Dear Reader,

I would, before anything else, like to thank you for your inputs and suggestions which have greatly helped us build a wider readership base than before.

With the closing of the financial term, there is much clutter of paperwork at this time of the year. However, there is much to share as you will see in the following pages. Having started the year on spirited heels, we are making good progress, finding newer areas of work and opportunities to express our mission.

In this issue, we have highlighted the case of earthquake affected district of Manshera (North West Frontier Province, Pakistan) as 'best practice'. With over 313 beneficiaries across 20 villages, the Disability Resource Centre (DRC) - set up by Leonard Cheshire Disability in partnership with Community Appraisal and Motivation Program (CAMP) - is already the foremost disability-related organization in the region.

As new success stories keep emerging from various corners, we have been filing and covering them in each issue. These stories have not only inspired us but also many disabled persons and they continue to influence the course of the movement as a whole. The story of Esaruddin from Bangladesh is such a one. We have been eagerly following up on his developments and ensured that his story is voiced appropriately.
We also have Dr. Anupriya Chadha, Chief Consultant, Inclusive Education, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, India as our guest speaker in this volume. Her conviction and enthusiasm is surely motivating. There's little space here to accommodate all introductions to our activities last month. As such, do go through all the articles, and as usual do send us your inputs.

There's much work ahead and we hope to keep you informed (through this medium) and involved as before. Before I end, I would request you to fill in the feedback form which is at the last page of the newsletter and send it to us. Your feedback and suggestions will always be appreciated.

Cost cutting being the key factor this year, we have decided to manage our funds effectively. While thinking on same grounds and letting you know that a lot of investment is required to print and post the newsletter, we have decided to issue the ‘Empowered’ newsletter bi –annually from the next issue onwards. Am sure, you would be eagerly waiting to receive the next issue of the newsletter after six months, until then…

Many Thanks

Rajendra K R
Regional Representative - South Asia
Leonard Cheshire Disability
International
South Asia Regional Office