Each Wednesday the Doon Hospital issues Disability Certificates which are required to claim any of a range of government concessions. The Certificate states the nature of the person’s disability and the percentage to which she is considered disabled.  People accessing this service, the majority poor and frequently illiterate, find the cumbersome paperwork daunting.

We had heard from many KV parents that obtaining a certificate was difficult and required repeat visits, resulting in many parents giving up on the whole idea. When Jo went to get a certificate for Moy Moy, she found it was as bad as, if not worse than, the stories we had heard. “It was predictably chaotic,” she said. “Just what you would expect in a government office – no clear instructions, no one willing to answer questions and no idea where the line formed!” But what really disturbed her was the total lack of dignity for Moy Moy. “When we finally got into the inner office, we were made to sit in front of a panel of doctors who stared at Moy without saying a word for a minute or two, inspecting her like some sort of specimen. Then they all whispered together and scribbled a few notes before stamping the certificate. But we got off easy. I heard from other parents that their child had been poked and prodded and questioned, as if to expose a potential fraud. And in the end, some of them were refused the certificate.”

And so it occurred to us to set up a Help Desk. The Chief Medical Officer gave us permission to sit at the hospital every week and guide people through the procedure. We began our work there in April 2002.

The first day we simply observed. We found most people were standing around wondering what to do. When they asked the clerk sitting outside the CMO’s office, he directed them to a small room, where often there was no one at the desk. When someone was there, applicants would be asked to apply in writing for the certificate. No paper or pens were provided and no arrangements made for those who were illiterate.

By the next week we were ready to set up shop, though we were still unsure of how the system functioned. Gradually we created forms for people to fill out, got to know the doctors and which ones were the most helpful, and worked out the best way to proceed. Within a short time, we had designed a system which was streamlined and efficient.

We also provide the forms for rail and road concessions, and information about what else the certificate can be used for (Jo’s experience was that no information was voluntarily parted with: if you didn't think to ask about pensions, insurance schemes or tax write-offs, no one would tell you).

Some facts gleaned from records kept over five years at the Help Desk:

• More men than women apply for disability certificates
• Very few children – especially those under five – request certificates
• People with physical disabilities are the largest group applying; people with mental handicap are the smallest
• We assist an average of 70 people every week – up from our initial average of 35

We have been here long enough to begin questioning some of the basic assumptions in place: why should it be so difficult to obtain what is a legal right? We are now working towards a Help Desk which empowers people to help themselves, rather than relying on us to speak for them. It’s a lot more exciting this way, and more effective too.