"We aspire to see brand
Samarthanam across India and work with persons with disabilities as one single
community”. This is how G K Mahantesh, Managing Trustee, Samarthanam Trust for
the Disabled, describes his ‘go forward’
vision for the NGO.
Samarthanam Trust for the
Disabled has been working since 1997 to empower disabled and underprivileged
people through its different programs, including education for persons with
disabilities and economically underprivileged, mid-day meal programs, BPO
training for visually challenged, BPO centre, rural employment for persons with
disabilities, residential home for distressed women, waste management, sports
and culture etc. Samarthanam's vision is to build an inclusive society, free of
discrimination against the disabled, where people with disabilities, especially
the visually impaired, enjoy equal opportunities and an enhanced quality of
life. As many as 18000 beneficiaries have received assistance till date in
reaching their aspirations.
In May 2013 the NGO conducted a
Vision 2020 workshop at Fireflies Ashram and came up with potential plans and
action items to go pan India and reach 100 million persons with disabilities
and the underprivileged. According to the 2001 National Census, about 75% of
the persons with disabilities are in the rural areas. Samarthanam sees this as
area to expand its operations and make a difference.
To turn its Vision 2020 into
reality, Samarthanam is partnering with Indian Institute of Management
Bangalore. Management students from EPGP (IIMB's one year full time Executive
Post Graduate Program) are working with Samarthanam to formulate strategies to
replicate Samarthanam's success in Karnataka across the country. The Indian
Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) is an autonomous institute offering a
wide range of Doctoral, Post-Graduate, and Executive Education
programs. IIMB's focus on research and education in the area of management
is enabled by faculty from amongst leading universities worldwide who are
actively engaged in research, teaching, consulting and pedagogy development.
Their Innovation Club’s vision is to learn the art and science of innovation
and apply it to solve real life problems. To understand the nature of innovation,
the club organizes discovery sessions, with presentations on topics such as
design-thinking, ideation methods, latest innovation concepts etc. Members use
the learning from these sessions to find solutions for socio-economic, civic
and business problems.
Management students who are
members of the Innovation club at IIMB organized an "Innovation
Workshop" with Samarthanam team on Jul 27th to brainstorm ideas
for realizing Vision 2020. The workshop was a huge success resulting in 30+
unique ideas to fuel Samarthanam’s growth strategy. Mr. Rajendra KR, CEO,
Samarthanam is excited about the partnership and was thrilled with the ideas -
"There is a desperate need to ensure rights and entitlements of 60 million
disabled people in India. Samarthanam is rightly positioned to achieve this task.
We are excited to collaborate with IIMB’s Innovation Club towards realizing
Vision 2020. The ideas presented are practical in nature and really out of the
box. The workshop has resulted in ideas which we would incorporate in our
expansion strategy."
Nitin Agarwal, an EPGP student
who is also part of IIMB’s Innovation Club, said: “We are delighted to work on
real life challenges to come up with long term strategy for Samarthanam’s
expansion. We look forward to contribute our bit to the society.”
“Be Big, Think Big, Go Big and Serve
for a Bigger Cause,” says Mr. Mahantesh as he gears up for Vision 2020.
