PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, July 9: Tata Steel Foundation organised the third edition of the ‘Sabal Awards’ ceremony at Kudy Mahanty Auditorium here, last evening. The event was a commemoration of Tata Steel Foundation’s engagement with PWD, and its message on inclusivity to the larger society.
The Tata Steel Foundation initiated SABAL in 2017 as a participative ecosystem for persons with disability which enables accessible infrastructure, capability development, economic independence and sensitivity as eventual means to dignity for more than 5,000 people every year.
It also hopes to address a gap resulting from 70% plus of persons with disability in India being in rural communities with their hindrances to access, while the bulk of solutions in the space is for urban communities.
The Sabal Awards is a flagship effort to discover and recognise the talent among persons with disability, believing at all times that celebrating their innate spirit must not be forgotten in the pursuit of success and excellence.
The awards, this year, received more than 700 entries from 25 states and 5 UTs of India, of which 56 participants were selected across categories by a national award-winning independent jury.
Awards were given in various categories under Spirit of Expression and Spirit of Resilience.
Ketoulhoutuo Zuyie, Pratham Ashok Rathod, Sukriti Pal and Raghunath Nag received awards under the Sabal Musical Maestro category.
The Sabal Awards are designed as a step forward to reach out to several exemplary persons who are engaged in contributing to the larger cause of disability in their own unique ways.
The awardees included individuals whose journeys of relentless struggles and dauntless courage are an inspiration for thousands of people out there who are tiring hard to overcome societal challenges.
Tata Steel Foundation in partnership with Enable India, a leading organisation in the field of disability empowerment, instituted Sabal – Center for Abilities in 2017 at Noamundi.
Sabal is based on the principles of creating a participative infrastructure that will allow PWDs to find a one-stop resource centre for skilling, employability and financial independence.
Sourav Roy, Chief Executive Officer of Tata Steel Foundation said, “Tata Steel Foundation believes in an equitable society, and encouraging space for a discourse on disability is an integral part of this belief. We have been on a journey with Sabal for the past two years now. The awards represent an effort at recognising and amplifying the stories that have inspired us the most”.
Sabal presently caters for the need of persons with three major disabilities – sight impairment, hearing impairment and orthopaedic impairment.
