CHENNAI: Most of our donations, here, at the shelter have been in the form of food. What people don’t realise, though they genuinely want to contribute, is that other than food, especially a shelter for women with disabilities, has many needs, particularly infrastructure needs,” shares Dr Aiswarya Rao, a paediatrician and social worker, who runs the Better World Shelter for Women with Disability — a corporation shelter in Nungambakkam.
Since its inception in 2016, the shelter has provided a safe space for over 200 young women who have a range of disabilities — from locomotor, speech and hearing impairments, multiple disabilities to burns. “These women come from different disadvantaged situations of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, been abandoned by their families, or are homeless with nowhere else to go,” says the pe r son wi th locomotor disability. Around four years ago, what was formerly an old school building was handed to Aiswarya to establish the rehabilitation centre.
While repair works were rolled out to turn the building usable, its disabilityfriendly quotient has remained questionable over the years. For instance, the presence of stairs and lack of ramps makes it difficult for women with locomotor disabilities to go up the first floor; the flooring is not just old but also uneven making it difficult for wheelchair access and the toilets too aren’t inclusive or disabled-friendly.
In an attempt to make the overall infrastructure of the shelter an inclusive and conducive place for its inhabitants, Aiswarya, in September, flagged a campaign on Milaap, to raise funds for the shelter home. “Since the time the campaign was launched, we have been able to raise around Rs 23 lakh. We are aiming to reach Rs 50 lakh to manage the cost of retrofitting and modifying the different features of the shelter home and adding new yet necessary ones for the welfare of the residents of the shelter home.
The aim is to provide them not just with a roof but also with a space that will be inclusive and empowering, enabling them to navigate independently. Space should never be a constraint and we are trying to address that,” she details. One of the main challenges in running the shelter over the years, Aiswarya points, has been the lack of space and optimal utilisation of available space for easy use.
“One of the first things we did as soon as the fundraiser provided us with some resources is to get the store-room organised. We lacked shelves and food, including rice bags; other dry and wet items were stored on the floor in a corner of the kitchen. Now, we have created an aluminium partition, so that there is a new store-room within the kitchen. A wooden cupboard has also been made for storage. Steel racks have been installed for easy storage and retrieval of daily kitchen needs,” she says.
With the existing resources, construction of a storage shed and a counselling chamber with privacy on the terrace for the shelter’s female coordinator and counsellors to speak to women from the shelter and other women who are either rescued or referred for crisis management have also been rolled out. “Earlier in October, we had two teams consisting of a structural engineer and an architecture team visit the shelter to assess the structure, take measurements, discuss with our residents what their needs were.
Once the permissions are taken from the authorities, we will start work on breaking down the existing toilets and building a new toilet complex that is inclusive for all kinds of disabilities. The space for the lift has also been marked. Once we get the structural certificate and building licence, we will start the process of installation,” she adds. Aiswarya also intends to set up a training centre at the entrance of the shelter building, retrofitted into a fully accessible, disabled-friendly sewingcum- quilting space with work stations.
“The storage and display will also be designed so that women in a wheelchair can access the shelves and storage. This will serve as a model centre for anyone who wants to set up a similar space and centre,” she shares.
To contribute, visit: https:// milaap.org/fundraisers/support- shelter-for-women-with-disability- a