INTERNATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS ACROSS INDIA International Occupational Therapy Day Celebration- Gujarat On the occasion of International Occupational Therapy Day, the Gujarat branch of the All India Occupational Therapy Association (AIOTA) organized an occupational therapy awareness rally in Ahmedabad. The purpose of rally was to portray the development of Occupational Therapy services in the state of Gujarat. The rally was inaugurated by Dr S.R.Apte in the presence of Dr Anvar Ali Dhamani, Dr Mritunjay Mukud, Dr Tony Thomas and Dr Dhara Shah. The rally started at 8 am from the premises of Ahmedabad Income tax office and continued to Town Hall which is 6 kms away from the start. Ample police protection was present along the route of rally. It concluded at 12 pm where refreshment was provided to the comrades. Media coverage was given by both print as well as television reporters. Parents of various students also joined in our noble drive for OT awareness. It also provided a platform for showcasing the upcoming 47 th Annual National Conference of AIOTA EMCON 2010 which is scheduled to be held from 21 st -23 rd January 2010 at Ahmedabad. This rally helped us in creating awareness about the role of OT. Dr S.R.Apte thanked the doctors, volunteers and the organizing staff members of AIMS for the smooth and successful conduct of the events. Dr Mritunjay Mukund HOD, OT(AIMS)
The OT Awareness rally begins.
The rally in action.
International Occupational Therapy Day Celebration Jaipur The Rajasthan Branch of All India Occupational Therapists Association, in Association with Jaipur Occupational Therapy College, Jaipur, celebrated International Occupational Therapy Day on 27 th October 2009 to draw attention to Occupational Therapy, its services and the need for wellness. The day started with oath taking ceremony at 8.30am at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur, and a famous center for cultural activities. All the Occupation Therapists working in Jaipur along with Occupational Therapy students pledged to serve the mankind by being a competent Occupational Therapist with dedication and honesty. At 9.00am we divided into two groups for two different activity missions. One group visited two public schools in Jaipur city for screening and evaluation of children suffering for learning disabilities. There they did the assessment and counseling to the teachers and parents. Another group visited a leprosy center and they did an evaluation for all the residents of that center, and after that they treated them. At 1.30pm we all again gathered at a residential special school, Seth Anandilal Poddar Institute for Deaf and Dumb situated in the heart of the city. We involved all the students of the school in our activity. We made a human chain along with the students of the school by holding posters and banners in hands at Jawahar lal Nehru Marg, Jaipur, the lifeline of the city. At the occasion general people along with the media were observing our activities and we succeed in drawing people s attention. At the school we distributed sweets and stationary to all the students. Around 5.30pm we again gathered at Amar Jawan Jyoti in front of legislative assembly of Rajasthan. There we did lamp lighting. With this we came to the end of the ceremonial activities for the day. To highlight the Day and Activities, we posted 12 banners at different places of Jaipur city three days earlier. Dr. S.K. Meena Convenor AIOTA, Rajasthan Branch
Posters on Occupational Therapy are displayed in the city.
International OT Day is reported in the print media.
INTERNATIONAL OT DAY CELEBRATION - Orissa International Occupational Therapy day was observed at the Disaster Preparedness Training Centre of Red Cross, Bhavan, Bhubaneswar on 25.10.09. On this occasion following dignitaries were present. 1. Chief Guest: Mr. Prasanna Acharya, Honorable Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Orissa 2. Guest of Honor: Mr. G.V. Venugopal Sharma, State Disability Commissioner 3. Chief Speaker: Dr. Anjali Joshi, Director, Training & Research, Ummeed, Mumbai 4. Dr. S. K. Das, Director, SVNIRTAR, Cuttack 5. Dr. S.P Mokashi, HOD (OT), SVNIRTAR On behalf of the Orissa Branch of the All India Occupational Therapy Association (AIOTA), Dr. (Mrs.) Anurupa Senapati, Asst. Prof. (OT), SVNIRTAR and Convener, Orissa Branch of AIOTA introduced the programme. Dr. S.P Mokashi, HOD (OT), SVNIRTAR welcomed the all the guests, members of Print & Electronic Media, parents of Autistic children, other intellectuals and members of general public, as well as the life and student members of Orissa Branch of AIOTA. Mr. Acharya, Honorable Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Orissa said that this particular health care system i.e. Occupational Therapy, should reach the differently abled and he also encouraged the society to change its attitude towards the differently abled. Mr. G.V. Venugopal Sharma, State Disability Commissioner wished a bright future for Occupational Therapy and observed that there should be a Council for Occupational Therapists on the lines of MCI, RCI etc. He also requested the state and central government to pay more attention to the importance of this profession in health Care delivery system. Dr. Anjali Joshi, Director, Training & Research, Ummeed, Mumbai (Former Associate Professor in Occupational Therapy at KEM Hospital, Mumbai) said that there are not enough Occupational Therapists in India. She further mentioned that according to one of the WHO reports, there is one Occupational Therapist to cater to the needs of 500 children needing Occupational Therapy. Dr. S. K. Das, Director, SVNIRTAR, Cuttack elaborated on the different aspects of Occupational Therapy; he also enlightened the gathering about Sensory Integration Therapy. On this auspicious occasion, the promotional material on Occupational Therapy, prepared by Orissa Branch of AIOTA in English and Oriya, was released at the hands of Mr. Acharya, Honorable Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Orissa. Finally, the poster exhibition depicting the different aspects of Occupational Therapy in various fields was also inaugurated by Mr. Acharya, Honorable Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Orissa. All the dignitaries on and off the dais visited the exhibition and praised the efforts of student members of Orissa Branch of AIOTA who had put in tremendous amount of creative ideas, energy, time and effort for the preparation of these posters.
The three hour programme ended with an interactive session for the parents of special children. Dr. Joshi discussed and guided the parents regarding the problems of autistic children and their management. The event received wide publicity in local print & electronic media. Mrs. Anurupa Senapati Convenor Orissa Branch of AIOTA. At the Poster display.
Ceremony at International OT Day
INTERNATIONAL OT DAY - WEST BENGAL The West Bengal (WB) chapter of the All India Occupational Therapy Association (AIOTA) celebrated International OT Day (27 October) with great enthusiasm and zeal. The faculties and students of Occupational therapy from the National Institute for the Orthopedically Handicapped (NIOH), Kolkata and members of WB chapter of AIOTA participated in organizing two programmes to mark this occasion. The programmes were organised for Orientation and Career counselling. Orientation programme An orientation programme was organised in the Dept. of Occupational Therapy, NIOH, Kolkata. The aim was to orient the students of Occupational Therapy and the administration of the Institute about the collaboration of WHO and WFOT as well as the functioning of AIOTA. The Director, Deputy Director (training), Assistant Director (services) and Assistant Director (training) were invited. Faculties of the department highlighted the issues related to the development of better OT services, the status of jobs in the country and the need for creating awareness among medical doctors. All the students of Occupational Therapy participated actively in the program. Mr. Ajit Kumar (OT Intern), Ms. Niti Kumari (Intern OT) and Ms. Prapti Verma (student Final Yr., OT) expressed their views on the occasion. Students also expressed their own feelings and experiences while undergoing the OT course. Students of Occupational Therapy along with faculty members of the Dept. of Occupational Therapy
Career Counselling for Senior Secondary Students (Biology) A second programme was conducted by the members of West Bengal Chapter of AIOTA for the senior secondary students (Biology) at K.V.Cossipore, Kolkata. Occupational therapy was presented as a career option for the students, supported with power point presentation. All the students from XI std. to XII std. attended the programme. The programme proved to be very interactive. Students showed keen interest in Occupational Therapy profession. Various queries of the students were answered by Dr. Eva and Dr. Damyanti. Vice principal of the school, Dr. A. Saha, Biology teacher and Mr. D. Mukherjee, Science teacher were present during the programme. The Saha s initiative and cooperation in organizing the programme was appreciated. A request was also made to Dr. P. Bajpai, Convener, WB branch of AIOTA by Dr. Saha, to conduct some educative programmes for faculties of the school on various common conditions wherein the Occupational Therapist can play a role in intervention. The Convener assured such programmes in future. Dr. Pankaj Bajpai Convener WB Chapter of AIOTA Members of WB Chapter of AIOTA presenting Occupational Therapy as a Career option Students of XI std. and XII std. attending the programme on Occupational Therapy as a career