SMT-Self Management Training

Approximately, 30million people in Pakistan with disabilities are physically dependent on their families. When compared to the general population, people with disabilities face inequalities in measures of overall health. Their main problem is adjusting to life with a physical impairment. How do they manage it on a regular basis? The lack of self-management skills and poor health care at home has made the situation worse. Their average age is between 32-35 years due to poor health, UTI infections, pressure sores development and chronic depression. Therefore the death rate is 70 to 80 %. Crumbling under the weight of challenges of a wheelchair-bound life, many special persons are losing hope not just because of a lack of health and rehab facilities, but also due to a lack of family support, dependency, and non-inclusive behaviours. 

Through SMT we bring together people with disabilities, their families, teachers and employers on one platform. Initially, we use WhatsApp groups for engagements and collaboration. Through these groups, mutual information sharing helps parents, and every individual to learn and implement the process. With these considerations in mind, we are providing self-management training through zoom, at home with the help of online trainers. But the next step will be home training through home care services. Self-management skills can enhance fitness, wellbeing, and positivity in people with physical disabilities.SMT is solving this problem by providing online counselling & mentoring sessions with the help of online trainers using a digital approach. The next phase of SMT will be based on the development of SMT mobile applications which will take around 2, 3 months. It will provide Instant Online and Offline access to our training services. 

According to the WHO world’s disability report, it is indicated that about 30 million people are living with some kind of disability from the total population in Pakistan. Out of which 18 million people are physically challenged, our targeted population locally and 1 billion around the globe.  Disability has become a major concern in Pakistan after the natural disaster, which occurred in Azad Jammu & Kashmir in 2005. Every year many people got different types of disabilities due to natural disasters, and man-made disasters like war, terrorism, road accidents etc.  Facing sudden disability is challaenging. It is the major problem in Pakistan for such families, who are not strong financially. That's why they also have not been included in health promotion programs due to financial issues. So, keeping these things in mind, we are providing self-management Skills through Social media tools at home but the next phase will be care services at home. Self-management skills among persons with physical disabilities can lead to improved health, wellness and positivity.

My name is Romila Hameed, Founder of IMPACT HR Pvt Ltd & SMT. My personal experience with my disability is the most compelling reason for me to start this startup. I have experienced many challenges while coping with my disability and have the necessary skills to overcome them. I was injured in the earthquake of 2005. (Spinal Cord Injury). Under the guidance of Dr Garrison and his team of physiotherapists, I received initial training in self-management and how to live a life with a physical disability at SKMC (Al-Jazeera) Hospital in the UAE. As an individual with a disability, it’s my core responsibility to inspire other people with physical disabilities and help them develop their self-management and leadership skills.

Safia Naz: She is the co-founder at DEP. She worked as a Manager of Operations & trainer with FISMILES Trust (2010-2012) on a project designed for earthquake survivors in 2005 and also worked as Manager of HR & Section Head at HMS Islamabad. What works so well about our partnership is that we stimulate different ideas from one another.  By combining our complementary experience sets for SMT and adding key management in technology and ONLINE services, we think we're positioned for growth.

Muhammad Ahsan Zeb, he is the CTO with SMT. He has 10 plus years of experience in technology and mobile apps development with national and international clients. 

The solve opportunity will leverage SMT to transform Self Care services into an Inclusive opportunity in Asia-Pacific for people with disabilities. Secondly, my challenge is mainly focused on the theme. I am more concerned about sustainability and continuous growth. Which, I believe I can get from this program. Being a physically challenged women entrepreneur, I am trying to turn this problem into a sustainable business model that can make care services more available and affordable for people who are in wheelchairs like me. Another compelling reason is to get mentorship and training about the  Social Enterprise sustainability in a thorough manner, including adequate strategies for Its growth, fundraising, and income generation. 

Self-management skills among persons with disabilities are very rare in Pakistan. We offer easy and affordable online mentoring and counselling sessions. SMT is the first-ever online service of its kind, which is convenient, cheap, and affordable all over Pakistan, mainly focusing on persons with physical disabilities, who are living in rural areas of Pakistan, where they cannot access such training and programs due to lack of infrastructural development and transportation problems. We will provide the online video training sessions at home through an online digital support system. This is a very unique and easy approach for them to learn and enhance their self-skills at their homes without doing any extra effort.

Our main focus is to change the lives of people living with Physical disabilities in Pakistan and make them independent & healthy. We will extend our services in the next five years both at the national and international levels. SMT intends to expand its services in the Asian market to ensure timely and quality rehabilitation training for persons with physical disabilities with an easy & affordable approach.  SMT also assists corporations, educational institutions, and hospitals in making their services more accessible to people, who are physically challegned. That's why we've decided to turn it into a home care company. In the next five years, SMT will become a national training centre.

Over 5000 users in Pakistan have benefited from online self-management services over the last two years. Our programs helped more than 200 people with disabilities find decent work. Around 20 physically disabled girls have been enrolled in higher education, and 100+ families are receiving counselling sessions at home through our WhatsApp & Facebook community groups on a daily basis. SMT provides direct employment to more than 50 trainers. With just a few Trainers, SMT was piloted at NTCSP Islamabad, Pakistan. Where 50 deaf and blind students received career counselling training. To date, non-disabled community members (Especially mothers) have received over 1000 free counselling sessions.

Our Target Group is people with disabilities, families, teachers and institutions. Will Create a value chain for physically challenged people by reducing their physical dependency, building confidence and building a more mobility-inclusive society. 

Objectives:

• Focusing on Access and Inclusion
• For mutual learning and information sharing, we will facilitate networking & employment opportunities 
• Training to organizations about Disability, 
• Collaboration with civil, public sector, and individual level organizations to develop partnerships
• CBR programs (Weekly Meet-up)
• Creating a pool of specialists – including those who are not considered to be a part of the workforce 
• Empowering and growing the community 
• Our marketing strategy will be based on social media campaigns, marketing drives, awareness rise and blogging about accessibility issues all across Pakistan

We use social media tools but the next step is to develop a mobile application to provide monthly subscription-based services to BTB and BTC users. 

Self-Management Training is aimed at promoting independence, resilience and collaboration among people with disabilities, families, institutions and trainers. During our visits to far-flung areas of Pakistan, we came to know that many persons with physical disabilities are often left out of technical programs due lack of financial resources and transportation problems. So our core passion is to empower other fellows with disabilities by bringing them back to life, increasing their leadership skills by providing the best health management services all over Pakistan. In addition to cultural stigma and insensitivity, social and economic exclusion, lack of support infrastructure and even lack of access to basic rights such as education and health, persons with disabilities (PWDs) undergo mental depression too. SMT aims to not only enable PWDs to live a fuller and more active life but also provide them with an opportunity for mental wellbeing by providing them with a support system.

Our Business model is based on both B2B as well as B2C. For B2B, SMT offers Monthly subscription-based services to organizations while Our users with different abilities can get our services on demand by taking a gross margin of 38%. SMT is solving this problem by providing online counselling & mentoring sessions with the help of Self-management trainers using what Sapp Facebook zoom Skype etc. It’s an online training platform. 

The third phase of SMT will be based on the SMT Mobile application. It will provide Instant Online and Offline access to self-management trainers at home with a specific cost model.  Through online & in-person Peer counselling/ Mentoring sessions we have created Emotional Support and built the confidence of around 5000 Persons with disabilities in Pakistan in 2 years.

• Partnerships with local NGOs & Govt stakeholders
• Sale into the international market
• Accessible transportation 
• Disability Products 
• Donations, grants and funding 

SMT won a competition in Pakistan and secured 100,000 PKR grant money. We also have received seed funding from a foreign investor 100,000 PKR. SMT was piloted in NTCSP Islamabad Pakistan, with few trainers. Where 50 students who were deaf & blind got employability skills for jobs. We earned trainer cost from the institution.