Growing up as a sibling to her elder brother with Down Syndrome, Prachi has experienced unequal opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities and their families first-hand. Seeing her parent’s journey and now herself being the primary caregiver to her brother, she closely understands the challenges families face while caring for their loved ones with developmental disabilities. She understands that the situation is even more difficult for families from low-income groups and smaller towns with a lack of resources and information.
To bridge this gap, Prachi Deo founded a technology-based non-profit, Nayi Disha. Nayi Disha (www.nayi-disha.org) as a lifelong support system for families of people affected by Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities. Through a digital knowledge hub, community and accessible helpline, it draws families into an ecosystem and makes comprehensive and credible information for families.
Under her leadership, Nayi Disha has won several awards including the prestigious Zero Project Award at the UN Office, in Vienna. She is also Salzburg Global Fellow (2020) and India Inclusion Fellow (2018).
Engineer by training, she used to work with reputable organizations like Microsoft and TCS before founding Nayi Disha. Her brother remains her inspiration behind the work done Nayi Disha!
