December 3rd - Day of and Day to be with the Disabled!

Introduction

 Humans are not merely born humans but become humans through the process of socialization in the human society. This is the fact and through such a process humans are formed from the womb to the tomb through various life cyclic events. Here, humans through various formation centres get formed to live and to face any challenges in life. Family as sanskardhams, Religious centres as dharmashalas / madrasas, Educational centres asvidhyamandirs do take interest in forming humans in right orientations and motivations to life. The womb plays the role of the gateway to the earthly life and the tomb plays the role of the gateway to the eternal life. Hence, from womb to tomb humans are constantly being formed to live (jeevo), to make live (jeevaado) and to let live (Jeevavaado) others peacefully in one’s own family, community and society at large. Thus, the above mentioned three centres (dhams/shalas/mandirs) are the seats of formation centres by which we humans are constantly refined to live and love, to move and meet all humans as brothers and sisters of the same Kingdom family of God.

 December 3^rd is the WORLD DISABLED DAY. On this day, with this right orientation and motivation I gently invite you to read and reflect the below mentioned written pledge and to assimilate and act the same in your family, religious and educational centres. It is my humble request that you make this pledge of mine your own, for I trust in your capacity to grow as a friend of the persons with disabilities. I too was once struck by their mere challenged life in their rural and urban situations. I felt deeply the call of God within my major Religious call. Today, I am freely able to enable them and accompany them in their life journey without any fear and frustration. So, this is just an invitation to you to encounter in your life the covenantal love of God in the midst of such precious pearls of God. Let your inner freedom motivate your spiritual and physical movements. Welcome to join in this inclusive mission of becoming a disabled-friendly human person wherever you are, live and move! Are you and your close friends ready to search and find God in such ‘disfigured’ persons and enable them to get educated in educational centres? Let the socio-pastoral and educational mission of ours be one of the ways of participating in the caring creative, redemptive and sanctifying mission of God.

Pledge

 As members of an Educational Centre, We, the Students and Parents, Staff and Management, with an inclusive outlook, commit to making the Persons with Disabilities to feel part of our human society without any barrier in order to experience the human dignity, liberty and unity with all peoples of God.

We will do this by:

• * Promoting through advocacy sessions, the foetus and mother need proper nurturing accompaniment through the Early Childhood Intervention programme.
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• * Accepting every new born child as a GIFT and TASK of God. Every male or a female child is an image and likeness of God in spite of his or her disabilities. Disabled child is not a curse rather blessing in a family! Every disabled person has the potential to be full and active member of the family, communities and society at large.
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• *Spreading the word that the impairment of people with disabilities is not due to one’s bad action (karma), sin, lack of faith or unwillingness to be healed.  We shall condemn with our inner freedom such a stand as theologically inaccurate and spiritually disabling.
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• * Assisting the social system to identify, certify and classify the disabilities of human persons in the rural and urban areas.
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• * Motivating the community to participate in the components of the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programme, namely in Health, Education, Livelihood, Social, Empowerment and Spiritual sectors.
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• * Enhancing particularly the students and parents to participate in the Education for All programmes and to move forward in higher education by being part of an inclusive educational system where the normal and the disabled students learn and move together under one roof.
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• * Asserting, promoting and implementing that the inclusive education is the education ‘OF' all, 'FOR' all and ‘WITH’ all.
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• * Welcoming all and being open to all in all our family, religious, educational and other centres. Making outsiders feel insiders in all our centres.
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• * Realizing that it is a participatory mission to accompany the persons with disabilities so as to ensure their full contribution to our educational centres, communities and society at large.
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• * Promoting and providing proper accessibilities to the disabled persons to move freely everywhere without much dependency and difficulty. By becoming MORE adaptable, affordable and accessible in all that we plan and execute. 
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• * Accepting with full dignity the disabled persons as they are and to love them with a compassionate and justice-filled heart with full respect and to recognize them totally as differently-abled persons!
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• * Reaching out joyfully with an insertion approach to the persons with all kinds and categories of disabilities in their vulnerable life and work situations and to engage ourselves with full commitment to encounter them as our fellow brothers and sisters of the same world family –vasudhaiva kutumbakam!
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• * Actualizing our one vision and one mission: ENABLE THE DISABLED!

Please click on the below given Gujarati text to enlarge

Dr. Girish Santiago, SJ