Our work does not stop at the campus gate.
By giving free schooling and boarding to the poor and disadvantaged, Velugu has evolved into a community referral centre for children with all kinds of issues. Even orphaned children are brought to our doorstep — and with the help of various agencies, we do our best for all.
Our founders counselled families who were reluctant to care for their disabled children and aged women. The reasons were many: ignorance, poverty, stigma, myths, and simply not knowing that help existed.
Our initiatives to overcome these social problems have borne results. Impressed by the Society's dedicated services, the local population has come to regard Velugu as the region's referral centre — and to respect our voice.
A free flow of interaction keeps us grounded: parents, community leaders and visitors meet our office bearers, and our children and grandmothers participate in community events. That exposure builds independence and self reliance.
Persons with disabilities often do not know what they are entitled to, or lack the means to access it. Velugu closes that gap, person by person.
75 self help groups of persons with disabilities formed, 175 pensions arranged, 45 house sites obtained, 325 bus and rail passes organised, disability certificates facilitated.
Free medical camps in rural and slum areas, with hearing aids, spectacles, wheelchairs, crutches and tricycles distributed on the spot.
Tailoring, embroidery, sari printing, carpentry and auto repair — taken to the villages rather than expecting people to travel.
We connect people with financial institutions and government departments, promote thrift and savings, and create marketing opportunities for products made by persons with disabilities.
Roads laid in 8 villages, drinking water facilities (including tubs for animals), drains in colonies and hamlets, check dams built, tanks and ponds desilted, plantation programmes and public environment camps.
42 viable women's groups meet twice a month with our staff — learning savings, income generation from local resources, and how to claim government schemes.
— From the Velugu visitors' book. Officials, administrators and community leaders have recorded their confidence in this work for over two decades.
A single camp can hand a farmer a hearing aid, a grandmother a pair of spectacles, and a child a tricycle — all in one morning, all free.