PANAJI
Speaking at the conclusion of an advocacy workshop, Director of Caritas Goa Fr Maverick Fernandes said that the 36 students were being given training in some cases three times a week, but the care was often less than what they need.
"We are presently providing home and centre based direct services to 36 deafblind children and adults and newer children are regularly identified."
"However, since the services for children were limited either to once or twice a week, we have now planned for regular services at the full-fledged Centre for the deafblind in Saligao," Fr Maverick Fernandes said.
Caritas Goa has been serving, since the past five years, the deafblind children/young adults and multi sensory impaired children.
The expansion of services for deafblind persons of Caritas-Goa is supported by Sense India International and funded by The HANS Foundation, New Delhi.
A significant recent development in the field of disability is the new Rights of Persons with
Disability (RPWD) Act 2016 which has recognised deafblindness as a disability in its own right after consistent lobbying for it for nearly twenty years.
"After recognition in the Act, identification of persons is essential to ensure their appropriate rehabilitation through health and education services followed by vocational rehabilitation. There are about 500,000 deafblind people in India. Despite so many deafblind people in our country, their basic human rights are not fulfilled," Fr Fernandes said.
