October month is globally celebrated as ‘Dyslexia Awareness Month’. In this context, the Jharkhand government is taking proactive steps to raise awareness and promote understanding on Specific Learning Disabilities.

Dyslexia is a neurological invisible disability that primarily affects an individual’s ability to read, write and spell accurately. It is a common condition that is not related to the intelligence of a person. As per different sources, 1 in 5 individuals have Dyslexia and 1 out 0f 20 usually gets identified. 

In a joint effort of the Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) and the ChangeInkk Foundation, a state-level "Walk for Dyslexia" event was organized on 31st October, in Thakur Vishwanath Sahdeo CM School of Excellence, Jagarnathpur Ranchi. 

This event garnered the participation of over 300 participants including teachers, students, special educators, therapists, civil society organizations such as Unicef, Room to Read, Dream A Dream, Bharti Foundation, CINI Tata Trust, India Partnership for Early Learning, ELMS Sports Foundation, Piramal Foundation, and others.

As part of the Dyslexia Awareness Month Campaign, a state-level webinar was organized by JEPC on 27th October, which engaged more than 100 participants consisting of JEPC officials, teachers, special educators and therapists from Ranchi, Simdega, Saraikela, Sahebganj in an orientation session on specific learning disabilities. 

Following the informative webinar, many awareness walks were conducted across the state. The state-level webinar was led by Aruna Kerketta, APO, Inclusive Education, JEPC, along with Noopur Jhunjhunwala, Co-founder and trustee, ChangeInkk Foundation, and three members of the Jharkhand ChangeInkk Team - Seema Chakraborty, Kamini Singh, and Bipasha Roy. The Vote of Thanks was given by Mr. Chandan Singh from the Sight Savers.

These initiatives are set to promote awareness of dyslexia and foster a more inclusive and informed environment, working towards equal opportunities for all.

-Bipasha Roy