DOSTI -Developing opportunities for Socialising, Togetherness, Inclusion -was a year long program conducted by TIES (Towards Inclusion Everywhere in Society), a parent support group of children with special needs in collaboration with Divya Sadan ( A Caritas Project) and Give Goa initiative by Goa Institute of Management (GIM). Six students of GIM were assigned to participate in the DOSTI program for a period of 6 months, wherein they dedicated 20 Thursdays towards the programme which had 12 adults with intellectual disabilities like autism and 3 resident members with special needs of Divya Sadan. The sessions included activities like Art & Craft, Culinary, gardening, games, dance and movement and outdoor sessions at Pilerne Heritage market, Serendipity festival, etc. The main objective of the program was to give an opportunity to the adults with disability to socialise with their neurotypical peers on a regular basis and to help them adapt to new places and people.
The DOSTI finale session was held as an Inclusion Day at Caculo Mall, Panjim on 9th of March, 2023 – an evening to create awareness and showcase the success of the program. A few entrepreneurs with disability ; Ashwin, Sneham, Harish and Soumya put up their stalls for display & sale of their products, along with organisations like Disha charitable Trust, Divya Sadan, The Owl House, Sethu Child and Development family Guidance Centre. The programme began with the screening of a video showcasing the various activities that were done as part of the program. Ms.Sasha Braganza, project coordinator of the DOSTI program spoke about the experiences along with the GIM students. They said that the most important thing that they had learnt is to be more patient & they realised that there were more ways of communicating besides words and overall they have become better human beings now. Later there was an interactive performance by all the participants.
Mr. Avelino De Sa, President of the Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG) congratulated TIES for the success of such a noble initiative. Mr. Prakash Kamat, senior journalist who was also present at the occasion appreciated the students of the GIM for being a part of this program and appealed to them to support inclusion everywhere, specially in their workplaces that they would be part of in the future. He also applauded TIES for their programmes & said that the society should have empathy towards people with disabilities & it was the collective responsibility of all to provide assisted living facilities and respite care. Ms. Elizabeth Kurian, secretary of TIES spoke about the DOST programme that was started in 2010 & how it has developed into a successful initiative over the years. She thanked all the participants & said that TIES will strive to make Inclusion a reality in all places.
For more information contact:
Elizabeth Kurian5
Secretary TIES- Towards Inclusion Everywhere in Society
9822185109