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Taking care of special children
KEERTHANA IS a little over 10 years of age and she recites verses from the "Athichoodi" and "Thirukkural", while most children her age would try to memorise poems from their school texts. But when she gets started, she just does not know when to stop and has to be guided. Going by normal standards, reciting verses from epics may not be an exceptional achievement. But in the case of Keerthana, it definitely is. For she has been afflicted with Cerebral Palsy.
Shankar was unable to attend school and was sore over the fact that his elder brother was attending classes. Such special children in Kanchipuram town and its surrounding villages, including Keerthana, Vinodhini and Shankar, had no place to go as school education seemed to be a distant dream.
That was until Vidya Prakasham — School for Special Children, was opened in February this year. Formed under the auspices of The Guild of Service (TGOS), the school now has 24 special children with Cerebral Palsy and with normal intelligence, and mentally challenged children as well. The school, which was started on February 27, is at present functioning at the orphanage run by the TGOS, on Railway Road.
When the inmates of the orphanage leave for school, the special children are accommodated in the two rooms and are provided training with sufficient care. A van donated by the Kanchi Math, picks up the children from their homes and drops them back after school hours. The children come from within the town and villages adjacent to it, such as Kuruvimalai, Nathapettai.
According to Kalyani Rajaraman, vice president of the local chapter of TGOS, and wife of the Kanchipuram District Collector, K. Rajaraman,the school was formed essentially to ensure that such special children are not isolated from the mainstream.
An important task ahead of Vidya Prakasham is providing sufficient training to these children so that they become independent to a certain extent. They also have plans to provide vocational training for special children above the age of 17. The school receives grants from the Ministry of Social Welfare and Justice and is run as per norms laid out by the National Trust.
Kalyani says that in a period of three months, the children were able to become self reliant in matters of personal hygiene. Making the parents also participate in this effort is an important task, she says. Regular assessments of the students are made. The teachers of the school say that many among the children are hyperactive and show interest in diverse skills. Kalyani Rajaraman says, as of now, the school is able to sustain with the help of grants from the National Trust, business houses and members of the Guild in the town. The school plans to construct a separate building, the foundation stone for which was laid recently. Once this is executed, more number of special children can be identified and training imparted.
Kalyani adds that donations are welcome and those interested could contact the Guild of Service on Railway Road in Kanchipuram, or contact the Collector's Camp Office on Wandavasi Road. (Telephone Numbers: 04112 - 238477/238478).
K. MANIKANDAN
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