Vocational Services

In India many of the cancer patients are illiterate and are unable to continue working at heavy manual jobs. They, therefore, have no jobs to return to, nor other sources of income to fall back upon. Thus even when the physical ailment is under control the socio-economic consequences remain unsolved and are most distressing. In many cases, where the only earning member or the head of the family is striken by cancer, whole families are dehabilitated and disintegrated.

At the Rehabilitation Centre a variety of vocational services are provided to nearly 500 cancer patients every year to suit their individual needs. All patients are first evaluated individually by members of the team consisting of the social worker, placement officer, workshop supervisor and the Director. A plan of action for each patient is then prepared. Patients are then assigned to different training sections and during the period are given satisfactory subsistence allowance. At any given time there are 100 such patients undergoing training in different trades at the Centre. The training areas are selected on the basis of future placement possibilities in industry or self-employed prospects.

In the absence of government recognition of the cancer-disabled for employment assistance, it is difficult to find jobs for them in industry. Despite the fact, some patients in the younger age group have been successfully placed by us on regular jobs in industry. Whereas the elderly are helped to be self-employed. Every year 100 patients are either placed on jobs or are helped for self-employed with financial assistance from nationalised banks or from individual donors.

Family rehabilitation is a unique aspect of our programme. Under this scheme, direct dependents of patients who have advanced cancer and have no source of income, are accepted for training and placed in suitable jobs or are helped to be self-employed. Deserving patients who are under treatment as out-patients, are given simple assembly jobs so that they can earn enough to pay for incidental expenses, to enable them to complete their treatment. Sheltered work is provided to older patients or to those who have severe disabilities.