He thought outside the box to come up with solutions for his requirements. He worked on his strength and fitness, as he realized that was the key to attaining higher degree of independence. His focused approach led to gradual improvement and today despite restrictions in the use of his upper limbs, he leads a life that belies his level of injury. Transfers, eating, grooming, switching from motorised wheelchair to a manual wheelchair and driving his car himself with self-made modifications, Justin attained independence. When he travels, the only help he needs is for a person to leave and take his wheelchair from the car. He leads an active social life and has now started to travel outside Chennai regularly. He is an exemplar and inspiration. With Navin Gulia, Justin has to the most independent tetraplegic in India. He explained how he made the progress, one small step at a time and summarised his approach: experience sharing after the accident, an important first step, rehabilitation and pursuance of a home plan, Importance of being independent and continuing exercises every day, Need for a checklist and setting goals, Doing fun activity on goal setting to reiterate its importance. National Champion Kumaresan, who lives in Ellapatti Erikodi near Natrampalli, proved awesome at the National Paralympic Games. With just a weeks training guided by Ramesh Sridharan, a physiotherapist at the Mary Verghese Institute of Rehabilitation, Kumaresan became the national champion in shot put and also bagged a silver medal in discus. Keerthi Vasan, another person who participated, finished creditably in a couple of disciplines, missing the bronze by a whisker. Joy & Sorrow Siddarth Tamang staged a major recovery following a cervical level injury at Rehab, Bagayam. To see him cheerfully push his wheelchair, get better at it by the day and start gradually becoming more independent was a joy. Just as we was close to going home, his mother who was taking care of him passed away. Siddarths rehabilitation had to be cut short and soon after going home, he too passed away. May the souls rest in peace.

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Peer counselling for children Manoj Kumar (lying on the table to get pressure relief) from Chennai suffered a spinal cord injury in early 2010 when he was in UKG. He made no progress during his stints at several Chennai hospitals that ended up setting back the economically challenged family in a big way. In August 2010, he started training at the Mary Verghese Institute of Rehabilitation, a part of Christian Medical College, Vellore. He resumed schooling and has been doing well at school and in self-care. His parents have been doing an awesome job of taking the best care of him despite serious constraints. 2013 saw Manoj emerge in a major role of making a first-hand difference to lives of others. He visited the Mary Verghese Institute of Rehabilitation thrice in the year to provide counselling and confidence to five children who had suffered spinal cord injury. He gave them the motivation to get back to school. He fielded questions from the children and especially their parents with ease. His parents, too, played a role in counselling fellow caregivers. Manoj also made a home visit to a small village near Arcot to support a young boy who had a cervical level spinal cord injury. That this boy is back in school within months of injury is no small measure due to Manoj. Experience Sharing Program Spinal Care India has been striving to get peers to visit rehabilitation centre in Vellore especially and share their experience with persons undergoing rehabilitation. We have made more progress in this space in 2013. Apart from young Manoj, persons such as Baljeet Kaur (seen in the image), Gnanabharathy, Bharathrajan, Naveen Iyer and Jayakumar have played a role. We hope to make this arrangement a more systematic one in 2014. We are also planning to make a start with government rehabilitation centre in Chennai.

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Experienced peer counsellors

S Ramakrishnan Ayikudy, Tirunelveli

Suresh Krishna Chennai

John Samuel Tirvannamalai

Minnur Magadhevan Ambur

D Gnanabharathy Chennai

Bharathrajan Vellore

Saravanan Coimbatore

Krishnamoorthy Chennai

Justin Jesudas, Chennai

Manoj Kumar Chennai

Venkataboopathy Theni

Srividhyaa Bangalore

Kumarguru Villupuram

Satish Kumar Pennathur

Baljeet Kaur Hyderabad

Preethi Srinivasan Tiruvannamalai

Prabhavathy Gudiyatham

Naveen Iyer Chennai

Artist Suresh Vellore

S Vaidyanathan Chennai

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Volunteers doing sterling work Jayakumar lives close to the Mary Verghese Institute of Rehabilitation in the Bagayam campus of Christian Medical College, Vellore. A spinal cord injury cut short education of this bright person. He has made a healthy business in tailoring. He also teaches and tests budding tailors at the Mary Verghese Trust. He has been a pillar for Spinal Care India. He visits the Rehab Centre at least once in 20 days and does a systematic job of collecting basic contact details of persons undergoing rehabilitation. His diligence is evident in the database of about 1500 numbers that he has built over the years. He is also actively involved in organising the get together in Vellore. Gajendran lives near Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. He had a harrowing time after his spinal cord injury and spent a few years struggling to come to grips with the situation. He even attempted sucide. Then he happened to meet Gnanabharathy who motivated him and guided him to proper rehabilitation at Vellore. Following vocational training Gajendran leads an independent life. He has developed the uncanny knack of zeroing in on spinal cord injured persons who are leading lives confined to homes. He has brought four such persons to the notice of experienced peers. He visits them, assesses their condition and does active follow up. A couple of them have undergone rehabilitation and living in a better condition. Satish lives in Pennathur, a small village en route Tiruvannamalai. He is a tailor, a goldsmith, and a certified gold assessor and also works as a security guard at night to augment his income. He plays a vital role at the Rehab Mela and the annual get-together in Vellore. Always sporting a smile and ever wiling to share his thoughts with other spinal injured persons on a variety of issues, Satish was directly responsible for the rehabilitation of Pandi from near Dindigul. Who had been confined to his home for about two years after his injury and was featured in a program on Jaya TV. Satish happened to watch the programme, noted the number and pushed for his rehabilitation. Pandi is now well trained. Pillars in Organisation

Gnanasekharan Coimbatore

Natrajan Chennai

Rajagopal Coimbatore

Sakthivel Salem

Karunakaran Villupuram

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Bastion of stability in Tiruvannamalai John Samuel is a force for good in the community, especially in the Tiruvannamalai region in Tamil Nadu. He has helped established a robust network for persons with spinal cord injury and spinal disorders. He serves as a role model for them by the dignified and independent way in which he is living, despite having a suffered a spinal cord injury that has left him paralysed waist down since 1991. He is proof that a wholesome life is possible from the wheelchair, especially significant since his journey started two decades ago. Though the nature of his work had to change, he has ensured financial independence for himself and his family by continuing his job in a government undertaking despite suggestions to the contrary in the early days of his injury. He has been a regular at the Rehab Mela an annual get together of persons with spinal cord injury in Vellore since the event started in the early nineties. This helped him understand ways of living independently and more importantly, the power of networking in improving quality of life for physically challenged persons. He has established a similar event annually in Tiruvannamalai, and it has been gaining strength over the past decade. He takes initiative in visiting people who need support. Over the years, he has also involved himself in state level efforts in the interests of the physically challenged. His skills in writing and oration have played no mean role in helping him connect. His disciplined lifestyle is an example to especially every spinal injured person. His wife, Jesi Thangam, has been a source of great support, and an exemplary caregiver who has encouraged enhanced independence. In the 20th year of the Rehab Mela, the team of Social Workers at the Mary Verghese Institute of Rehabilitation (a part of CMC Vellore) selected John Samuel to receive the Dr Mary Verghese Award Foundation Appreciation for 2012. Coordination Group Meetings Since May 2013, a coordination group meets once in a month in Chennai. We have had Justin Jesudas, Naveen Iyer and Natarajan join us to provide a diverse range of expertise. Three of other members were bogged by personal / work commitments that curtailed their participation. We are in the process of forming a larger representative body that will provide feedback from the ground level as well as on the workflow. With clarity emerging on the Pan India Organisation, 2014 will see Spinal Care India have a formal structure in Tamil Nadu.

SMS Alert Service

Spinal Care India

SMS Setback & Beyond Towards the last quarter of 2012, we had started an SMS Alert Service. We had four rounds of SMSs and then came the restrictions by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. These restrictions lead a dramatic increase in cost and the SMS Alert Service was put on hold from February. Even a concession package offered by Tata DoCoMo proved to be fairly expensive and operationally tough due to the restriction on number of SMSs in a day. We have explored options such as web-based gateways and bulk SMS Service providers. Both had limitations the former of reach and latter of cost. We have finally decided to reactivate the service by identifying volunteers who would take charge of 200 numbers each. We will be up and running for January 2014. We realise this has to be constantly monitored from a cost perspective, as regulation and tariff change are always a threat.

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Running For Ability is an initiative of Spinal Care India to raise awareness about the definite possibility of a quality life after a spinal cord injury if one gets timely and quality rehabilitation. It also seeks to spread awareness the Spinal Care India Toll Free Number 1800 425 1210 towards this end. A 38-member team with two spinal cord injured persons participated by running in The Wipro Chennai Marathon in 2012. At The Wipro Chennai Marathon on December 1, 2013, a 63member team took part towards the cause. Eight spinal core injured persons from different parts of Tamil Nadu cumulatively did 113 kilometers. Only young Manoj did it with assistance. Three of the spinal core injured participated in the Half Marathon and finished well. A small team of blade runners (amputees with artificial limbs) joined our team after the finish for a photograph. Collectively the efforts were much appreciated and went a long way towards showcasing the ability of physically challenged persons. The rest of the team comprises doctors, physiotherapist, occupational therapists and social workers from Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore who do life-changing work on a daily basis. They are taking time from their schedules to support the cause. The support in organising logistics provided by five spinal cord injured persons in Chennai went a long way in ensuring smooth arrangements for the team. We hope to have more spinal cord injured persons participate in the years ahead.

We are proud of DAWN Awareness Materials Bookmarks in Tamil & English Posters Banners Storyboards The Rehab Letter Facebook Page Ravichandran, who is a professionally qualified special education teacher working for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, also runs DAWN in Karumattampatti near Coimbatore. Through this organisation, Ravi provides accommodation, training (music, tailoring, basic computers) and facilitates jobs for physically challenged. At present there are 15 persons with cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, Down Syndrome, achondroplasia and polio under his auspices. Ten of them live there permanently and benefit through DAWN. Ravi has experience and is well versed with matters connected to Governmental policy matters related to physically challenged persons. The effort of this caring individual and his work towards the good of physically challenged people is a making a difference. He does such sterling work despite personal health setbacks in the form of skin breakdowns. We wish him more Godspeed in his mission.

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Craft by Vandiathevan

Travels

Anika Collections by Madhuri Patauri

For guidance, please contact Suresh Krishna +91 98404 95095; D Gnanabharathy +91 99625 28232; S Vaidyanathan +91 97909 36844

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