Profile of the President, Inspiration
And Trustee, Nav Prerna Foundation
NAME : SASWATI SINGH
DATE OF BIRTH : 18.8.1956
HUSBAND’S NAME : Mr. Dharam Singh
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS: M. Sc (Microbiology), M.Ed
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:
• Rehabilitation Personnel (Under RCI)
• District-Level Master Trainer
• Trained Coach For Special Olympics
• Trained In Foot Reflexology
• Trained In 1st & 2nd Degrees of Reiki System of Natural Healing
• Trained In Pranic Healing, Degree I & II
• Son-Rise Start-Up Program of Option Institute, Massachusetts, USA.
• Professional Course (Learning Disability)from Roehampton University (U.K.) through Amarjyoti Trust- Delhi
• Post Graduate Diploma in Special Education (PGPDSE-MR) From IGNOU.
AWARDS/HONOURS
• Received the Red & White Special Bravery Award in 2005, in the Category of An Act of Social Courage, and her work was featured in JAANBAAZ on Star News, several times.
• Had been nominated for the National Award from Uttarakhand.
• Received the National Trust Annual Awards ’07, as Best Individual, Parent of a Person with Disabilities.
• She was the Coordinator for a UN Pilot Project for Supported Decision Making in Dehra Dun.
• Was honored on Gandhiji’s Birthday in 2005, by Lion’s Club, Delhi, for the Rehabilitation of Spastic & Mentally Handicapped Children.
• Was honoured by the International Associations of Lions’ Club, in Dehra Dun, on Women’s’ Day, 2007.
• Received the Manav Seva Prerna Award in a function organized at IIC, Lodi Road- on 11th Nov,’09
• Has been awarded the UMA Shakti Samman, for the Social Service category on 8th March’14, given by the Hon’ble Governor at Raj Bhavan, Dehra Dun.
• She was awarded the “Women of Excellence Award” in 2016 by Punjab National Bank.
• Awarded “Women Achiever’s Award” by PNB on 8th March 2018.
EXPERIENCE
• Taught in Apeejay School, Kolkata, for a year, in 1975.
• Taught in Pratt Memorial School, Kolkata, as Senior Biology Teacher for 7 years.
• Taught in St. Marks’ Senior Sec. Public School, Delhi as Senior Biology Teacher, for 4 years.
• Former Principal of Amar Public School, Delhi for a short stint
• Founder President of INSPIRATION, (regd.) A Welfare Organization working with the intellectually challenged. (1996-June)
• Trustee of the newly registered Trust- Nav Prerna Foundation in Dehra Dun.(2010-Dec)
• Director of centers – Inspiration Center in Delhi running for last 23 years, & Inspiration Centre, Dehra Dun started in Oct’05 (where she is now based.) Director of the Nav Prerna Group Home.
• Former Vice President of Parents’ Association for Special Children with Mental Handicap.
• Former- Joint Secretary for 2 years for PARIVAAR.
• Former-General Secretary of PARIVAAR for 2 years, PARIVAAR is the National Federation of Parents’ Association. (For persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and Mental Handicaps & Multiple Disabilities).
• Former-Member of Board of Directors of NATIONAL TRUST (Min. of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India).
• Member of the Mental Health Authority of Uttarakhand.
• Member of Board for National Abilympics Association of India
• Member of Board of Special Schools Sports Council of India.
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
• Had been selected by the then Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment – Mrs. Maneka Gandhi, to visit Japan, with a Govt. Team, in 2001.
• Was selected from 13 countries of Asia–Pacific, to go to Washington DC, for Special Olympics, 2003, for Global Family Leadership Meeting.
• Attended the Son-Rise Start – up Program from Autism Treatment Centre in Massachusetts, USA, in 2003.
• Has organized high level Seminars/ Workshops for Disability, including Round Table Conference, Delhi in Feb 2005, as Organizing Secretary, for PARIVAAR- National Federation Of Parents’ Associations, Regional Parents’ Meet of PARIVAAR, funded by National Institute of Mentally Handicapped, Secunderabad.
• Has been Resource Person in several national & international fora.
• Is a member of several Disability Activist Groups in India.
• Has been a member of the Steering Group for the joint project of PARIVAAR & INCLUSION INTERNATIONAL.
• Has been the North-East Coordinator of an International 4-country Research Team, of Inclusion International & PARIVAAR, in the area of intellectually disabled, for the first Qualitative research in India.
• Has conducted Sensitization Programs in renowned schools and colleges in Delhi, such as Miranda House, Central Institute of Education, Deen Dayal College, Gargi College, St. Marks’ School, Mount Carmel School in Dwarka, New Delhi.
• Has written for renowned disability magazines, as also for other magazines like Femina, 4th D Women, Voice, etc. Has contributed a chapter on the GFCF Diet for persons with Autism, in an International book written by Barry Silberberg, USA, called ‘The Autism & ADHD Diet’.
• Has given talks on Disability issues, particularly Autism, at grass root level & national/ international levels.
• Has networking with Education Ministry in Delhi & Uttarakhand, and has been invited to speak & write for education in mainstream & special fora.
• Has done translation & dubbing for an international organization.
• Organized camps for training of the parents & special children.
• Has done hands-on training in Foot Reflexology, Reiki, cranio-sacral therapy, Magnified Healing & Pranic Healing Courses, as also Qigong Massage, by Dr. Silva of USA, and has trained parents in these, to work with their children.
• In May’07, organized the North-West Regional Convention for PARIVAAR, at Welham Boys’ School, Dehra Dun.
• On the 29th of Sept’07, Inspiration celebrated the completion of 2 years of Service delivery, in Dehra Dun. The Chief Guest was the Hon’ble Minister for Culture, Sri Prakash Pant, and Mrs. Poonam Natarajan, Chair Person National Trust from Delhi was the Special Guest.
• She had conducted a 3-day autism training workshop for regular teachers in Delhi. This was under the aegis of the National Trust, under the Min. of Social Justice & Empowerment. She also gave lectures for Autism for the DMR Course in Raphael International Centre in Dehra Dun.
• Has launched the Nav Prerna Project in Nainital, Almora & Haldwani, to train mothers to look after their special wards, and to form parents’ Associations to address the long term care of special children.
• She conducted the program for the World Disability Day on 3rd Dec’08 with the Min. of Social Service, Uttarkhand, District Administration, Dehra Dun & the Nagar Nigam at the famous Town Hall in Dehra Dun
• She is regularly training parents all over India & abroad, for empowering them to look after their wards, through hands-on training, in Dehra Dun.
• In June’09, she had been selected to be the Coordinator for the UN Pilot Project on Supported Decision Making, Dehra Dun, of the Inclusion International & PARIVAAR. She has already been selected as the Advisor for the one in Delhi, which commenced from 1st Sept’10.
• In Oct’09, she had been selected as a Member of the State Mental Health Authority of Uttarakhand.
• On 24th Jan’10, she was invited to present the paper on Supported Decision Making of the UNCRPD, at the National Parents’ Meet at Cochin, organized by the National Institute for Mentally Handicapped, Secunderabad & PARIVAAR- National Federation of Parents’ Associations.
• On the 21st of Feb’10, she had been invited to present a paper on the Parents’ Perspective at the 25th year celebrations of the NIMH, Hyderabad.
• She conducted the popular training program for parents called” Management of challenging Behaviour” in Hyderabad and Bangalore, on invitation from parents’ groups.
• She had been invited by the Aditya Birla Group’s educational wing, to do a workshop in Bombay at Gyanodaya, for the principals of all their schools all over India.
• She was nominated for the National Award for the Disability Sector, in 2010, from the State of Uttarakhand, by the then Secretary of Social Welfare, Mr. Mattu.
• Her organization had been selected twice by Her Excellency, Smt. Margaret Alva the Former-Governor of Uttarakhand, for the yearly funding.
• She was invited by the National Trust, as a part of the PARIVAAR team, to present a paper at the Knowledge Workshop, during their Annual Day celebrations, on 5th Sept’12.
• She has also conducted Awareness programs, and put up Stalls for the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, with the IFS Probationers, at the Forest Research Institute, in Dehra Dun.
• Completed the training of staff of HIMALAYAN INSTITUTE – Rural Developmental Institute in Jolly Grant- Dehra Dun only on 28th-29th of Jan’13.
• She has done a number of awareness programs in premier institutions in Dehra Dun, including The Doon School, Welham Girls’ School, Welham Boys’ School, Scholar’s Home, Hopetown Girls’ School, Army School, Birpur, Greenfield School, Shivalik Public School, Institute of Hotel Management, Institute of Technology and Management, Heritage School, Himjyoti School, Graphic Era University, IMS Unison University to name a few. Also 4 schools from Nainital were covered in 2008, along with Nirmala Convent and Holy Angels in Haldwani.
Links to follow her work and know more about her.