In Fourth Gear to the Tech Age

• Eight trainees learnt to use Adobe Photoshop through a collaborative teaching program with AIMS Media, New Delhi. In 2 years they mastered photographic and video editing.
• 2020 — Studio C Cubed started to create educational pamphlets and proofread books digitized for the visually impaired through a program called Jigyasa.
• 2023 – Meraki is an assisted living program started to pair individuals with intellectual challenges together in shared households. The program owes its success to Shirley, one of Diya’s first employees whose vision was to create a home-like atmosphere for all Diya’s trainees.

Social Innovation

• In 2013, Diya Innovations was set up as a private limited company, with the mission of showing the world that an inclusive employer with a team of artisans with disabilities could be a serious contender in the corporate gifting sector.

Social Scaling

• Early in 2006 volunteer Amy D’Souza aided in setting up Diya’s chocolate and candle units by mentoring Diya’s staff and trainees.
• As bulk orders for our products grew, Sendhil Kumar, our master trainer streamlined our production process. From overcoming raw material procurement challenges to planning delivery schedules, we learnt to do it all.
• That year, the Cecilian Choir organized a fundraiser to help Diya secure the necessary raw materials for fulfilling bulk orders.
• To aid Diya grow and be considered for funds from Corporate Social Responsibility resources, we received accreditation from the Credibility Alliance and were also listed on GiveIndia as a Tier I NGO doing pioneering work in the disability sector.
• Diya collaborates with AMBA to train individuals with intellectual challenges to perform back office data entry tasks using the AMBA Learning Model. Trainees earned a stipend for digitizing manually filled out forms for Tata Docomo’s new phone connections.
• To honor Carolyn’s memory and her love for chocolate, we began the Chocolyn Chocolate Project which was funded by the donations her family sought from loved ones that attended her funeral. Carolyn was one of Diya’s first three students and arrived each morning with a shy smile.
• 2012 – Our first open employment placement went to Nigel at Hindustan Unilever.

The Early Days

• Founded in 1999, Diya began as a sheltered workshop in a church basement. As we grew, we found our own space in Lingarajapuram where individuals with intellectual challenges would learn vital life skills in a positive and accepting environment.