Saritsa Foundation empowers group of visually impaired women and men of National Association for Blinds India

According to the Saritsa Fondation, lack of societal recognition and discrimination necessitate DRR mainstreaming to 70 million persons who are differently abled in India, and highly vulnerable to disasters in urban and rural India. They need a positive, empowering change in playing an inclusive part of coping with disasters. Saritsa Foundation has been pioneering the mission to provide equal opportunities to disable people to build their capacity with needed sensitivity for past 13 years. It has raised awareness and imparted education and training with mock drills and local resources for 8900 people.

Saritsa Foundation in association with National Associations for Blinds India, Mumbai has organized workshop for a group of visually impaired youth who are under going vocational training at NAB Institute, Mahalaxmi Mumbai to prepare them for disasters.

Saritsa Foundation organized the workshop for the Group of Visually Impaired Participants on 29 and 30 March 2013. The participants were provided opportunity to learn to protect themselves and be self reliant to cope with disasters.

The Awareness, Education and Training was conducted with interactive participatory methodology.

The participants were encouraged to analyze risk and vulnerability to them under various scenarios of their houses, their working places and their movement and their areas.

They were encourage to raise awareness among themselves and their families and prepared to respond accordingly.
Make use of local resources and local experience and expertise.

Participants were provided practical training with mock drills with live scenarios of disasters.

Develop buddy system (jodi system) to respond to disasters.

Practice to cope with different emergencies as trained by practical training and mock drills.