First Ever E-Magazine | December 2011 | www ... - Oshwal Centre

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EditorialOn behalf of the Oshwal M&C TeamThe theme for 2011 was “Together for a better worldfor all: Including persons with disabilities indevelopment.”Jai Jinendra,Welcome to the first ever Oshwal News E-Magazine!This Special Edition E-Magazine is a joint collaboration bythe Oshwal Media & Communication (M&C) team andEnabling Network, to mark the 2011 International Day ofthe Disabled Person on 3rd December.A Voice for Disability IssuesAs Urvina Shah explains in her article entitled “What isEnabling Network?” on page 4, disability within theOshwal community is a very real and tangible issue, butat times is treated as a taboo issue. Many disabledmembers of our Oshwal Family have become disengagedand disenchanted with the wider Oshwal community.There are various reasons for this as was highlighted in arecent workshop held on disability issues at OshwalCentre in September 2011.To raise awareness of disability issues and address someof the concerns of the disabled members of ourcommunity, the OAUK Executive Committee formallyestablished Enabling Network as a new committee inOctober 2011. This means that the disabled members ofour community now have a direct voice within the OshwalAssociation of the UK (OAUK) Executive Committee. Thisis a fantastic step forward for our community.International Day of the Disabled PersonThe annual observance of the International Day ofDisabled Persons was proclaimed in 1992, by the UnitedNations General Assembly resolution 47/3. Theobservance of the Day aims to promote an understandingof disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity,rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It alsoseeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived fromthe integration of persons with disabilities in every aspectof political, social, economic and cultural life.As explained on the United Nations’ website “Personswith disabilities make up an estimated 15 per cent of theworld’s population. Almost one-fifth of the estimatedglobal total of persons living with disabilities or between110-190 million encounter significant difficulties.Furthermore, a quarter of the global population is directlyaffected by disability, as care-givers or family members.“Persons with disabilities encounter many disadvantagesin their societies and are often subjected to stigma anddiscrimination. They remain largely marginalized,disproportionately poorer, frequently unemployed andhave higher rates of mortality. Furthermore, they arelargely excluded from civil and political processes and areoverwhelmingly voiceless in matters that affect them andtheir society.“Experience shows that when persons with disabilities areempowered to participate and lead the process ofdevelopment, their entire community benefits as theirinvolvement creates opportunities for everyone – with orwithout a disability. Including persons with disabilities andtheir communities in developmental efforts is important toadvance the development agenda.“Thus it is imperative that development efforts around theworld include disability issues when determining policies,programmes, as well as allocating funds fordevelopmental programmes and projects. Mainstreamingdisability in development is a strategy for achievingequality for persons with disabilities…thereby contributingto the realization of a “society for all” in the twenty-firstcentury.” 1Thank you!Thank you to all those who contributed, many of whomhave shared very personal and somewhat difficult andemotional experiences they have had with disabilities.Without your contribution and courage this E-Magazinewould not have been possible.Ashish Jayantilal Patani1 Extract from the United Nations’ website, www.un.orgOshwal News E-Magazine of the O.A.U.K. 3 December 2011 Edition
What is Enabling Network?by, Urvina ShahFrom there, through the guidance of Nirmal Shah (NorthWest Area Chairperson) and Chetan Shah (North WestArea Secretary), EN was established as a sub-committeeunder North West Area.According to The Papworth Trust, there areapproximately 650 million disabled peopleworldwide, which is around 10% of the world’spopulation. The UK is estimated to have 11 m illiondisabled people, or approximately 17% of the population.The alarming truth is that within our own Oshwal Familywe have no consistent and reliable information regardingdisability. If we were to apply the national average of 17%to our community of 25,000 strong, this would meanapproximately 4,250 people are likely to have somedisability within our community.The UK Government’s vision is to ensure “by 2025,disabled people in Britain have full opportunities andchoices to improve their quality of life and be r espectedand included as equal members of society.” The questionis what are we as a community doing on this importantissue?Aims of Enabling NetworkWith this in mind ENABLING NETWORK was formed tochange perspectives, raise awareness and instil anunderstanding about disabilities (such as physicaldisability, learning difficulties, visual difficulties etc) tocreate a c ommunity of openness, tolerance and socialinclusion at all levels (such as religious functions, socialevents, sports activities, etc).EN’s longer-term aims would be to see those less able orwith learning difficulties be ac cepted as part of theOshwal Family. EN has taken the first small stepstowards tackling disability issues within our community,but we need your help if we are to achieve the longertermaims. If disability affects you or someone you lovethen come and j oin the EN team. Help us improve thequality of life of those affected.Enabling Network as a CommitteeEN was established on 2nd October 2010 during theOshwal Career & Development Fair, where it held a smallworkshop looking at disability issues.Following on from the September 2011 workshop ondisability issues, EN was formally established as acommittee by the OAUK Executive Committee in October2011.EN Committee MembersEN has 14 committee members as follows, each of whomis affected directly or indirectly by disability.• Anjali Gudhka • Ashish Patani• Dhiraj Shah • Jitendra Malde• Kalpi Shah • Rahki Haria• Rumit Shah • Sarita Shah• Shama Shah • Shital Shah• Smita Shah • Sweta Shah• Urvina Shah • Ushma ShahEN MembersAside from EN Committee Members, any Oshwalmember who is either directly or indirectly affected bydisability or has specialist knowledge about disabilitymatters can be a member of EN.Membership of EN is free and open to any Oshwalmember. To become a member please contact EN as percontact details below.Membership of EN will help strengthen the voice aboutdisability issues within our community further to bringabout much needed c hanges to educate and raiseawareness about the range of disability issues within ourcommunity and also to support the disabled members ofour community to help them re-engage with the widerOshwal community.Working together we can make things better for allOshwal members, irrespective of their abilities ordisabilities.EN ActivitiesDisability SurveyIn order to better understand how disability affectsOshwal members, EN has launched the disability survey,Oshwal News E-Magazine of the O.A.U.K. 4 December 2011 Edition
Page 6 and 7: ~ What is Enabling Network? ~which
Page 8 and 9: What is it like in Inclusive Educat
Page 10 and 11: Never Give Up HopeBy, Parul ShahMy
Page 12 and 13: Who looks after Carers?by, Varsha D
Page 14 and 15: Barnet Asian Carers Groupby, Suresh
Page 16 and 17: Riks’ StoryContributed by, Anthon
Page 18 and 19: Neuro-diversityOrlando Bloom, Whoop
Page 20 and 21: ~ Neuro-diversity ~DyslexiaMany peo
Page 22 and 23: ~ Global Developmental Delay ~Her p
Page 24 and 25: ~ Peaks and troughs of a Family Fac
Page 26 and 27: ~ ENABLING NETWORK ~Since the Works
Page 28: General InformationAs an Oshwal Mem

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