Inclusive Spotfix initiative to beauty Bangalore roads

‘Indian inclusion Foundation’ collaborated with ‘The Ugly Indian’ for the first ever Inclusive SpotFix in Bangalore on 18 August. The initiative involved people with disabilities in a project to beautify a wall and create inclusion.

The Ugly Indian is the name for a group of volunteers focused on making streets clean and beautiful by involving people from all walks of life.

On Sunday, the two organisations came together with more than 30 volunteers including people with disabilities to fix an ugly wall near the Bengaluru Football Stadium. People with various disabilities came together to use their morning in making the place clean and pretty. The logistics, supplies and support were provided by the Ugly Indian team and included a vast supply of brushes, aprons, paints, nose masks etc.

The aim of this Inclusive activity was to engage and enable. Breaking barriers of mind and working together at a space that is open for all is step forward towards inclusion. The enthusiasm of the disabled volunteers was amazing to watch. The Spotfix was a fun and learning experience for everyone that was associated with it and we are dedicated to continue such initiatives in future. – Karthikeyan Balasubramanian, Team Indian inclusion Foundation

Volunteers on location made sure that the disabled participants were safe and away from the moving traffic. The activity started with cleaning of wall at around 8:30 and the work was completed in a few hours by 11: 30 am with a short tea break.

Trinath travelled from distant suburbs like Koramangala to be a part of the event. Even though he is visually impaired and finds it hard to travel long distances, he wanted to be a part of this. With him was Animesh, who has cerebral palsy.

“It was a wonderful experience and the fact that we are coloring our city is also wonderful. Because this is the true Bangalorean spirit I must say. For all of us, it shows that nothing is impossible if we do it together. This is my first experience and I am looking forward to more,” he said.

The roadside had a footpath with a ramp making it an accessible location for the wheelchair using participants. The wall looked stunning after the hard work put in by the volunteers that included deaf people, people with vision impairments, physical disabilities, autism, CP.

The participants followed one thumb rule of ‘less talk, more work’ throughout.

For Indian Inclusion Foundation Spotfix is a precursor to its upcoming initiative, Art for Inclusion that will showcase art by people with disabilities. A brain child of its founder VR Ferose.The response to the ‘Art for Inclusion’ project has been overwhelming with people submitting their art work from across the country. Now it rests on the jury panel to pick the top artist and acknowledge them at the finale on 17 November.

The jury includes eminent people such as international speed painter Vilas Nayak, mouth and foot artist RK, famous graphic artist Sriram Jagannathan and art curator Abhishek Poddar .