MUSKAAN PARENTS ASSOCIATION FOR THE EMPOWERMENT OF PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Muskaan is a story of collective will, determination and unwavering optimism. It was started in 1982 by parents and professionals filling up a void in required services and facilities for children and adults with intellectual disability (ID) and their families. Relentless hard work, honest intentions and clarity of focus steered the growth of Muskaan. The team had only one mission and that is creating growth opportunities and required services to enrich the lives of persons with ID. We knew that in order to live a fuller and dignified life, intellectually challenged children and adults needed education, vocational skills, employment and other growth opportunities. However, how to do it had been an immense challenge. Every step that we took in this direction taught us about its pragmatics. Small achievements on the way kept strengthening our optimism and courage.

Today’s Muskaan is well known for its pioneering work in the field of providing vocational training and work opportunities to adults with ID. It has emerged as an effective rehabilitation model both nationally and internationally. Parents and professionals from national and international organizations including Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, Mauritius, China, Japan and Afghanistan have visited Muskaan over past few years and appreciated its unique training & employment model for adults with ID. Our experience of working with boys and girls has been very encouraging and has proved that given opportunities, they can learn many skills and become much more self-reliant and productive. They have immense potential for learning and growth provided they get appropriate education, learning environment and nurturance of their social-emotional needs like everyone else. It is largely due to lack of proper training and not their disability, which forces them to live an impoverished life. People with disability are real heroes because they constantly negotiate with situations which have been designed keeping in mind the majority needs and not the needs of persons with disability.