Campaign for PWDs kicks off at Puri

| | PURI | in Bhubaneswar

To empower and reach out to thousands of persons with disability (PWDs) and make them aware of the laws to live a dignified life, a campaign  - ‘SASHAKT’ - was kicked off at Puri on Wednesday.

The objectives include making 500,000 PWDs to be knowledgeable about law; reaching 10,00,000 people to understand about inclusion; raising awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding PWDs, fostering respect for their rights and dignity, combating stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices, promoting awareness of the capabilities and contributions and building capacity of 5,000 people/organisations to become change agents.

“All residents of Odisha have a lot to offer to our society, including those with disabilities who are often left behind,” said Convenor of Odisha State Disability Network (OSDN) and the chairperson of Sashakt State Coordination Committee Dr SrutiMohapatra. “During Sashakt campaign , we will focus on inclusion and help everyone in our State live more self-determined independent lives,” she added.

The campaign flagged off at Puri will end at Nayagarh on  June 13. On June 20, a first phase closing will be done where expressions from the ground will be shared. It is planned to reach 1 million people by November 30, 2019.

One of the unique features of the campaign is participation of students. 21 students from BJB, KIIT, NIFT, Symbiosis and TISS have created logo, designs, website and are addressing media, publicity and documentation.

The campaign is supported by State SSEPD Department, GAIL, ONGC, IOL, ONGC, Aditya Birla Capital, Reliance Foundation, Odisha Police, Department of Culture, HFW, Rotary International and CYSD among others.