Placement for the Hearing Impaired

Nirmalya Trust has diligently been working towards its major focus area i.e. empowering challenged persons through employment!

Since we started in 2005, we’ve placed several hearing impaired boys and girls in some of the best hotels in Pune and outside.

Below are the facts:

In 2006, convincing the parents of the hearing impaired was a major task. They refused to let their sons work in the hospitality sector. It was below their dignity. No amount of counseling worked. Finally we convinced them by visiting their villages, counseling in groups, bringing them to Pune and showing them the actual work areas within the hotels.

Today the situation is quite the opposite! We get calls from parents saying they’d like to have their ward work in a hotel. The boys are happy too!

Along with the pay, PF, and insurance, the candidates get fresh food and snacks. This keeps them healthy and the busy schedule keeps them positively occupied.

The change is clearly visible. They are better groomed and better disciplined. They’ve learnt to save and send money back home too.

Hospitality sector
Sr. No.	Placed @	No. of challenged placed
1.	Citrus Hotel, Pimpri Chinchwad	6
2.	Lemon Tree Hotel -
	Ø Pune Ø Indore ØAurangabad	7
		5
		5
3.	Seasons Apartment Hotel, Pune	5
4.	Sayaji Hotel, Pune	6
5.	Courtyard Marriott, Pune	3
6.	Marriott Hotel, Pune	1
7.	Tamanna Executive, Pune	4
8.	Costa Coffee outlets	7
9.	Cafe Coffee Day outlets	18
10.	St. Lauren, Pune	4

Candidates approach us from remote villages from all over Maharashtra. They have no place to stay when they come to Pune. Nirmalya Trust provides short term living and food facilities at Baner. We train and counsel them before placing them. We help them to relocate, find accommodation when their placement is confirmed.

Till today, 71 hearing impaired boys have been placed in the hospitality sector, in the housekeeping, laundry, kitchen and store areas.

At Lemon Tree Hotel, Pune and Costa Coffee outlets, our boys are communicating directly with the clients.

Nirmalya Trust is grateful to all these organizations for having faith in their abilities.

Paraplegics get two-wheelers

On May 28, 2011, Nirmalya Trust handed over two two-wheelers fitted with side-wheels to Amruta Nalawade and Sucheta Mahalle, both paraplegics.

New video available online

A video documentary on Nirmalya Trust was recently aired on the DD Sahayadri TV Channel. Here is the YouTube link.

World famous rock climber visits Nirmalya Trust

Nirmalya Trust proudly hosted Mr. Philippe Riebere, an internationally renowned professional rock climber from France, at its premises on 26th January 2011.

What made this event even more memorable was the fact that Phillip is not an ordinary climber.

Philippe was born with a polyhandicap which has various malformations, namely, Rubenstein syndrome. He took to rock climbing and has ever since been a part of the parasports scene all over the world. His work for the recognition of the handicapped in society is a personal therapy which enables him not to pay attention to his difference too much.

His organization Handigrimp organizes sports events for challenged persons all over the world. This platform is used to integrate the normal with the challenged.

In December 2010 he was a representative organizer of the first ever paraclimbing World Cup in Japan. He has been travelling for 11 years now. He visits different countries to understand the lives of challenged persons in different cultures.

In this sense, Philippe is not just ‘not ordinary’, he is amazingly extraordinary!

The event started with a short audio-visual session hosted by Philippe wherein a short film was screened. This film described Philippe’s journey and transformation through the years. The session was then open for any questions the audience might have. This was followed by a rock climbing demo on an artificial climbing wall constructed for this event. Physically challenged persons and all visitors got a chance to try out climbing on this wall under the guidance of Philippe. This was very well received by all; youngsters as well as adults present there were equally enthusiastic and enjoyed the climbing experience.

Amongst those present at the function were young students and children from various charitable organizations. One special group was that of children affected with HIV from the Suryodaya Foundation. Physically challenged persons from Nirmalya Trust which included the visually impaired, hearing impaired, paraplegic, spastic and orthopaedically challenged, also grabbed this opportunity and successfully made it to the top of the wall. Watching them achieve this was highly inspiring and motivating.

Another interesting factor was that, Philippe, in some way or the other, disabled few 'normal' persons who wished to climb the wall and then asked them to climb. For instance, one of their legs was tied or they were blindfolded. Normal persons put themselves in the shoes of the challenged to get a real feel of their experience.

It was amazing to see how each of us has it in us to overcome seemingly insurmountable difficulties and eventually reach the top!

Philippe had to leave and start back to Mumbai. Before he left however, he had several fans waiting to get his autograph!

Philippe's story is one of hard work, endurance, and persistence in the face of difficulties. It is a story that can inspire people from all walks of life, just as it inspired all of us!

IBN Lokmat covered the full event. Here is the link to the video on YouTube:

Nirmalya Trust - Philippe Ribiere in Pune

Two more paraplegics get wheels

On 13th January 2011, Nirmalya Trust handed the keys of two scooters with side-wheels to paraplegic candidates Hasan Mujawar and Subhash Sutar.

A large contribution for these scooters came from Dr. Aruna and Dr. Ravi Mene. Over the course of 2010 they raised funds for this project through the sale of greeting cards and calendars specifically designed and printed for this purpose. Mr. Mene, an excellent wildlife photographer, contributed his pictures to the stationary that was sold; Mrs. Mene personally made cards with patchwork designs using cloth. These articles were sold to raise funds at events in the UK where the Mr. and Mrs. Mene reside.

These two sparkling new Hero Honda Pleasure scooters will give both these working candidates the freedom of movement they so need in their day-to-day life.