Tea Packing Project, Paraplegic Rehabilitation Center.

[Jagan]

First a tip of the hat to member Pawan Kaul for bringing this project to our attention.

Members are hopefully aware of the Paraplegic Rehablitation Centre at Kirkee in Pune

Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centres (PRC) at Kirkee and Mohali with a capacity of 109 and 34 beds respectively are being run for rehabilitation of paraplegic and tetraplegic ex-servicemen. These are being run as charitable trusts registered with the respective State Governments. These institutions are funded by Kendriya Sainik Board, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, AG's Branch and other State Govt/Private Organisations.

Their website is at http://para-rehab.org/

PRC, Kirkee, Pune ( India) is a Rehabilitation Centre meant for the after care and rehabilitation of personnel's of Defence forces of India who are medically boarded out i.e. retired form service due to Spinal Cord Injury while serving the Nation.

Recently the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre tied up with Mr. Ravi Thapa to start the "Tea Packing Project"

You might be knowing about the Khadki Paraplegic Centre at Pune. It basically looks after jawans/sailor/airmen who have been boarded out from the military after suffering severe disabilities while on duty. All the personnel at the Paraplegic centre are wheel chair bound. Their only source of income is the pension they receive from the military. Some even have their families staying along with them at the centre. There are even those who have been totally abandoned by their families and have no where else to go.

Mr. Thapa and his company have signed an MOU with the Khadki Paraplegic Centre to allow 5 paraplegic residents to take part in a an operation where they pack tea into small boxes. These jawans according to the MOU are to be paid a pre-decided amount every month. In this way the 5 residents of the PRC are supposed to have another source of income apart from their meagerly pensions. At present only 5 residents are involved but if things work out well the operation could take in more members from the centre.

As it is a good initiative that provides atleast some sort of an encouragement to five very strong and brave individuals, why not all of us support this venture?

If you are in Pune, buy these tea boxes from the venture. The Tea Boxes are available DORABJEE's ,1B Moledina Road, Camp, Pune 1.

If you are outside of PUne and want to order by mail, this can be done by sending a Cheque or DD (in the name of NUTRI CHANNEL) to

NUTRI CHANNEL
C/O Mr. Ravi Thapa,
A1-102, Nikash Lawns,
Sus Road, Pashan,
Pune 411021,Maharashtra

Initimation may be given at [email protected] or mobile 98902 30396

The prices for these tea chestlets are as follows:

Individual Boxes - Rs 200 + Rs 15 shipping within India
Packages are available in 5 Box and 10 Box containers as well. As Mr. Thapa indicates

"As you will appreciate, minimum orders for 5 units ata a time helps toward optimizing courier charges for delivery. however, since we welcome single unit orders too. If I am informed of the destination, it wil enable us to club orders. All deliveries within the India can be made within an extra cost of upto Rs,15/- per box."

There is no doubt that this is a noble gesture. Tea is something of a staple in every Indian household. So why not give it a try and see how this works out? I am already placing my order with them.

Added Later: Sorry guys I didnt specify the overseas order details. Right now I do not have them, but please feel free to email them to ask them about it if you need it to be shipped overseas. The above shipping charges are for within India only.


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Obligatory Disclaimer: The note is up to support what we think is worthwhile cause. Neither BR, nor any of the BRF members make any profit or commission out of this notification. So rest assured that there is NO Commercial or Financial involvement with BR/BRF with this venture.

[Raja Bose]

Jagan,

Did you order from massa? How did you get your payment processed/authorized? If I buy I will pay from massa but will have it delivered to my parents and GHQ's parents since I don't drink tea (yes that already makes me part-Paki!) and GHQs father was a career tea planter/estate manager in Darjeeling so he will appreciate.

[Jagan]

Jagan,

Did you order from massa? How did you get your payment processed/authorized? If I buy I will pay from massa but will have it delivered to my parents and GHQ's parents since I don't drink tea (yes that already makes me part-Paki!) and GHQs father was a career tea planter/estate manager in Darjeeling so he will appreciate.

Raja, I didnt order for the US but for my India Home. I had the same idea as you.

I am not a tea drinker either and the coffee here has killed my caffiene urges too, but my mom likes tea. So why not get her to try and switch brands

[Jagan]

BTW the photographs of the Tea Packing Unit can be seen here

http://picasaweb.google.com/bisht.mahesh/TeaPackingUnit

[Kapil]

This is woinderful.

Lets pass the word around

Cheers

K

[Hitesh]

I am sorry but I cannot support this. EDITED Packing tea leaves? EDITED A better use would be like administrative duties such as desk jobs completed with computers and technoligical aids like the ones the famous physicist Stephen Hawking uses.

*note to Jagan and moderators. I was not denigrating the veterans or the soldiers. I just did not like the attitude towards the disabled soldiers like they think the disabled veterans can only pack leaves. I believe the disabled veterans are much more capable than the people organizing the tea leaves give credit for.

[sum]

Given the way we treat our uniformed veterans, this is a small but huge step forward.

There are so many unsung heroes out there who are virtually resorting to beggary to fill their stomach. Of course, the jobs should be better and more upto the education levels but atleast its a start...

[Raja Bose]

sum,

In a country where even the able-bodied have trouble finding a job, it is beyond hope for most disabled who come from a humble background, to get something commensurate with their education/experience. People are too busy worrying about their livelihood to care too much about some crippled guy he doesn't know. Hence, initiatives such as this one although humble, go a long way. We see better care for the disabled in massa et. al simply because resources are a-plenty there. As per-capita resources start shrinking, you will see the same lack of care over there. We can see that already....if you visit some of the VA hospitals you will be If any of B-R senior citizens have access to the Life magazines from late 1960s-1970s, there was a big expose with pictures on the pathetic condition of quad/tetraplegic soldiers in VA hospitals during Vietnam war.

I do recall the R&R in Delhi offering computer/med transcription training courses to jawans with spinal injuries....one of them did not have the use of his hands so actually learned how to type via pencil held between his teeth. But such jobs require substantial bit of investment during training period hence, are usually limited AFAIK to personnel with better education (read junior officers).

[Ardeshir]

Is there anyway to send Paypal donations perhaps?

[Pawan]

Dear Hitesh,

for most of the jawans at the centre all that they can rely on is their meager pensions. with that pension they have to support themselves and their families too. there are also jawans at the centre who have been disowned by their families (because of their disablilities) and have no where else to go. The 5 jawans currently chosen for this project are all wheel chair bound.

If through this project they are able to earn a decent amount of money then what is wrong with it? Tea packing may not be "glamarous" but atleast its a start.

[narayana]

That's a nice initiative,can we send any donation through dd or cheque instead of buying tea,i would be happy to send resonable amount(dont want to display what i wish to send, so edited) if i get address and bank acct details etc,but not through CC.

[sum]

sum,

In a country where even the able-bodied have trouble finding a job, it is beyond hope for most disabled who come from a humble background, to get something commensurate with their education/experience.

Exactly sir...

Thats what i was trying to convey to Hitesh..

[Rupesh]

That's a nice initiative,can we send any donation through dd or cheque instead of buying tea,i would be happy to send resonable amount(dont want to display what i wish to send, so edited) if i get address and bank acct details etc,but not through CC.

I don't think free handouts will be appreciated. Pls understand that this not a request for donations but to support a business venture which can improve the lives of some of our brave soldiers.

[Raja Bose]

^^^ Exactly. For the soldiers it should be a hand-up not a hand-out. So buying the tea implies you are paying them for their work and not as charity. However, if one wishes to donate to the PRC organization, they do have some details (though a bit rudimentary) on their website, for those interested.

Rupesh, if you are the guy who has some of his models displayed on the IAF modeling section in B-R, can you please e-mail me at rajabose81 at g ma i l dat kaw m

Thanks!

[Rupesh]

^^^^^
Not my models...

Haven't progressed beyond paper planes..

[Atish]

I may be able to push some business their way. Need some estimate of costs, ability to customize etc.

[Atish]

Its ok I am contacting them directly.

[Kakarat]

That's a nice initiative,can we send any donation through dd or cheque instead of buying tea,i would be happy to send resonable amount(dont want to display what i wish to send, so edited) if i get address and bank acct details etc,but not through CC.

http://para-rehab.org/donations.html

[suryag]

Is there any pay pal id for this centre.

[Kakarat]

As many are willing to donate, somebody or BR can collect and donate if possible annually

[Raja Bose]

Anybody contact Ravi Thapa/Nutri channel on the gmail address given in Jagan's first post? I have contacted last week but no response from them yet.

[sohamn]

This is a very noble initiative.
I would be most happy to order some for myself. Please let me know if some overseas order is possible. If yes, then give me the same and I would order an years quota.

[RayC]

This to inform that it is not demeaning any disabled soldier by opening such rehabilitation centres. It is to ensure that these unfortunates find opportunities to make good the remainder of their lives with honour rather than living off the sympathies of well wishers and paltry disability pensions!

I presume that though packing tea is not a glamorous activity, it at least helps!

In fact, such activities are as old as 1917.

Some paraphrasing of the article (link appended) to highlight the rationale and work done`by such Centres:

Lady Willingdon who founded Queen Mary’s Technical Institute (QMTI) in 1917, wholly dedicated to the training of disabled servicemen and ex-servicemen in befitting vocational trades and their subsequent resettlement.

Disability of a soldier is traumatic. Life for him and his family can never be the same again. Financial compensation alone cannot heal the psychological scars of disability. What is required is regeneration of faith in oneself to restore dignity of life.

The institute has been instrumental in rehabilitating over 8,500 disabled soldiers.

The institute conducts courses, which are recognized by the National Council of Vocational Training. Keeping with the times, the content of the courses offered have changed. The vocations offered previously included knitting, farming, dyeing and printing, carpentry and tailoring. Today the courses offered include those of fitter, motor mechanic, electrician, welder( gas/electric), computer, diesel mechanic, cutting and tailoring, fashion designing, information technology, computer hardware and CAD-CAM.

http://www.salute.co.in/070309/feat_Responsibility.html

Likewise, the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre is doing its mite!

I am sure many will appreciate what is being done by many for the disabled soldiers and would contribute towards their advancement in life.

Tea packing is not just stuffing tea leaves in a box.

Here is a report on how highly competitive tea packaging has become:
http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturin ... 312-1.html

[Sriman]

Folks, i'm willing to communicate with the PRC folks regarding the donations. But i wanted to check with folks who may be familiar with different payment options. I can think of :

1. Wire transfer. I know a lot of private banks support online NEFT transfers to most other banks in India.
2. PayPal. What are the charges they are likely to incur if they setup a paypal account?

Any other options/issues with the options suggested above?

[Raja Bose]

Jagan, in case you had emailed him at the gmail address, did you get any response from Mr.Thapa? I am still waiting for any reply from him.
Thanks.

[narayana]

That's a nice initiative,can we send any donation through dd or cheque instead of buying tea,i would be happy to send resonable amount(dont want to display what i wish to send, so edited) if i get address and bank acct details etc,but not through CC.

http://para-rehab.org/donations.html

Thanks Kakaratji,will contact them. i would like to send some amount by DD or cheque i will contact them to see if its possible.Thanks