Some desire is necessary to keep life in motion Samuel Johnson had said.
Setu an NGO, is a dream born out of someone’s desire to make a difference, to be able to give something back to the society. Volunteers led by Poonam Tyagi, Founder Director of Setu, are making selfless efforts to bridge the gap between differently abled people and the society. One visit to Dada Dev Mandir Complex at Palam village is enough to realize that differently abled people are second to none when it comes to their talent and determination to work hard, however, what they lack is the opportunity and an attitudinal change of the society at large towards them.
Simi, a 20 years old girl is a Polio victim. She was looked down upon by her friends in her school and thus had to terminate her studies after completing only eight standards. Unable to pursue anything else also made her further loose self esteem and confidence in herself. This was the time, Poonam Tyagi was looking for a teacher who could impart primary education to the children whom she found begging for alms at the temple. She also found out Simi needed her support. She counseled not only her but her parents as well. Today, watch her successfully taking classes of more than 20 children.
She alone is not a beneficiary of the dream, the children too who begged earlier are now learning and aspiring to be brighter students. One such student Vikas is a habitual alcoholic but with great desire to study and excel. On the other hand there is a young boy who is extremely bright and wants to study further and break academic records. One look at him will be sufficient to sense that one day this boy will reach for the moon given an opportunity.
There are two shifts for this innovative school and once again another such handicapped girl, Niharika has been employed by Setu to take care of the second shift in the afternoon. To assist in the day to day administration visually impaired with only partial vision have been provided with the opportunity to earn while they learn. Khem Chand is fully blind yet he surfs on the internet and teaches computers to blind; an innovation which Poonam says is her organization’s USP. With digital audio books taped by Setu volunteers education has truly become inclusive and there is no need of Braille for the blind to study.
Amongst many NGOs and individuals working to bring the differently abled people into the mainstream; Setu not only aims at providing a platform to transform the talents of these people and empowering them to earn their livelihood through their own special efforts but also has succeeded in giving them the directions to be on their own. Rambir one among the many and a Polio victim not only trained others at Setu to stitch cloths from waste material but also has started his own venture at his home.
Poonam Tyagi is a store house of ideas and to tap the talent of handicapped people, a music group of
Setu focuses on incorporating these people into normal life patterns by providing them higher education and making them realize that despite their disabilities, they can lead life with dignity and with their self esteem intact by encouraging them and assisting them in every possible way to get jobs in respectable organizations.
Most differently abled people find it difficult to get jobs especially those who have not studied further than school. Setu helps these people to study further by financing their education and assists then in getting jobs. “My experience with Setu is one to remember”, says Raj Kumar Pal. “They treated me with respect and genuine affection. The founders took a personal interest in making sure that I do not miss out on this big chance to sit for the test for a telecom BPO. They even offered me financial help for my studies and encouraged me to achieve my goal.” Our main aim, says Poonam Tyagi, Director Setu, is to empower differently abled with the knowledge and skills so that they can have the courage to be self dependent and be able to carve a bright future on their own for themselves.
