The India roundtable discussions were lively and informative and the participants very much enjoyed the informal nature of the event.

Here some of the participants share their views on disability and development and their thoughts on the roundtable.

Shahidul Haque - Chief Executive - Social Assistance and Rehabilitation for the Physically Vulnerable (SARPV), Bangladesh

In 1988, after witnessing the effects of the tornado that devastated much of Bangladesh, Shahidul Haque carried out a study to examine the correlation between the disaster and the causes of disability. Shahidul felt that little was being done to address the problems the disaster had caused and in response he set up SARPV.

In 1991 another tornado hit Bangladesh. This time Shahidul went out to Chakaria in the Cox’s Bazaar District. Here he supported people affected by the disaster. After six months he decided to leave his full-time job as the Senior Principal Officer in a bank to dedicate himself to the work of SARPV.

From the beginning SARPV has been an advocacy organisation, not only for people with disabilities but also to make others aware of disability issues. The work of SARPV includes;

• Community based rehabilitation programmes for disabled people - firmly based on the social model of disability,
• Support and awareness of rickets in children - a long-running programme which SARPV have brought to Bangladesh, India and Pakistan
• A school for disabled and non-disabled people - based in Dhaka the school was set up in 1995 and now has over 140 pupils
• A resource library - Disability Information and Services Centre (DISC) that produced the first-ever Bangla resources on disability
• Campaigns for stipends for students with disabilities and employment opportunities for people with disabilities

Shahidul felt the roundtable offered a good opportunity to talk about the issues of disability, but also had some concerns about how people would act upon their good intentions once the roundtable was over.

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Kuhu Das, Director - Association for Women with Disabilities (AWWD)

Kuhu Das set up the Association for Women with Disabilities in 2002 to work towards empowerment and mainstreaming of the disabled girls and women. Kuhu is a strong advocate of women's rights and rights of disabled people, but felt that the needs of disabled women were being marginalised in both fields.

The organisation is based in West Bengal and operates mainly in rural areas. The 10 AWWD staff focus on working with young women aged 18 - 25 as they believe these women are perceived to be the biggest burden to their families. AWWD support the women to recognise their own potential, to voice their rights and to challenge the discrimination they face. AWWD works towards leadership and skills development through self-help groups in 40 villages in a district of West Bengal and supports work initiatives, which help provide an income for the women.

Kuhu believes that unless issues of disabled women are included in the mainstream development policies, mainstreaming will not be achievable; she found the roundtable relevant to her work. She was particularly interested in exploring the effective ways of mainstreaming the needs of women with disabilities.

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Maheshwar Ghimire, General Secretary and Executive Director - Nepal Disabled Human Rights Centre (DHRC-Nepal)

Maheshwar Ghimire together with some friends established DHRC-Nepal in 2000. At the time they were looking for ways to support the rights of people with disabilities which they felt were not being represented by other human rights organisations in Nepal.

The nine employees of DHRC-Nepal work across the country reaching communities in remote areas with the aid of a radio programme. The programme is broadcast weekly on a Sunday morning and tackles issues such as advocacy as well as demonstrating ways for disabled people to contribute to the development process of the country.

DHRC-Nepal also works in partnerships, for example a number of micro-credit programmes have been implemented, which are managed by local partners in five Nepali districts.

Maheshwar is currently organising the "challenge versus attitude" trek due to take place in the Anapurna mountain range in October 2006. By involving both disabled and non-disabled people in the fifteen-day trek Maheshwar hopes to raise both funds for and awareness of DHRC-Nepal's work.

Maheshwar felt the informal discussions encouraged at the roundtable allowed people to "express their views amongst friends". He also enjoyed learning about the successes and challenges faced by the disability movement in other countries.

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Rajendra K.R, Regional representative for South Asia, Leonard Cheshire International

Rajendra K.R specialises in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR); he has been working for Leonard Cheshire since 2000. He supports 12 projects, six of which are being implemented and six of which are in the planning stages. Rajendra's work takes him across India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He finds the work challenging and hard but also great for learning, and effective in demonstrating how the CBR approach can change people's lives.

Leonard Cheshire is also working towards inclusive education and employment rights for disabled people; Rajendra sees advocacy and campaigning as playing a big part in this.

The roundtable had been useful to Rajendra as it has given him more insights into mainstreaming and how to implement it in his work, which will be beneficial to the expansion of his programme. It gives a clear message that conditions are improving and it provides an opportunity to explain about how organisations like Leonard Cheshire are responding to the needs of disabled people. The roundtable also offered an opportunity to make new friends across the region.

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Ranchod Soni - English and computer teacher, secondary school section, Blind People's Association (BPA)

Ranchod Soni has been at the BPA for 17 years. Over this time he has seen the BPA change enormously as many new projects and programmes have developed, for example, drama, poetry courses, computer training and sports such as cricket.

Ranchod believes that the success of the BPA lies in the fact that it works not just with disabled people's organisations but has many links with other organisations. One such collaboration is with the National Institute of Design, which sensitises design students to disability issues.

After the earthquake in Bhuj, 2001, the BPA ran disaster management training with local emergency teams. Although the training was aimed at disabled people the courses were so successful that non-disabled people also wanted to take part.

Ranchod felt the roundtable had been a useful experience and the informal environment encouraged people to voice their opinions and share experiences.