‘Hamari Vaani’ social network for PwDs launched

DIMAPUR — State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Nagaland, Diethono Nakhro, said that the government has a huge role to play in implementing laws for inclusion of persons with disabilities. She, however, said that it should be the collective responsibility of society to ensure that inclusivity is achieved.

Speaking at the launch of ‘Hamari Vaani,’ a social networking platform for persons with disabilities (PwDs), at the Tourist Lodge, Dimapur on Tuesday, Nakhro said that people with disabilities often face a lot of barriers that prevent them from accessing essential information.

While those challenges are not confined to Nagaland alone, she noted that the state, despite the progress made in the last decade, still has a long way to go in terms of making inclusivity and accessibility a reality for persons with disabilities.

She said that the launch of ‘Hamari Vaani,’ would benefit the state’s disabled community and serve as a lifeline that will reach out to the disabled community, offering support and services to ensure that they get the help they need.

The social networking platform, developed by EnAble India, is an interactive voice response (IVR) social media platform for PwDs that can be accessed through any mobile phone without internet connection.

Nakhro went on to state that many schemes and services that can benefit the disabled community have come out in the government and private sectors, but the people who need the schemes are not getting the information because there are so many kinds of barriers.

She expressed hope that this new platform would facilitate connectivity across society and specifically engage with people with disabilities, offering assistance and support to bridge these gaps, so that PwDs do not miss out on opportunities.

‘The right information reaching the right people at the right time is crucial for schemes to work,’ she said, adding that it is not only disabled persons but also their families and enablers who require information and resources in order to help and support them.

Further, she said that when society talks about accessibility, inclusive education, equal opportunities and equal participation of people with disabilities in society, several mandatory legal requirements are now in place.

However, more than legal requirements, there is a need for moral imperatives, she said.

Nakhro also lauded EnAble India for coming up with a solution to help the disabled community get better access to information and services, stating that ‘Hamari Vaani’ is not just an app, but a valuable lesson on what can be achieved when a group of people come together, notice that there is a problem somewhere, and search for a solution.

Sharing about the platform, Regional Director of EnAble India, Shijo Joseph, said that the platform works as a community media space where users can express themselves by sharing their opinion, issues and discuss their problems and it is also an outreach platform which is used by social sector.

He informed that persons with disability, NGOs, companies, parents, and other enablers can use Enable Vaani to listen to and share information regarding opportunities, employment, education, schemes, solutions, etc.

He also shared that Vaani can be used by persons with disabilities, government and universities as well for case studies by dialing the number 9266344222 on their mobile phones.