Main aim of the charity

Maharashtra Dyslexia Association is a not-for-profit organisation committed to securing the rights of students with Dyslexia (also known as a 'Specific Learning or Language Disability') to an appropriate education. MDA was started in March 1996 by a group of parents and professionals with a view to creating awareness about Dyslexia within the educational community and the general public, and advocating the rights of these students. Vision - Everyone with Specific Learning Disability achieving and thriving Mission - To promote the rights of individuals with Specific Learning Disability through diagnostic and remedial services, advocacy, research and capacity building MDA is a member of the Global Partner Programme of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA).

How the employee got involved and why

I humbly and sincerely request you to support my cause with MDA, this is unlike the usual CSR causes that provide education or look after needy families. I have silently watched the devastating effects of dyslexia within my family and took a keen interest to understand more about this domain. I realized children with Learning Difficulties are intelligent and innovative, but wired to learn differently from our standard education system. Hence they need to be taught in a way that they can understand, using various tools and not through regular curriculum of reading or writing. In India our education system is extremely rigid in its approach and given the numbers in a single classroom, the children who cannot keep up, tend to get ignored by their teachers and fellow students. Eventually being labelled dumb or failures. The psychological impact of a child's self esteem and how this small yet significant detail of a differently wired brain seeps it's way into all areas of the child's life and for many even causing havoc in their adult life. Children with dyslexia require special attention and empathy to cope during their formative years. Once this window has been crossed, It's very tough to neutralize the damage that has taken place to their mental make up. MDA makes that difference, I have been working with such children since 2014 and see a huge potential in them, which often remains untapped. One only needs to understand where their strengths lie, build on their self confidence, and these children can begin to soar high and reach their full potential.

What work does the employee do for charity?

Have you heard about the movie - ' Taare Zameen Par ' or if not you may have surely heard of these famous people Richard Branson and Albert Einstein or closer to home - Boman Irani. There is something in common about all these people... I support this unique cause and one that can impact the future of children with dyslexia [ Learning Difficulties]. I had enrolled for and successfully completed an Advanced Diploma in Psychological Counselling, which equips me to create awareness amongst parents and provide the necessary guidance for children with dyslexia. On weekends, I volunteer my time with a few NGO's to counsel children and adults. I have been associated with NSCC - Mahim [ 3 yrs] , Apolistic Carmel School Bandra [ 2 years] as well as Project Mumbai [ 2yr]. While my associations are ongoing, I support MDA [ Maharashtra Dyslexic Association] at Deonar , a 25 year old institution for the last 3 years and they exclusively support children with learning difficulties and are specialist in this field.