Story 1: Serene Bolgatty
The venue was Bolgatty palace in Kochi. Very scenic, peaceful and perfect for brainstorming.
This is a photo captured by our instructor, Jimmy, when Sajith and I were surfing the net and checking out Ashwasa Bhavan for our field visit. This spot was just outside our classroom but we never opened the door on this side. I stumbled upon it only on the third day when exploring the ground around.
(Sajith is an alumni of NISH from years back and is now doing very well in a corporate. He is Deaf (with capital D. Refer Deaf culture), also owning a startup along with his wife, which is focused on education for the Deaf. )
Story 2: Of theory and practicals
Before the workshop, I was very curious to find out what I would learn there. An international course on inclusion, right here in India is a rarity and literally, a treat for a disability professional. However, I must say, that I was disappointed at the workshop. It was not challenging. I mean, isn't it just common sense : research the problem from all perspectives, brainstorm for all kinds of ideas, prototype and then implement. The theory is that simple. Doing it in real, with all the constraints of practicality, is what makes it challenging. At NISH, we are already dealing with several tight constraints when designing solutions for persons with disability and working together as a team (AT, SLP, OT, PT etc). So the activities in the workshop were boring. Also, after having recently been through a much more intensive course in Fab academy, this seemed very light.
Story 3: Sister Fabiola and Ashwasa Bhavan
Read her interview and story here. I will just say that the first things I saw in Ashwasa Bhavan and felt when I talked to her - were all genuine and heartwarming. The kids in AB are lucky to have her. I hope she would come to NISH some time soon to seek professional help for the 3-year old with Cerebral Palsy in her home.
Story 4: Working my way around unreasonable circumstances
The team discussion was not logical - after our field visit, when we sat down to brainstorm and choose the area of intervention. I tried to reason with myself and decided to go with the flow. Anyways, one week is too less a time to do anything worthwhile. Here the focus was too much on competing with the other teams (!!??) and putting up an impressive show in the final presentation. What can beat talking about a taboo'd topic in front of an audience to create a sensation? Anything less would be boring, even if it is a priority need for the institute that graciously opened its doors for us to conduct our study. It was irritating to find that almost all the teams blamed the caretakers of the various institutes that they visited for the problems the inmates were facing. One team actually showed the photo of each warden and did a character analysis in depth. It was nauseating to me. To me, the caretakers were people doing their best to patch the big, gaping holes of injustice in the society. If we cannot contribute to this, let's at-least not highlight their drawbacks and kill their spirit.
I feel good that I kept my balance (exceeding my own expectations!) and contributed wholeheartedly towards whatever we decided as a team (Of course, Sajith's positive presence and our funny, 'secret' (in full view of others) conversations in sign language helped tremendously ;) :D ).
Story 6: Misfit by choice
Random social conversations get difficult when the person on the other end fails to understand what it means to be a disability or rehab professional. Outside of NISH, this happens to me all the time. The dialogue tends to trail off awkwardly and I feel sorry for the other person, trying to find an escape route to a more 'relatable' place. Working with people with disability? I must be from another planet. The stigma that persons with disability face in the conservative section of the society tends to rub off on people associated closely with them as well. Quick judgements range from labelling me as a benevolent human being from the heaven serving the needy or an ignoramus who couldn't find a job elsewhere or just plain weird. Fortunately, I'm none of the above. I try to be a professional, following the code of ethics that my job lays down. I agree that my job does require a lot of innate empathy and understanding towards our clients, who are people with special needs. But this is natural. I'm now a 31-year-old like any other but why do I feel (or made to feel?) like a misfit in any social gathering? I have come to terms with this anyways after a lot of times of getting my ego bruised.
At this workshop, I was thankful to have Sajith around. His thoughts on inclusion made more sense to me than what others shared about their (petty) difficulties. After all, he faces exclusion from the majoritarian 'hearing' society. Who else can talk better about it at a workshop on 'Design for inclusion'? Since the interpreter-trainees at NISH had their exams last week, there was none to help Sajith out at this workshop. I had to step up and do the best with my novice signing skills. Actually, it was the other way round. Sajith was doing his best to decipher my signing - he became such an adept at it, that towards the end of the workshop, he would guess what I was going to say, halfway through the sentence. It was as if he was reading my mind. He is very sharp and had such great ideas - meeting and getting to know him was the best part of attending this workshop for me. The other one being the visit to Ashwasa Bhavan and talking to Sister Fabiola. Thanks to CIID for that.
Story 7 : Branding and costs
The cost of the workshop is on the higher side. Sajith and I were sponsored by KSUM, otherwise we won't have made it. It seemed to me that a lot of care and efforts were taken for branding, taking photos, collecting feedback and in general, repeatedly telling each other what a great workshop and experience this is. I was waiting for it to get over and get back to my more interesting life at NISH.
