Media Release

Mumbai, Mar 28: ADAPT celebrated 39 years of service at the Taj President, Cuffe Parade here on Sunday March 27. The legendary Usha Uthup performed along with ADAPT students, who showcased their artistic and cultural talent at this special benefit dinner and evening of musical entertainment.

The chief guest of the function was film director Shyam Benegal, Welcome and introduction by Dr Mithu Alur, founder chairperson, ADAPT. The pogramme compered by Varsha Hooja, trustee ADAPT

ADAPT’S social model of care and rehabilitation for children with disability has spread across 18 states in the country, and we have moved towards creating an inclusive village model in Maharashtra under the aegis of The Mithu Alur Foundation. Through the Foundation, an inclusive village model will be created which has inclusive schools, hospitals, medical services, livelihood through skills training programmes and women’s empowerment programmes.

Over the 39 years, in association with other government and non – government agencies, the foundation has also been able to influence macro social policy developments. The Right to Education Act a landmark legislation, also includes children with disability. However, there is a huge chasm between policy enactment and transformational change on the ground level. Robust data does not exist.

To address the issue, the foundation embarked upon a new project – Shiksha Sankalp.

For the first time in the country, ADAPT is undertaking a door to door census of all children in the age group of 6 to 14 (the age group who now have a fundamental Right To Education) in a complete administrative jurisdiction. The project will be undertaken in the `A’ Ward of Colaba in Mumbai (45,000 households) and 22 villages of Pelhar District in Thane (2,500 households). All children who are not in school will be tracked. Foundation also will then bridge the structural deficits in the education delivery system in these two jurisdictions.

The three-year longitudinal project and foundation expects to deliver a replicable, sustainable model of universal education. The foundation also dedicated a portion of the funds raised from the event to this project as it will seek out children not in school, as well as to strengthen our schools infrastructure and to support our work in reaching out to children and families in distress.

Being an NGO, the foundation do not depend on any single stakeholder: while government is the ultimate repository of social responsibility to all its citizens, its support can only be a part of an overall strategy to create sustainable models of social enterprise.

ADAPT has created a framework of each stakeholder contributing to the work we do: principally on the basis that if our beneficiaries value the service we provide than they also contribute in their own way to sustain it. ADAPT's stakeholders also include the broader community and it is in that mode that it seek funds through individual and corporate contributions and fund raising events.