We travel to see what work people are doing, but also – or mainly! – we travel to meet people. We are not alone in believing that those who work in the field of disability are unique in their almost universal generosity, open-heartedness and joy in life. Lynette Burrows, the mother of a child with Downs, put it beautifully:

“So many of those who work with the handicapped have a full-hearted tenderness for others that one just does not meet in many areas of life. I do not really know what it is, but something about the vulnerability of the handicapped seems to personify all sorts of inner weaknesses and incompletenesses which one does not normally see but which we all feel in some form or another. It is as if they are publicly enacting a heroic struggle with adversity which is an example to everyone and many people feel the significance of it.”

So we treasure the chances we get to meet all the lovely people traveling this same road with us and to share the wealth, we offer some profiles here. This is a constantly evolving page, like all the others on this site. If you don’t find yourself here, please be patient – it’s hard to keep up with all the human wonders of this world!

Dunu Roy is an old friend (he and Ravi studied engineering at IIT Bombay together) and a long-time social activist. He works in Delhi with the Hazards Centre (www.hazardscentre.org), an organization which provides consultancy services to mass and community organizations working on issues of development and environment. Dunu's mother was Latika Roy  (yes, that one!) and he has been associated with the Foundation since day one.
Dunu is perhaps one of the most creative and analytical thinkers I have ever met. He is sharp and focussed and has a wealth of experience in the fields of education and social change. He is also funny and entertaining and, as he grows older, gentle and compassionate as well.

Vinod Iyengar is an advisor to the Satyam Foundation. When he came to visit recently, he told us about the way his team approaches "problems". They call them monsters and their first task is to understand what the monster looks like - can it be killed, they ask themselves, or should we run? One they recently took on was the lack of emergency services in India. After a series of power lunches and all-night brainstorming sessions, they came up with the EMRI (Emergency Management Research Institute) beginning in Andhra Pradesh and now in operation in several other states (Uttarakhand's started a few weeks ago!). Anyone, anywhere in the state can dial the toll-free number (108) 24-7 and get instant access to advice and, if necessary, on-the-spot assistance. This includes fire, police and medical emergencies and Satyam reckons they have saved 60,000 lives since the program was introduced in 2005. State of the art communication systems, ambulances and fire engines are an integral part of the system and Satyam has trained local people throughout the state to handle the phones, the vehicles and the emergency response team.
It's one monster that most of us would have quailed in the face of, yet also one which we all worry about (late at night, in those awful moments of panic and fear when we imagine our elderly loved ones having a heart attack or a stroke and there's no one nearby to call for help). So three cheers for Satyam! Three cheers for an organization brave and bold enough to ignore the possibility of defeat, to refuse to say that the monster is too big and to have so much fun cutting it down to size!

Nicola Tansley is an Educational Psychologist and has been working with Tibetan kids with special needs for eight years. She is based in Dharamsala where she serves as a consultant to the Tibetan Government in exile, but she makes regular visits to Dehradun to train the staff of Ngoenga, the Tibetan school for kids with special needs here with whom we have a long association. She first visited Karuna Vihar in 2002, and has been a regular visitor ever since. Anyone at LRF who has met her cannot stop raving about this incredible woman, so full of compassion, humour and insight into the inner lives of children, particularly those with special needs. 

Dr Vibha Krishnamurthy is a developmental pediatrician, based in Mumbai. She is the founder and director of Ummeed Child Development Centre there and an inspiration to all who meet her. As a pediatrician, she is every parent’s dream. Her warmth and love for children combine perfectly with skill, discernment and compassion. Whether diagnosing a rare condition or treating for conjunctivitis, she is always fully present, listening attentively and treating not only the “whole child” but the whole family too. Vibha – outside her professional role – is a sparkly, fun-loving person with a wonderful sense of humor, wide-ranging interests and an insatiable appetite for good books! She has two enchanting boys – Karun and Kabir – and her husband, Ashish has been an enormous support in the successful establishment of Ummeed as a premier centre for children with developmental delays in Mumbai.

Annie Koshi is the principal of St Mary’s School in Delhi. One of the only truly inclusive private schools in the city, St Mary’s has a natural, down-to-earth approach to accepting kids with differences. Annie prefers to learn from the child and her belief in the ability of a good teacher to teach anyone forms the core of the school’s admissions policy. “We’ll work it out,” is what she says each time a new situation presents itself. Annie is a lively, outspoken person with strong convictions and a dramatic presence in any group.