More start-ups, organisations in assistive technology encouraged at MoP as a community hub
The Hindu
CHENNAI
At Kamarajar Salai near the Marina Beach, the Museum of Possibilities (MoP) has been attracting a steady stream of visitors since it threw open its doors last year.
Conceived as a space which is a demonstrative centre for assistive devices and technology, the museum is looking to host more organisations and start-ups working in this sphere in the coming months.
Hethal Solanki, the manager at the museum, said many visitors are interested in learning more about the assistive devices and technology on display. “Next week, we have a demonstration by Thinkerbell, a start-up which is working on a device for learning Braille. While start-ups are approaching us to keep their innovations on display, we are encouraging them to make use of this space as a community hub and interact with a larger crowd,” she said.
The museum sees an average of 500 visitors every month and many who come in have been speaking to the physiotherapist and the speech therapist there.
“Parents of children with disabilities, in particular, come here and learn more about mobility aids and about assistive technology. For children who have speech issues, we counsel their parents and give them an introduction to what speech therapy will entail and the response they can expect from their children,” said Kaaba Nazia, a speech therapist at the museum.
A model home on display — showing the modifications that can be done to the living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom to make them accessible — has inspired a few persons to implement such changes in their homes. A visitor who saw this wished to modify the bathroom in his house to make it more accessible, and worked with them on it.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.