India's Intellectually Challenged
Chai with Lakshmi is India's first award-winning online talk show. It celebrates people and ideas positively shaping India for the future. In this episode, Lakshmi Rebecca, the anchor and director, talks to Sugandha Sukrutaraj, a woman who is making India more inclusive towards its intellectually challenged population.
Constituting nearly 3 percent of the nation’s population are people who are intellectually disabled. This is a population that amounts to nearly 35 million people. These are individuals whose developmental disorder curbs any means of formal education - not to mention chances of social inclusion. While there are institutions that provide care to those with intellectual disabilities it is usually only up to the age of 18. What happens after isn’t always known. Changing this and creating greater inclusion are Sugandha Sukrataraj and her team at AMBA. AMBA is an organization that employs hundreds of individuals with intellectual disabilities to do back-office work. It leverages their ability to do repetitive jobs well, and associates with institutions across the country that can outsource data entry to its trained staff. In this conversation over chai, Sugandha talks to Lakshmi Rebecca about the need for inclusivity and the absence of social acceptance towards people with intellectual disabilities – which deter families, companies and society from recognizing their capabilities and looking past their intellectual disabilities. AMBA, isn’t just an organization, it is the start of a sustainable model that can benefit 35 million Indians, if replicated right. Watch the episode and share your thoughts.