SELF-RELIANCE may not always involve surviving on a desert island with only a tin opener and an elastic band, but it is always a life-enhancing quality. It's more than physical sustenance; it's more than financial or even emotional independence; it's being your own star - what good ole' uncle Ralph Waldo Emerson was encouraging: ''Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.''

This is why self-reliance cannot simply be taught, handed down like a gnomic heirloom. It must be learned and practised in all aspects of life. In the realm of academia, teachers can help by providing the correct environment for study, the relevant guides for a full appreciation of the subject, and, most of all, in encouragement.

But for anyone who experiences any kind of learning disability, these aids take on greater significance. In Scotland, one group leads the way in promoting just this kind of help. Enable means what it says on the label; it allows that iron string to vibrate in hearts that have been stilled too long.

The organisation was conceived in 1954, when five families met in Glasgow to form a group to support themselves and their children with learning disabilities. That group now has over 6000 members in 72 branches nationwide, from East Kilbride to Orkney.

Over the years it has provided a growing range of services, campaigned for adequate and better education provision, and promoted a better public understanding of learning disability. It also runs 15 houses with 24-hour support for 68 people with profound learning disabilities. But most importantly, it has encouraged people with learning disabilities to see themselves as full citizens and to fight back against discrimination. Some find it hard to speak up for themselves. Enable has advocacy projects to help them make their voices heard, which allow the disenfranchised to make their views known about decisions that will affect their lives - fundamental choices, like vocations or where they want to live.

Of course, to provide such services costs money. Some cash comes from government grants, but most from voluntary contributions. Thankfully, fundraising is a speciality of Enable, with never a month without someone leaping off tall buildings, out of aeroplanes, or throwing themselves on an inflatable raft down river rapids.

Is this all part of the pioneering, independent spirit of the charity, or simply a sign of volunteers who are bonkers? A sure hint for the latter, this writer - whose idea of a good walk is a trip to the coffee machine - has signed up for this year's big event: a 10-day trek in the shadow of the Hindu Kush, among the world's tallest peaks. Marco Polo once passed through this area of the Upper Hunza Valley. It would be nice to think Enable is still crossing barriers and opening new worlds.

n If you or your company would like to help Enable by sponsoring this trek, please contact Enable, c/o Features Department, The Herald, 195 Albion St, Glasgow G1 1QP.