Author(s): Rajagopal Nayar and Manoj P K
In the State of Kerala in India, the active role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in diverse social service activities could prove beneficial to the overall development of the society in an equitable, balanced and sustainable manner. This is because of the fact CSOs focus on the poor and marginalised segments including women and seek to bring them all into the mainstream of the society; and vast majority of the members of CSOs are poor women engaged in various economic activities including running of own micro enterprises. As part of their vital role in women empowerment, rural development and equitable development of the society, CSOs play a cardinal role as facilitators for the education, training and skill development of the differently abled segments of the society, to bring them into the mainstream and equip them to earn their livelihood. This paper looks into the role of CSOs in mainstreaming the differently abled by giving them special education, training, skill development, ICT-based training etc. As CSOs enable Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) using the immense potential of ICT for the same, this study delves into a typical CSO (viz. KSSS) in Kerala, the emerging ‘Knowledge Society’ in India, when ‘Digital India’ is the policy initiative at the national level in India.