CHANDIGARH- NOV 15—Dr Mallika Nadda, founder president ‘Chetna’ a Himachal-based NGO was awarded with Rajiv Gandhi Manav Sewa Award-2010 by Mrs Krishna Tirth, Union Minister for Women and Child Development at a function held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on November 14 in recognition to her services she has been rendering to differently-abled children in district Bilaspur of Himachal Pradesh.
The award was given to her in a glittering function attended by distinguished and eminent personalities across the country. The award carries a citation and rupees one lakh.
In the citation published by union ministry of Women and Child
Development, Dr. Mallika Nadda has been described as first person in the State to introduce sports as a medium of social integration of differently- abled children. Her efforts imbibed in them the instinct and interest to join the field of sports.
Her special services like assessment of children, special education, speech therapy, early intervention and pre vocational and vocational training to the children were highly appreciated.
Dr. Mallika Nadda started community based rehabilitation programmes initially with involvement of 10 panchayats of Bilaspur district which has been extended to all 151panchayats of district Bilaspur.
The NGO presently caters to 448 disabled persons in the Bilaspur district and has been organizing medical and health awareness camps in the rural areas of the districts. It also runs a Day-care Centre in Bilaspur town and rural area of Ghumarwin and Jhandutta to provide services to retarded children. The NGO also provides services of group teaching, physical therapy, vocational training and arrangement of placement such children.
Chetna has succeeded in motivating rural women to form self- help Group to raise their economic status and achieve financial independence as a part of income
generation programme. So far 50 self-help groups have been formed and these are working for empowerment of women in entire district. Out of these, 13 self-help groups have been given loans of Rs 11 lakhs to start their own business to make bags, sweet boxes, pickle, chips and juice etc.
Besides, special children trained by Chetna have also excelled in international-level in their respective fields. Geeta Devi had won Gold medal in Bocce in 2003 World Summer games in Ireland while Vikram has won Gold medal in Volley Ball in 2007 World Summer Games held in Shanghai in China. EOM