What is ADVOCACY

-PKM SWAMY

Advocacy is the apex intervention process in development.  Samarthanam initially began working as a service delivery organization for the empowerment of the disabled, it has now graduated into an advocacy, policy influencing and capacity building, resource centre for the disabled.
What We Mean by ADVOCACY
Advocacy is an organized course of action to achieve change. Advocacy is about concerned citizens joining with others to campaign for equality and social inclusion of people with disabilities; by changing policies, practices and attitudes that perpetuate their exclusion and segregation.
All about Advocacy in brief:

• Promoting full citizenship and enabling the people with disability to participate in the everyday life of the community.
• Changing policies that maintain exclusion and segregation of people with disabilities from society.
• Improving the lives of people with disabilities and ensuring that they are able to live independently.
• Challenging the misconceptions about the lives of people with disabilities.

What We Aspire Through Advocacy:

• Equality before the law without discrimination
• Right to life, liberty and security of the person
• Equal recognition before the law and legal capacity
• Freedom from torture
• Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse
• Right to respect physical and mental integrity
• Freedom of movement and nationality
• Right to live in the community
• Freedom of expression and opinion
• Respect for privacy
• Respect for home and the family
• Right to education
• Right to health
• Right to work
• Right to an adequate standard of living
• Right to participate in political and public life
• Right to participate in cultural life

It is not easy to provide such basic things mentioned above to the poverty-stricken people particularly the disabled.  Samarthanam strives to provide their basic needs coupled with education and employment trainings but in the process it   also realized the need for providing intangible inputs to the process of empowering the disabled through collective and proactive voice and action. That is what we call as advocacy, policy action and capacity building at all levels among the disabled and stakeholders concerned.
Our Advocacy Pyramid

1. International Level: An Associate Member of World Blind Union-WBU) and participated in WBU General Assembly
2. National Level:  Formed the Indian Blind Union/ Networking with Government/National Trust/Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), Sight Savers International, Axis Bank Foundation/INGOs etc.
3. State Level: Represented to the Government for Legislature Positions for the disabled, Capacity Building Programs, Leadership for Disability Act Enforcement and CBP of Disabled Service Organizations, Membership in various Forums like Disability Forum of CII AND Committees (Grant-in-aid-Committee-GIAC) of GoK and Partnership dialogue with I/NGOs and the Corporate Houses.
4. Local Level: Expanding activities to various districts like Kolar, Dharwad Ram Nagara through  Disabled Service Organizations and public institutions to have larger reach.