Charter :

To help the physically challenged persons in India live a discrimination free life of ease, dignity and self respect in which they have a fair chance to realize their full potential, pursue their dreams, be happy, be independent, be considered beautiful and glamorous, be recognized as equals to the able bodied people and contribute meaningfully to the society.

Objectives :

Mission objectives are two-fold : one directed towards the able bodied persons and the other directed towards the physically challenged persons,

Objective #1 : To help create a society with an inclusive environment for all.

This will be done by :

· Raising awareness among able bodied people that people facing physical challenges are not disabled, but differently abled. Education system will be approached to instill this in children right from the beginning.

· Raising awareness among able bodied people that the physically challenged people have skills which can be utilized to contribute positively to the society and live an independent life with dignity.

· Raising awareness among able bodied people that eventually everyone will be physically challenged at some point in their lives, so it makes sense to create a Universally Accessible inclusive society that doesn’t discriminate against or put physically challenged people at a disadvantage in enjoying a full and meaningful life.

· Raising awareness among the able bodied people that the physically challenged people too have the same aspirations and emotions, have the same capacity to be happy and deserve to enjoy all the pleasures of life equally as the able bodied.

· Raising awareness among the able bodied people that the concepts of heroism, beauty and glamour transcend physical appearance and that those facing physical challenges can be equally heroic, beautiful and glamorous as the able bodied.

Objective #2 : To help the physically challenged persons live a full and meaningful life.

This will be done by :

· Providing the physically challenged persons counseling and guidance to discover fields best suited to their abilities, in a positive environment so that they can live a dignified, happy, content and independent life with self-respect, achieve their full potential and contribute meaningfully to the society.

· Creating scholarships, grants and subsidies for physically challenged persons to facilitate their education and training in fields best suited to their abilities.

· Creating dedicated talent shows, movies, competitions, cultural festivals, forum, camps etc. featuring the physically challenged persons in a positive and glamorous fashion, whereby they are not pitied or discriminated by the able bodied people, bur are rather envied.

· Lobbying for creation and implementation of government policies facilitating equal opportunities in all fields for physically challenged persons.

· Lobbying for creation and implementation of Building Codes facilitating universally accessible buildings for the physically challenged persons.

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Why did I think of VVF?

Since childhood, I have observed that all those close to me – my parents, my brother, my close friends and all those who I grew up with, never made me feel I was physically challenged. But when I came across those who did not know me; not all, but certain people made me feel like I did not belong with them. I realized it had to do something with the way I walked, but I used to wonder why it bothered them, because the problem was in my leg, not theirs. The pain was in my leg, not theirs. The physical challenges were mine, not theirs, so why were they uncomfortable and why were they shrugging away from me instead of trying to understand why I am walking this way? Scary thing is that I am from a well to do family and was raised in an industrial township among highly educated individuals, and yet I faced this. I shiver to think what I would have had to undergo if I was raised elsewhere.

Now that I have seen people in all walks of life, I no longer wonder what it is inside certain people that makes them uncomfortable when they come across a physically challenged person. I no longer wonder what is it that makes them either pity the physically challenged people or to altogether discount them. I no longer wonder what is it that makes them believe that just because someone is physically challenged; it is not just unreasonable to expect normal human emotions like fun, enjoyment, and happiness from them, but plain unthinkable! I no longer wonder because I know the answer – it is because of the way they have been raised. It is not their fault that they have been only dealing with the able bodied, and have not been equipped with the right attitude to deal with physically challenged. They have been raised to believe that physical challenge means disability and handicap. Because those are the terms they have been conditioned with. They fail to understand that the physically challenged people are neither disabled nor handicapped – they are simply differently abled.

I wish the entire world; especially my motherland India, had a social fabric, which allowed a physically challenged person live a life that was as easy as it is for the able bodied. A social fabric which allowed a physically challenged person to be happy, be independent, lead a dignified life with self-respect and pursue their dreams like the able bodied could so naturally do.

This is why I have decided to create a foundation that will enable physically challenged persons in India to lead a full and meaningful life with self-respect and dignity. I hope I will get full support from everyone in this endeavor.