Namaskara! My name is Brianna Ramos and I am a rising junior in
Cornell’s ILR school. My Global Service Learning Project was to develop a
handbook detailing different games which can improve the soft skills of
students with disabilities, as well as a pamphlet for employers explaining the
importance of employing people with disabilities. My project site was Sneha Kiran
in Mysore, a school for children with cerebral palsy and other mental and
physical impairments. The school provides educational services, therapy, and
pre-vocational training on-site. My project focused on older students who were
enrolled in pre-vocational programs who we believed would be eligible for
employment. I chose this project because I am passionate about creating a
more accessible world, which begins by both giving people with disabilities the
tools they need to be successful and educating others about how they can make
any space more accessible.
The students I work with are aged 15 and up, and most are enrolled
in both academic and pre-vocational courses. It can be daunting for parents of
people with disabilities to think about what happens once their child ages out
of school, employment may not be a thought at first, however from my research I
was able to find companies who are adapting to include a more diverse number of
employees with mental and physical impairments. We were able to visit Vinyas, a
technology company located in Mysore which employs people with a range of
disabilities. They have made adjustments to their training programs and provide
both written and verbal instructions which are helpful to all employees, not
just those with mental impairments. Making a space accessible benefits
everyone, not just people with disabilities.
This program focuses on soft skills, which are a group of
interpersonal skills needed to be a successful and satisfied worker. The four
skills I focused on were communication, concentration, teamwork, and problem-solving.
By using games, I aimed to create accessible and fun activities that would
strengthen these skills. The students were by far my favorite part of working
at the school. Each student has their own way of doing things, and the
confidence that they built in themselves and each other by cheering everyone on
was inspiring. I learned a lot about perseverance, confidence, and teamwork by
watching the students help each other and the way they interacted with me. From
my first day at work, the students referred to me as Akka, which means elder
sister in Kannada, welcoming me to their family at Sneha Kiran. Their trust in
me and cooperation helped me to overcome the challenges I faced, such as having
to adapt games on the spot to be more accessible, because I knew that they
believed in me.
I will forever be grateful to SVYM for giving me such a warm
welcome to India and Indian culture, Cornell for partnering with SVYM and
giving me the chance to go across the world to learn lessons about development
and inclusivity, and of course Sneha Kiran for trusting in me to develop a
program for their amazing students. This experience has challenged me to go out
of my comfort zone in many different ways, and I am leaving India with more
confidence in myself and a passion for creating positive change wherever I
go.
This is a picture of the students I ate lunch with everyday in the courtyard. Their ages range from early teens to late twenties. Eating lunch and playing games after was one of the highlights of my experience at Sneha Kiran, and it allowed me to form close bonds with many of the students.
