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About the Award

✦ 10 Years of Nayi Disha ✦

2025 marks 10 years of Nayi Disha — a decade of empowering families and caregivers of individuals with developmental disabilities. To celebrate this milestone, the Caregiver Changemaker Award honors extraordinary parents and caregivers whose resilience, compassion, and initiatives have lit the way for countless others.

Why You Should Apply

🏆

Recognition & Visibility

Winners will be celebrated at our 10th Anniversary event and featured across our platforms.

💡

Inspire & Empower Others

Your story can raise awareness, build support, and motivate others to take action.

🤝

Build Connections

Join a community of caregivers, experts, and changemakers working for inclusion.

📌 Important Dates

How to Apply

Nominations for 2025 are now closed.

If you have any questions, refer to our FAQs section. For further queries or technical issues, please write to communications@nayi-disha.org.

Eligibility Criterion

1

Open to individual caregivers (parents, siblings, guardians, or family members) of individuals with disabilities.

2

Only individual applications will be accepted. Even if you run an organisation, the nomination must be in your name.

3

You may be based anywhere in India

4

Applicants should have started or be leading an initiative (formal or informal) supporting families or individuals with disabilities.

5

Must be actively involved in advocacy, awareness, training, peer support, or inclusive education.

6

Should demonstrate long-term, sustainable commitment towards community impact.

Meet the Jury

Jury 1

Chitra Shah

Founding Member & Director, Satya Special School

Ms. Chitra is a social change leader with over two decades of experience working with children with special needs, people with disabilities (PwDs), and other marginalised groups. In 2003, she established Satya Special School that has grown into a multi-center organisation serving more than 1,400 children.. Her pioneering initiatives such as the Mobile Therapy Unit, Village Resource Centres, and Puducherry’s first wheelchair-accessible van have created lasting impact on communities while driving advocacy, education, and systemic change. She also serves as the Vice President of Special Olympics Bharat. Chitra has received numerous honors including the International Woman Icon 2024, Pride of Puducherry 2023, and the World Cerebral Palsy Award 2018. She actively serves on several government and corporate committees, advancing inclusive policies and gender justice, and continues to author research on disability rights and community-based interventions.

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Jury 2

जो चोपड़ा

Executive Director, Latika

Jo's journey began three decades ago when she adopted her beautiful daughter, Uma Moy Moy, who had cerebral palsy and continues to inspire Latika’s work even today. Latika is a voluntary organisation in Dehradun for children with disabilities. Under Jo’s leadership, they run an Early Intervention Centre, Special School, and Vocational Centre, offering therapies, education, and training in life and work skills. Beyond her role as a disability rights advocate, Jo is a prolific writer, fluent in Hindi, and passionate about public speaking, opera, photography, and cooking

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Jury 3

Dr Meenu Bhambani

Vice President & Sr Grants Manager, State Street - APAC

Dr. Meenu is a globally recognised leader in Disability Inclusion, CSR, and DEI with over two decades of experience in human development and social policy. Earlier she has worked with Mphasis, leading its CSR and Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, World Bank and NCPEDP focusing on research, advocacy, and rights-based interventions for persons with disabilities. A Ford Foundation International Fellow, she has also been awarded with the President's National Award for promoting employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, the NASSCOM Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award, and the APAC Disability Award.

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10 Years of Nayi Disha

Caregiver Changemaker Award – Winners 2025

These extraordinary caregiver turned lived experience into hope and action — building support, dignity, and inclusion for many families. We’re honored to celebrate their leadership.

Changemaker 2025 Portrait of Akila Vaidyanathan

अकिला वैद्यनाथन

Founder-Director, The AMAZE Charitable Trust

When Akila Vaidyanathan’s son Nishant was diagnosed with Autism and Apraxia of Speech, she turned her family’s journey into a mission to empower others. In 2012, she founded The AMAZE Charitable Trust in Coimbatore to help families “Navigate the Autism Maze.” Over the years, her work has transformed hundreds of neurodiverse lives through skill-building, education, and inclusion programmes, while training thousands of parents and professionals across India. A tireless advocate and mentor, Akila continues to lead with compassion and vision, shaping a more inclusive world for all.

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Changemaker 2025 Portrait of Bijal Harkhani

Bijal Harkhani

Founder, Mantra Foundation

A devoted mother turned pioneer, Bijal Harkhani transformed her journey of raising her son Mantra, a young adult with Down Syndrome, into a movement for inclusion and empowerment.She founded Genius Super Kids, Gujarat’s first integrated learning centre for children with special needs within a mainstream school, and later established the Mantra Foundation to support differently-abled individuals through education, therapy, sports, and vocational training. Her work has touched over 500 families, redefining inclusion and inspiring hope across Gujarat.

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Changemaker 2025 Portrait of Pooja Sharma

Pooja Sharma

Founder & CEO, The Sarvodya Collective

When her brother with an intellectual disability lost his job during the pandemic, Pooja Sharma turned that moment into a mission. She founded The Sarvodya Collective (TSC) to make inclusion a lived reality, not just a promise. Through awareness, allyship, and school-based programmes, TSC has engaged thousands of youth and educators nationwide. Recognised globally by the Royal Society of Arts and HundrED, her vision of an #InclusiveDuniya continues to inspire communities to see, support, and celebrate neurodiversity.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

You can download the complete FAQ document with all questions and answers.

📄 Download FAQ (PDF)
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