Raphael Ryder Cheshire International Centre celebrated its 55th Founders Day on Friday with a short cultural programme by disabled children. The centre paid homage to its founders, Group Captain lord leonard Cheshire and Baroness Sue Ryder. Speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, Joint Chief from National Hydrographic Office Dehradun Rear Admiral KM Nair stressed on the need for society to remain sensitive towards the need of the disabled.
Raphael chairman Air Marshal (retd) BD Jayal, in his address retraced the history of Raphael and highlighted the multifaceted activities in which the centre is engaged in today as part of its efforts to alleviate suffering and covered some of the highlights of the past year.
He mentioned that with the weight of both the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we as a society had a lot of work to do. He suggested that Uttarakhand could become a model State in this regard and appealed for a strong partnership between the State Government, the private sector and NGOs in this field.
The celebration ended with guests visiting different stalls where items crafted by Raphael children and other residents were on display.