What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?

Where the Martial Arts Meet the Creative Arts to Enhance Ability among Disability

What approach does your initiative incorporate?

Capacity Building

What stage is your project?

Ongoing project

Year the initative began:

2008

Website:

http://www.colorss.net

Youtube Video:

Barrier:

Lack of parity in facilities, equipment and funding

Insight:

Visibility multiplies participation

Do you have any existing partnerships? If so, please list and describe.

We do not have any partnership at this moment. We are planning for having partnership with able bodied as well disabled schools/organization. For successful incorporation of vocational training we are planning to partner with chamber of commerce.

How many people does your innovation serve or plan to serve? Exactly who will benefit?

At present 30 physically disabled children are in training. In coming two month we plan to train total 60 children. By the end of one year of the project we aim to provide training and rehabilitation to approx 400 children Children of all disabilities benefit from the skills emphasized in this training. In addition, by teaching able-bodied and disable together, Project Enhance also seeks to change the largely negative social attitude toward those who are disabled and make inclusion easy

In which sector do these partners work? (Check all that apply)

How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing?

People with disability have different needs as per their disability. The project is started with the needs assessments of the child. Personalized curriculum for each child is designed so that the exact need for better mental health is identified; innate skills are identified, nourished and developed. Age group for this project is not a barrier as personalized curriculum is the key factor for success. To maintain motivation and to stimulate awareness of different types of body posture and control, we integrate activities like games, meditation, and dance into these 1- to 1.5-hour group sessions. Personalized curriculum helps us to maintain focus and observe change. Integrating creative arts into the sessions allows Project Enhance to reinforce elements of the karate training, further helping children develop and retain their skills.

Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact

A Down syndrome girl with speech disorder enforced me to rest (they sensed I was sick). Lead the class and gifted me the opportunity to feel change

What does impact/success look like? Please list any tangible measures of the impact of your innovation

The joy to see a cerebral palsy girl balancing on her toes for more than 30 seconds is a big change. Integrating creative arts into the sessions allows Project Enhance to reinforce elements of the karate training, further helping children develop and retain their skills. Incorporating art cultivated: A sense of responsibility (as participants come to understand they have to complete tasks following instructions) Eye/hand coordination (coloring within defined boundaries) Controlled motor skill (finger/hand manipulation and pressure required for drawing) A sense of achievement Cognitive skill Differentiation skill (selecting colors and tools) and Discipline (quietly focusing on completing a task) Lowering of anger and mood swings Children of all disabilities benefit from the skills emphasized in this training, such as body and muscle control, flexibility, stamina, breath control, trust building, aggression control, and togetherness.

Is there a chance that your project could change policy (within an institution or government)?

We would be doing lot of advocacy and awareness for this project. Special demonstrations and stage shows will be carried out to reach people at large. The change needs to be seen and felt live. I think with time this project will change many things.

Aside from financial sustainability, how do you plan to grow the initiative or expand your intended impact?

Project curriculum is designed as per individual’s need. Innate skills are identified and nourished for better life. We are partnering with able-bodied as well disabled schools/organization. This partnership will help in organized expansion. Project enhance would be incorporated in Colorss’s other project i.e Project Iris: Currency Indicator for the Visually Impaired. Iris is a device that will help VI identify Indian currency, Project Enhance would be incorporated for the empowerment of VI

How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?

At this stage Project Enhance is a self funded project. The model project carried out in the Idea phase has shown inexplicable changes. The same results are being observed in the ongoing project. These changes should help us in convincing the corporate for corporate sponsorship. Project Enhance is partnering with able-bodied as well with disabled school/organization. This would help in expansion of the project. The joint efforts of Colorss and the partner organization will enhance the strength project proposal and help in getting funds. Stage shows and demonstrations would be performed by the trainees to create awareness; paid tickets would help in fund raising.

If your project is already up and running, tell us your:

Annual budget

Project is running and it’s a self-funded at this moment so we are hand tied to expand and reach more children. Our annual requirement is 20,000$

Annual revenue generated

N/A

Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers)

One full-time, One part-time and 3 volunteers

What are the main barriers to financing your initiative, and how do you plan to address these barriers?

Waiting to measure/observe change is the biggest barrier in our project. No one is willing to finance this project because they feel martial arts and people with disabilities don’t go together. Till date no one believes that Karate can do these inexplicable wonders, they feel karate is an aggressive sports. The plans is to show them change and make them believe: - To organize stage shows and demonstrations in different cities by these children in training - Art exhibitions created by them

What are the major challenges with regards to partnerships?

No such difficulties we are talks with two disabled schools and they have given us their consent. Official documentation is pending. The model project is enough to convince schools.

What was the motivation or defining moment that led to create this innovation? Tell us the story.

The hidden power of karate was felt by me, when I started working with children with disabilities in the year 2005. I had never thought of introducing karate to them. The early days of work were difficult. I had no idea how to control them and start a project, which which I can call successful. After a week of failure, the next morning it was karate! This was not planned but it happened automatically. Till date I keep telling myself you are training normal children. The first day I started with this attitude and the children accepted me instantly. For they could see no sympathy in my eyes, this is what they want! Since that day, my model project had yielded inexplicable results. Being trained in martial arts it was easy for me and I never faced any problems with any child with any disability. The unspoken respect and love that these children gave me helped in formalizing Project Enhance. New ideas were incorporated within the project for the maximum holistic enhancement of the individual. This project has taught many life saving skills i.e cleaning body parts, washing hands before-after eating, brushing teeth etc..at unconscious level. Studying karate involves the whole person; it concentrates the mind and conditions the physique. Integrating creative arts into the sessions allows Project Enhance to reinforce elements of karate training, further helping children develop and retain their skills.

Please tell us about the social innovator behind this initiative

The creator of this project is a man with a 2nd Dan Black Belt in karate; he formalised the Project Enhance work by registering, in India, the Colorss Foundation, which works towards the mainstream integration of the marginalised population through psychological, social, professional training and rehabilitation. Through the broad spectrum of its goal, the foundation handles various disability issues.

Mr. Anand Koti