Sep 2005 : Saritsa Foundation - Training people how to respond when disaster - (No FCRA)

SARITSA FOUNDATION
MISSION “RASHTRA SURAKSHA”

BRIEF ACTIVITIES OF SARITSA FOUNDATION

SARITSA (Security Awareness and Readiness By Information and Social
Awakenings) is registered NGO.. Its mission is “Rashtra  Suraksha” there by
meaning and sensitizing protection and defending common people from strikes
of killer manmade and natural disasters by education, training and
inspiration.

 The community elements, which are made partners in this education, include
students, teachers, and women groups, physically challenged, visually
impaired, mentally retarded and other categories of disabled and common
people. SARITSA FOUNDATION has been   endeavoring to generate awareness and
alert people to develop culture of preparedness at individual level by
conducting educational training workshops, debates, seminars, mass contact,
family conferences and individual counseling.

SARITSA FOUNDATION provides opportunity and educates and trains people at
their “Doorsteps” by a team of experts. It is a “Mobile University”. The
participants and trainees are educated and trained by interactive /
participatory methodology with practical training including mock drill and
rehearsal. These “Natural and Man Made Disasters for which preparedness
education and training is imparted   include: Fire, Terrorism, Bomb Blast,
Earthquake, Tsunamis, Cyclones Floods, Droughts and Water Scarcity, Social
Violence, Chemical, Biological and Nuclear threats and hazards of
Environmental degradation.

SARITSA FOUNDATION guides community elements to be equal partners to save
their lives in disasters and not to be fully dependent on Governments and
administrations.   No doubt that these agencies do come for the rescue and
relief of common citizens in all situations, yet, quite often they may not
be able to save common people during the most crucial time when disasters
strike due to unavoidable reasons.

In this ongoing process of  “ Preparedness for Disasters at individual
level, ” SARITSA FOUNDATION has educated and trained 95000 people including
5000 disabled since its birth on 05 June 2000.

  The details are tabulated below:-
Category of participants Maharashtra Gujarat Rajasthan Haryana Total
Teachers           4500        1250   150        50       5950
Students                  41500       27000  4800       1500    74800
women                     1500        1120   570        500     3690
Common People           2500        1175   450        500     4625
Visually impaired   2315        1200   nil        nil     3515
Physically challenged   325         1050   nil        nil     1375
Mentally Retarded         70          50     nil        nil     120
Total                   52710       32845  5970       2550    94075

SARITSA FOUNDATION is also working with a humble beginning to provide equal
opportunities to blinds, handicapped and mentally retarded and other
disabled people by equipping them to save their lives in man-made and
natural disasters by education and training at individual level. It is a
unique mission first time in the country and it has educated and trained
5000 disabled people. Some of the names of the institutes for disabled where
this education and training for preparedness has been conducted are given
below:-

Ø Kamla Mehta School for blind Girls and women Mumbai
Ø Victoria School for Blinds Mumbai
Ø Industrial Home for Blind Women, Andheri Mumbai
Ø National Association for Blind India, Development of Rehabilitation
Mahalaxmi Mumbai.
Ø The NAB workshop for the Blind (The training center for Adult Blinds)
Mumbai.
Ø Utthan Talim Kendra for Mentally challenged Boys, Paldi, Ahmedabad
Ø Blind people Association Vastrapur Ahmedabad
Ø Apang Manav Mandal Vastrapur Ahmedabad
Ø The NAB-IDBI Polytechnic Ambernath.
Ø The NAB-home for Aged Blinds Khandala Pune
Ø NAB-Industrial Home for Blinds Cotton Green Mumbai
Ø NAB-Vocational Training Workshop Prabadhevi
Ø Child Reach School for Mentally Retarded Students Santacruz Mumbai
Ø The NAB- IDBI Polytechnic Ambernath (26 August 2004)
Ø On Eve of World disability week Special Training  and Education Program
was conducted at Victoria Memorial School for Visually impaired, Tardeo
Mumbai. On this Occasion four different blind schools participants were
trained together.
Ø Home for Aged and Handicapped-Untkhana Nagpur
Ø Blind Relief Association –Nagpur
Ø Spastic Society of India Colaba Mumbai
Ø Government home for Handicapped, Pension Pura Vadodara
Ø Government home for Blinds, Pension Pura Vadodara
Ø Industrial home for Blind Women, Andheri Mumbai
Ø Fellowship of Physically Handicapped Haji Ali Mumbai
Ø Pune School and Home for Blind Girls Kothrud Pune
Ø Sevatirth center for physically handicapped and mentally retarded,
Vadodara.
Ø Government Hospital and center for mentally sick people, Vadodara.

SARITSA FOUNDATION has conducted education training workshop for visually
impaired and physically challenged people from 6 July to 9 July 2005.
Names of institutes and number of participants are given below:-

Sr No. INSTITUTION PARTICIPATION DETAILS Students Teachers Others Total
1 P.R.Lunked Blind School Pune(BHOSARI) 100 10 12 122
2 Jagruti Andha Kanyashala Pune (ALANDI) 105 10 12 127
3 Pune Blind School & Home Pune (KOREGAON PARK) 142 13 11 166
4 Pune Blind Man’s Training Institutes Pune(RAM TAKDI) 103 12 10 125
SUB TOTAL FOR INSTITUTION MENTAL FOR VISUALLY CHALLENGED 450 45 45 540
5 Apang Kalyankari Kendra Pune (WANVADI) 255 14 15 284
GRAND TOTAL 705 59 60 824

A news items given by Times of India (Pune) is also given below:-
THE TIMES OF INDIA  Pune, Saturday, July 9, 2005 http://www.timesofindia.com/

Self- help for those most in need

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune : A physically challenged or a visually impaired person is often
dependent on others, especially during a disaster- but that may not be the
case any longer. A Mumbai-based non-governmental organization recently
organized a three-day workshop in the city to train 700 such people to deal

with emergencies.
“Such victims of disasters can do a lot on their own to save their own lives
before external assistance can reach them,” said Colonel (retd) N.M. Verma,
chairman of Security awareness and readiness through information, training
and social awakening (Saritsa).

“ If a physically challenged person lives in a flood-prone area, he / she
should always keep a tyre in the house that can be used to avoid drowning,”
he noted.

“ Through this workshop, we have offered a comprehensive programme, when the
physically challenged and visually impaired are taught security awareness
and self protection techniques in various disasters scenarios,” he added.
The disaster situations covered in the workshop were fire, tsunami,
earthquake and floods, manmade disasters like bomb blast or terrorists
attacks, nuclear, biological and chemical wars and environmental protection.
The participants went through five sessions of lectures accompanied by
models, practical, rehearsals and mock tests.

For Deepak Kuwar, a visually impaired student at the Poona blind men’s
Association technical training institute, the workshop has been a very good
learning experience. “ We got to know so many aspects of disasters
management that will be useful for us all our lives,” he said.
“ The workshop also thought some important precautionary measures- like one
should turn of the valve of the gas cylinder added Seema Salve, another
visually challenged participant.

“The practical sessions made it easier for us to feel and understand the
prevention techniques that were taught in the workshops,” said Kanchan
Pawar. Saritsa has also prepared books in Braille, Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi
and English on preventive measures during disasters.

Thanking You
With warm regards
Colonel N M Verma, Chairman
Saritsa Foundation
mailto:saritsa@vsnl.net?cc=karmayog@yahoogroups.com