Project Enhance draws on sports and the arts as tools for inclusion and for better mental health for people with physical and/or mental disability. A young man with an interest in children's development and an extensive karate background is providing martial arts training to children with different types of disabilities, such as mild, moderate, or profound mental retardation, cerebral palsy, depression, attention deficit disorder, behavioural problems, and downs syndrome. The organiser explains that "Karate-do (the way) teaches you to better yourself through traditional training the Okinawan way....It is a discipline involving the whole body, as it concentrates the mind as well as conditioning the physique. It is a form of escapism as you focus on the moves you are making. When the physical and mental state are as one and they control the same movement, the bodies muscles will be in their entirety and the mental state will benefit. Learning how to control your movement into a fluid and adaptable motion will also benefit other areas of your life, such as the ability to understand one's own mind better." Studies have also shown that exercise is associated with positive changes in mood states and reductions in anxiety and depression.

The martial arts sessions are designed to promote inclusion by involving both disabled children and those without physical or mental health concerns. Organisers feel that children of all abilities can benefit from some of the skills emphasised in learning karate, such as improved body control, flexibility, stamina, improved breathing, muscle control, trust, low aggression, and togetherness. To cite a specific example, for the posture to be perfect and well-balanced, one must learn to ensure that the following parameters to be consistent: balanced strength between the right and left side of the body, between the front and back, and between the upper and lower body. By integrating drawing tasks into the sessions, the teacher feels that he can reinforce the martial arts training by helping children develop:

• a sense of responsibility (they come to understand they have to complete the task as per the instruction),
• eye-hand coordination (filling the colours in the shape itself),
• controlled motor skill (control of fingers while filling the colour, the pressure applied while drawing),
• a sense of achievement,
• cognitive skill,
• motor skill,
• discrimination skill (which colour to fill in which shape), and
• discipline (they learn to sit in a place and complete the task without making noise).

To maintain motivation and to stimulate awareness of different types of body posture and control, the teacher integrates activities like games, meditation, and dance into these 1- to 1.5-hour group sessions.

Children, Health, Rights.

According to organisers, mental health is not just the absence of mental disorder; rather, it is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes a disability as a restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.

The creator of this project is a man with a 2nd Dan Black Belt in karate; he formalised the Project Enhance work by registering, in India, the Colorss Foundation, which works towards the mainstream integration of the marginalised population through psychological, social, and professional training and rehabilitation. Through the broad spectrum of its goal, the foundation handles various disability issues involving physical and mental handicap.