what we have done so far

> 200 people have been trained for various skill developments since April 2017

80% job placements across various sectors viz MNCs, BPOs, Financial institutions and Design studios

Vocational Skills imparted
Including coral draw and in-design, website designing, Java, .NET and mobile repairing

Facilitated more than 300 hours of Skill based volunteering for the employees of partner organizations

ARCH has been committed to building skills and success in the differently-abled community of India. People with disabilities often suffer from feelings of alienation, social withdrawal, and plummeting self-esteem. This can result from the lack of simple and basic skills needed on a daily basis.

ARCH works closely to enhance capabilities amongst the differently-abled community since social value is usually accorded to people who are perceived to be competent and skilled.

Employment is often seen as an important step towards the rehabilitation and empowerment of a differently-abled person for it brings with it confidence, aspiration and a willingness to accept responsibility. Besides, it helps eradicate social exclusion and poverty. However, the differently-abled find it difficult to be accepted as active and functional members of the society. The chief obstacles in achieving employment are societal bias and individual in-capabilities including poverty, transportation means and lack of skills. Hence, getting a well-paying, full-time job is a struggle for them.

ARCH through its program Naya Savera mentors and trains the differently-abled to overcome their physical and perceived mental limitations and creates the opportunity to make friends, develop a healthy social network, and enjoy a more worthy life.

Components of ‘Naya Savera’ – a skill building program designed by ARCH

Technical training
Soft skill training
Communication with special focus on English language
Counselling sessions
Exposure visits to various organizations/corporates for hands on experience
Intervention with family members in terms of counselling, creating a support system at home

skill building-Inspiring stories from the ground

Amisha Patel

Meet Amisha Patel, 25 years of age, deaf and mute by birth.

With a pro-active and go-getter mother, Amisha was provided basic education at home and encouragement to pursue MBA in Finance through a distance learning course. She was given all the support to stand on her two feet however her disabilities, a big concern for her over-protected parents, stopped her from venturing out of the comfort of her home.

At a time when pursuing a career like a normal girl was a distant dream to her, Amisha met us. Team ARCH, under the program Naya Savera, took up the challenge of training her, a sharp and bright girl but unexposed to the real world. Lessons on grooming, personality development, confidence building and skills to secure and excel in a job were imparted in a holistic approach lasting a few months. The end result was sweet success.

Today, Amisha is a Receipt Entice Accountant at Transpek Company. She is not only a source of immense joy and pride for her parents but also a glowing example of how certain physical limitations can transform to limitless opportunities.

Urmila Shah

“Only way to do good work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with matters of heart, you’ll know when you find it”- Steve Jobs

The quote is apt for 35 year old Urmila Shah, differently-abled with 60% deformity in both of her legs.

Being married for many years Urmila was tired of being house-bound and dependent on her family for big and small needs. She knew her life was meant for important things and her physical deformity was only a road block and not a dead end.

With support from her family, she enrolled in ARCH’s Naya Savera program where she was imparted high quality vocational training in various theoretical and practical aspects needed to secure and perform in a job. Hours of counselling sessions gave her the necessary push to take failures in her stride and keep her own morale boosted high.

Today, we’re proud to share that Urmila is a punctual and a diligent employee of Transpek, working in the fixed deposit department. She is enthusiastic and a bundle of energy at work. She considers the program Naya Savera as God-sent to her at a time when she needed it the most. Before her stint with us, she had taken a similar soft skill development training with another program but opines that it is Naya Savera that is the true source of all the the courage and confidence she exuberates today!

Reshma Mahida

As quoted by Christopher Reeve, ‘Once you choose hope, anything is possible’ stands true for Reshma Mahida, a brave, optimistic but differently-abled 29-year-old woman. In spite of being born with 40% deformity in both her legs, today she leads a full-filling life with dignity and respect. Working as an office assistant at a reputed CA firm in Vadodara, she is independent, hard-working and an asset to the organisation and her family.

However, her journey was not smooth. In spite of holding a graduate degree in the arts field, she struggled to find employment for months. Numerous rejections gave serious blows to her optimism and confidence. With no hope, yet at the behest of a friend, she enrolled as trainee in the Naya Savera program. Little did she know that life would take a 360 degree turn!

All through her training she was an enthusiastic and dedicated learner, who put her best foot forward in all modules covered right from soft skills to communication and vocational development to counselling sessions.

What she learnt broadened her horizon and gave her the confidence needed to reach for the sky. Today, she describes – Naya Savera as truly a new dawn in her life that has brought hope, aspiration and opportunities with it. She considers this to be one of the wisest decisions she has ever made. With conviction and confidence she now eyes a vibrant future.

Sakshi Patanwadiya

Meet Sakshi Patanwadiya, a differently-abled dwarf woman who is working as Financial Assistant at E-Tech and standing tall with hope and confidence, all thanks to our Naya Savera Program. Riding on a high of receiving a promotion within the first year of joining, we are very happy to share her success story.

The social stigma of being different from everyone around her was a constant nag for Sakshi. She was ridiculed for her height and incapability that it brought. This pushed her into a shell and she slowly became a loner.

However, she found solace in books and spent long hours studying. It helped her with decent grades at school and she managed to secure a degree in accountancy. She also gained rich experience working at a cloth shop for one year. Yet, with stunted growth opportunities she soon became dissatisfied and wanted more for herself.

Self-motivated but still socially shy, she managed to attend the training program with Naya Savera regularly. Honing language skills and learning good social conduct helped this avid learner to work on her strengths and make the most of new opportunities.

Having attended a similar training at another popular institute she found a huge difference in the two trainings and attributed a lot of her success to the personal attention and professional training imparted by us. She believes that Naya Savera is the catalyst in her life that brought positive changes at every step.

Pintu Sodha Parmar

Pintu Sodha Parmar, 28 with 50% locomotor deformity lives with his wife and supportive parents. Securing Diploma in Civil Draftsman from I.T.I, Pintu like any other youth dreamed of starting his own business and being financially independent.

However, his dreams crashed when he repeatedly failed to land his first job. Being differently-abled, society perceived him as incapable and dependent on others. Such rejections made him repulsive to opportunities and in no time he gave up on the idea of leading a normal life.

At this point in time Naya Savera was introduced to him. He recalls this experience to be life changing for him, paving way for his success. His training at Naya Savera fuelled his passion to excel and charter a brand new course of life.

Today, with a steady job at Transpek, he is an earning member of his house and a big support to his family. While he may still be financially dependent on his father, Pintu knows that it’s only a matter of time.

With deep gratitude for all his trainers and mentors at Naya Savera he is grateful for a brand new beginning full of energy, vibrancy and opportunity offered him. Today he is confident to strike a conversation with a stranger and enjoys healthy camaraderie with his colleagues at work. This confidence and self-assurance which was a distant dream is now a reality through Naya Savera training!

projects / programs

Naya Savera –Skill building program

target groups

Differently abled

Participants certified so far

250

Naya Savera is a unique program by ARCH to empower differently-abled individuals from under privileged sections of the society to lead a life of self-worth and dignity.

The key activities of this project include identifying, selecting and mobilising needy participants who undergo an aptitude test to assess their inner potential. Once selected, they are provided basic computer training covering Microsoft office, along with specialized training based on their interest, deformity and aptitude.

Alongside high quality training is rendered in soft skills and communication to help them to secure and perform in good jobs. One-on-one counselling sessions are conducted to instil self-confidence and erase mental incapacities.

We also work closely with companies to get job placements for participants and hold sensitization workshops with parents, peers, organisations co-workers of new work place.

Currently, participants from this training program are working at corporates, financial institutions, BPOs and some are self employed. On an average they make a healthy earning between Rs. 10,000 to 25,000 per month.

Outcome

Vocational training has opened doors for people with disabilities into employment which in turn aid their rehabilitation.
Counselling and soft skill training has improved motivation and confidence to work in an organization and give opportunity for long term sustenance.
Participation of funding partner in conducting special sessions through skill based volunteering has resulted in social inclusion and acceptance of trainees in organization and society at large.
A long term impact of the program is better living condition and quality life to differently abled individuals and their families.

An exclusive program for hearing impaired

target Schools

Deaf

PARTICIPANTS CERTIFIED SO FAR

ARCH has designed an exclusive module for imparting training to hearing impaired.

While there are many schools dedicated to working with deaf children till grade 12, there is a dearth of opportunity for higher education in this specific group. Hence, a major chunk of children generally drop put after grade 12 and waste many precious years in figuring next course of action.

To keep the momentum of education and employment high this program focuses exclusively on vocational and personality development training enabling participants in becoming self-reliant.

The module is extensive and teaching methodology includes visual media, demonstration and exposure visits whereby the hearing impaired can work around their incapacity to lead a normal life. The course is designed keeping in mind the limitations and strengths of a deaf person.

In addition to the technical and soft skill training, there is a strong focus on developing reading and writing English, who otherwise have low exposure even to their native language.One-on-one counselling sessions are conducted to encourage participants to seek high education while honing vocational skills and sensitization among family and employer organisations.

So far, the program is in training module where 60 hearing impaired from Gujarat are getting groomed for the corporate world. Once complete, we will be committed to getting good job placements for the job-ready participants.

Endorsements

“

It has been over a year since we recruited the specially-abled candidates from Naya Savera Project. These candidates, posted across different departments at our company, have been working to the deep satisfaction of their Heads of Department. A general feedback received from all heads is that they are keen on learning new things, more observant and willing to take any assigned responsibility. Besides this, their friendly nature and smartness of finding a way around their disabilities for completing their work has enabled them to build good affinity with their colleagues. It has been a novel experience for the entire organisation to have these young minds on board! While they learn from us, we too learn new things while working and interacting with them.

”

Sidharth Thakkar

Corporate Manager ,Transpek Industries Ltd.

“

It is my pleasure to inform you that I am the colleague Ms. Reshma Mahida, a differently-abled but highly capable woman, who has been appointed in our esteemed organization by the Naya Savera project. In my opinion, Reshma is one of the most sincere members of our team who is particular and punctual about completing work on a daily basis. From the time she has joined our department I have seen tremendous growth in her level of confidence. Over time, with her great performance and enthusiasm she has been accepting new job challenges and fulfilling each task to perfection.

”

Ekta Patel

Account Assistant, Hanny Mehta and Co.

“

We employed differently-abled Sakshi Patanwadiya in our organisation last year through Naya Savera Project. With initial apprehensions we were worried about how well Sakshi would contribute and fit into the organisation. To our surprise she blended in no time. I give full credit to Naya Savera for their commitment to drive diversity and inclusion of the differently-abled community. The training that was imparted to Sakshi at Naya Savera has brought out the best in her and in a short time she proved to be an asset to her department.

I deeply respect and support Naya Savera Project for improving the lives of the differently-abled. In my opinion specially-abled people are highly gifted as they are loyal, less distracted and extremely focused as seen in Sakshi’s case. Being associated with Naya Savera project has been an honour for me!

”

Romesh Sutharia

HR and Admin Manager, ETech Global Services

“Every little effort can make
an enormous difference;
hope can overcome cynicism
and tenacity can prevail over material "

what we have done so far

Components of ‘Naya Savera’ – a skill building program designed by ARCH