A bat and a snake were talking. "My world is very different from yours, I see people walking with their head and plants and trees hang in the air," the snake said – "that’s not possible, all people use their feet to walk, and trees are planted in the earth," said the bat. Both were fighting about this until an old monkey sitting on a tree approached them and asked to offer a solution. They both readily agreed, the monkey said switch your places and then the bat was lying on the ground, and the snake was hanging upside down on the tree. The Monkey then asked – "What do you see?"
That’s how the world perceives a “person with developmental disabilities.” You just need to switch your position to see “how they are capable of doing great stuff!
Meet the heroes – Bunny, Chetan, Pratibha, Anand, Aarti, Nazneen and Raes; proud members of the ARPAN Team.
In April 2015, Yash Charitable Trust, an NGO that supports adults with developmental disabilities, launched a tiffin service. THE USP of the service is that it provides employment to adults with developmental disabilities. Sushama Nagarkar, the managing trustee of the Yash Charitable Trust, says –“A lot of organizations work with children with disabilities, but after school, it’s a struggle for them to find suitable work and recreation opportunities.” The Home Cooked Dabba Service keeps them occupied and also provides them with financial support.
Sushama Nagarkar, of ARPAN says - Aarti and I moved back from the United States to Mumbai in 2013. Aarti has autism. She and others like her with developmental disabilities are the motivation and inspiration for setting up the Yash Charitable Trust.
A year later on their anniversary, Nitin, a supporter of the Yash Charitable Trust ordered a dabba and he enjoyed it so much that he wanted to share it with the rest of the world! That one WhatsApp message swamped ARPAN with phone calls and inquiries – from Khargar to Colaba.
So how does the team contribute?
The ARPAN team gets involved in daily tasks like shopping, cleaning vegetables, peeling potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, making roti balls, packing, billing and also delivering.
In one of its unique yet innovative ways, the NGO is trying to provide sheltered employment to individuals with developmental disabilities. Check out their FB page to know how ARPAN enjoys their daily tasks like peeling potatoes in style and enjoying a nice stretch after getting some work done.
Arpan provides Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian meals for lunch at Rs. 120 and Rs. 180 respectively. The non-vegetarian food includes chicken and egg curry. They also deliver fresh home grown sprouted lentils, ginger-garlic paste and fried onions on demand from customers. The menu is planned each day with what is available fresh at the local market. Delivery is available in Juhu, Santacruz(W) and Khar only (areas within Mumbai).
However, with the overwhelming response they received via social media, they are looking for ways to expand their horizons.
The next time you meet someone with developmental disabilities; treat him like an adult, respect him and value his presence! Would you?
Want to try out a dabba from Arpan? Book one today!