National Convention For Women With Disabilities Held At Odisha Capital

Bhubaneswar: A national convention for women with disabilities was organised on Monday by USAID along with Shanta Memorial Rehabilitation Centre (SMRC) in Odisha’s capital.

USAID and SMRC have been working with women with disabilities since 2019 in three states, Odisha, Gujarat and Telangana, a programme that has involved about 10,000 women.

The convention was organised for those women who participated in the project. Many of them were also awarded and provided assistance for micro entrepreneurship.

The convention was held at Hotel Swosti Premium, marking SMRC’s 37th Foundation Day. Leading disability activist Shivani Gupta delivered the Seventh Ashok Memorial Disability Lecture at the event. The title of the lecture was “Breaking Barriers and Being Included”. Ashok Hans, the founder of SMRC, had initiated work on women with disabilities, which the centre now carries out.

The welcome address was given by Prof Ashok Sar and the meeting was chaired by retired IAS officer Aurobindo Behera. Amit Arun Shah of USAID, the chief guest, spoke about the programme and USAID’s commitment to it. Lt Gen J K Mohanty and Dr Lenin Mohanty also spoke at the event.