KARD has been engaged in the rehabilitation of the persons with Disabilities (PWDs) through Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) approach. We have been conducting Disability Awareness seminars/Trainings to the various groups in the villages (viz) youth, women, elders, students, elected local body members, village leaders, religious groups etc. in which, we explain how disabilities occur, how it can be prevented and how the disabled people can be rehabilitated, what should we do to the persons with disabilities, the various Government schemes for the rehabilitation of the disabled, need for mobility appliance, how we should treat the persons with disabilities etc. We aim at the prevention of disabilities by conducting these aware ness seminars/ trainings. We have conducted door to door survey of the disabled persons and have tabulated them according to their age. The tabular column below gives the details on the respective disabilities identified by conducting door to door survey n the three blocks of Kanyakumari District (A total of 4.5 lakh population)

ORTHO	MR/CP	VISUAL IMPAIRMENT	HEARING IMPAIRMENT	SKIN	OTHERS	MULTIPLE DISABILITIES
1693	499	266	259	298	34	23

We have also classified them according to their disability. We have been conducting disability wise assessments and review camps in their village itself, for providing the needed mobility appliance. We conduct ortho assessments, camps for the Hearing impaired, Eye camps, Skin camps to identify leprosy patients and caps for the mentally challenged persons.
In the ortho camps, the ortho paedically disabled persons have been screened in their village itself and measurements have been taken for the necessary mobility appliance (viz) calipers, crutches, special footwear, crawlers, wheel chairs, tricycles etc. Then the measurement taken person will be met in their house along with their family members and counseling and motivation will be given to them on the need for the mobility appliance which he/she is going to use and the role of the mobility appliance in preventing further deformities will be explained to the disabled persons. Then the mobility appliance will be prepared in the ortho workshop of KARD and it will be distributed to the disabled persons. He/she will be followed up for the necessary correction in the appliance while using it. He will also be trained to use it in the right way. The counseling needed persons will be followed up and the same will be give to them. The PWDs will be referred to the normal schools and helped to continue their education by providing educational assistance- learning materials and guidance. The elderly disabled persons-have been referred to vocational Training Centers for training.
In the eye camps, the village people are screened to identify their skin disease. The cataract persons have been identified given counseling to undergo cataract surgery, the other patients have been provided with the needed medicines. The identified visually impaired persons have been followed us and motivated to use mobility care. After giving motivation, when the person I convinced, they were given the mobility care and also trained to use it. They were also referred to the special schools and for the vocational training centres which ever is needed. In the screening camp for the Hearing impaired, the people have been screened for hearing deformities and diseases. Medicines have been provided to the patients who have diseases in the ear. For the persons who have hearing problem have been given motivation to use hearing aids. After giving sufficient motivation they have been provided with hearing aid and they have also been followed up. The children who ere identified with hearing loss have been referred to special schools for integrated education. The adults have been referred to vocational training centres for Vocational Training.
The skin camps conducted in the villages have been conducted with the aim to identify persons with skin ailments-leprosy. Medicines have been provided to the identified persons and the identified leprosy patients have been followed up. They have been motivated to undergo treatment. They have been motivated to use MCR chapel – chapel made of Micro Cellular Rubber, which prevents clear. The chapels made of Micro cellular Rubber have been prepared in our workshop and given to them. These patients have been followed up regularly. The adult leprosy patients have been referred to vocational training centres while the young children are referred to the regular schools for mainstreaming.
The identified mentally challenged persons have been assessed by conducting screening camps for them. The needy mentally challenged children have been referred to the special schools for special education and the needed therapies. They were also referred to the vocational training centres to choose vocational for their further parents Associations has been formed for them in which, the disabled persons, parents of the disabled children and the parents of the mentally challenged persons are the members. Availing Government schemes like, bus and railway concessions, scholarships, Identity cards, and issues like treatment and handling of disabled children, medical treatment of their illness, etc form the topics for discussion in the Parents Associations. These Parents Associations meet once a month and their membership ranges from twenty to thirty five.
In this approach, we have started one special school for the Mentally Retarded children through KARD, to run purely with community contributions. We have baptized it as Community Contributed Rehabilitation, in which, we provide the entire rehabilitation services purely with community contribution. The land on which we have constructed the buildings belongs to the Government Public Workers Department, We get one meal,  one day meal, cooked or cash for the same. We get used and new dress donated by the public. We have 42, mentally challenged persons in this centre. We admit only mentally challenged persons who are also abandoned and orphan in this centre – who are found on the streets, bus-stand, railway station etc., referred by the community people themselves. We get assistance from Rotary club, Lions club, religious groups etc.
Contact:
57, Marys Cottage,
Christ Nager, Nagercoil
K.K. District -629 003
PH: 04652 291605.