Lotus Life Foundation

The Lotus Life Foundation mission is to foster improvement in the lives of children with disabilities in rural India through medical treatment and education. Ultimately, our goal is to make these children contributing members of society and take a strong step towards eradicating the stigma associated with disability in India. We work in the three areas of Awareness, Treatment, and Prevention in order to create a physical and social impact. Lotus Life Foundation works to raise awareness of disabilities by approaching rural villages and educating their inhabitants with a general overview of the prevalent diseases or disabilities. Treatment, including physical therapy, medical equipment, etc, is provided free of cost to all patients by a team of doctors, therapists, and volunteers. We also work in prevention efforts through research, an area that we plan to expand in the future once we have the appropriate resources. Our main project is carried out in villages surrounding Sidhbari, Himachal Pradesh, in the Himalayan Mountains. In partnership with Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development Sidhbari (CORD Sidhbari), we provide treatment to children with disabilities in surrounding villages through physical therapy and assistive devices. The majority of the children we treat have Cerebral Palsy, however there is a variety including Muscular Dystrophy, Spina Bifida, and other types of mental and physical disability. The process starts with counseling of the parents of the child, informing them of the treatment, then transportation to a medical facility where they will receive the treatment (therapy or fitting of devices). The assistive devices they receive, such as orthotic devices, increase flexibility and improve posture, preventing muscle contractures and abnormal muscle formation, prolonging life and allowing independent movement.