``Today, everything centres around computers, no office runs without them,'' he says. Having completed a two-month course in Wordstar, Radheshyam is optimistic about securing employment once he completes the entire course. He is studying for the course with the help of talk software and a multi-media kit offered by a Bhopal-based NGO, Arushi, which provides computer training to visually impaired people.

``Our organisation strives to integrate the disabled into the social mainstream,'' Santosh Khare, a trainer at Arushi, told UNI here. ``We view persons with impairments in terms of their ability and how we can develop it further.''

Arushi was one of the several NGOs which participated at the Social Development Fair held in the Capital from May 8 to 16. The fair attempted to highlight the multiple issues connected with social and community development such as empowerment of women, child health, literacy and education.

``We have come to Delhi to show people what we are doing and what we can do,'' Khare said. Arushi conducts typing and Braille classes besides working with slum children.

``We hope this fair will create awareness in society that disabled children need work not pity,'' said Sushma Kapoor of Digdarshika, a Bhopal-based NGO working with spastics and mentally retarded children.

Her son Deepak is medically termed a ``slow learner'' as he is unable to understand the concept of numbers. The 24-year-old works as an office assistant at Digdarshika, tackling the mail and bank drafts and operating the photo copier. He gets a monthly salary of Rs 400. ``However, society has labelled him mentally handicapped and he cannot get employment outside our centre,'' she lamented.

Digdarshika's activities centre around giving disabled children a sense of self-worth and income-generating training. Stuffed toys, agarbattis and greeting cards were some of the items made by the children of the centre and displayed at its stall. But Kapoor regretted that the returns were nominal as they did not have a proper retail outlet.

A Delhi-based association of parents of spastic children took matters in their own hands instead of letting the apathy of society and neglect of the authorities discourage them. They started Muskaan, a vocational training centre for their children, around three years ago with the help of committed professionals in the field.

``The parents have started a production centre where young people are employed as society is not ready to accept them,'' Neera Chawla, principal of Muskaan, said. The centre produces Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 worth of spices ranging from red chillies, turmeric, jeera, dhania and sambhar powders. The money is used to recycle raw material and pay a stipend to the 21 young people presently working at Muskaan.

Rajiv Bhargava, 24, can read and write on his own and has been working with Muskaan for the past two years. He earns the maximum -- Rs 350 per monthfor making folders, bags and envelopes. For him, the fair was an opportunity to display his talent. ``Such events help create awareness. We also hold a ten-day exhibition during Diwali as a result of which increasing number of people have started buying our products,'' added Chawla.

Muskaan has enabled many young people with chronic disability to get on with their lives. One such youth is Ravi, 23, who could not even walk without support when he joined the centre some years ago. With the help of behaviour therapy, which consists of encouraging and motivating a person, he can now move around on his own. Ravi earns a monthly stipend of Rs 200 for cleaning and packing candles and making envelopes.

For Navjeevan, an Indore-based school for the hearing impaired, the fair provided a much-needed forum to promote the concept of language development. ``We do not teach or encourage sign language but emphasise on the importance of the spoken language,'' Anjana Sridhara, founder of Navjeevan, said. The course offered at her school, which is attended by 70 children, includes a computerised machine called `Vaghni'. When a child speaks into the computer, a picture is created. ``If the child does not speak, the picture will not appear. In this way, the child is taught vocalisation and intonation'', she said. Navjeevan has integrated 25 children, including those with profound hearing disabilities, into the educational mainstream.

Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA), a Mumbai-based voluntary organisation which focuses on children, youth, women and men residing on pavements and in slums, was also represented at the fair. Established in 1984, YUVA has been mobilising people on issues such as forced evictions, the right to work and gender justice.