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Happy to be special
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Snehanilayam at Kakkanad is full of `sneham' all right, discovers SUDHA NAMBUDIRI as she visits these kids who are taught to be self-reliant.
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IT FELT good being there. For one, it didn't feel like a school. The students were quite self-disciplined. If they caught your eye, they would nod gracefully. Some would say `hello'. Others gave a shy smile. And quite a few came near and greeted you. A peep into the classrooms and one found the atmosphere very interactive, the blackboard and the teacher not overwhelming. It could pass off as a formal home. Well, the sisters and the teachers have made it one. A Snehanilayam. For the special kids.
As one walks into the campus of Snehanilayam, one is amazed at the peaceful and humble atmosphere surrounding the otherwise big campus. The school for special kids has completed 25 years and celebrated its silver jubilee in April, this year. It was a Friday and as one walked in, out came Sister Catherine Hanley, a gentle, soft-spoken elderly nun who had spent about 34 years in the service of the mentally-retarded children. Having retired as Principal, Snehanilayam, she now teaches English to the kids there. One didn't need to ask much. Her love and affection for the children was there in her eyes, her voice.
"There is God in these children. They are so open in their affection and love for everybody among them. They do quarrel like other kids, but it is never hurtful. It is forgotten the moment they realise that the other child is getting hurt."
A native of Ireland, she had been teaching in Mumbai before she came down to Kerala. As we sat talking, the Principal, Sister Lizzie Veluthedath, joined us. "You couldn't find a more appropriate person to tell you about the children," she said of Sister Catherine. Bidding bye to the elderly nun, we moved into the classroom area. "I was just settling the kids into their classrooms. They just had their recess." There was a hub of activity around and Sister Lizzie explained that being a second Friday, they had a canteen which meant goodies were made by the students of the pre-vocational class with help from teachers. "Each of them pays and buys the item. So they learn money management too in the process."
At the vocational training class for boys, most of the students were above 20 years. The arrival of the principal accompanied by a visitor caught the attention of everybody, busily polishing, painting wooden pieces to make puzzles and educational kit for the nursery classes. The kits were lovely. Initially done by these special kids, they are given final touches by the teachers. "We used to keep it in several shops but unfortunately people don't buy them. As they were gathering dust, we brought them back. Now we sell it to nurseries and to people who come to visit us if they are interested." A sad state of affairs indeed for every toy sold means a small share for the students and the rest would go for buying raw materials for them to work on.
In between their work and laughter, the kids, on prompting from their teacher, started asking questions like what's your name? Why are you here? etc. Is it for a Malayalam or an English paper?
Among them is Majeed who will be going to Ireland for Special Olympics as part of the football team. The team of Simi, Antony, Shijo Joy and Hanoon are going to the Special Olympics in New Delhi soon. School is about some work and some play.
We then moved on to the pre-vocational class, which is mainly for girls. It's about home science and money management. The latter is something they all want to learn, says the teacher. "If they lose money, they are most upset." There is a gush of oohs, and aaahs accompanied by giggles. They invite me to the canteen to share their `kozhukatta.'
"Would you give it for free or will you take money? An almost unanimous answer, "Pay!"
Fair enough. As Sister Catherine had mentioned in the beginning, "There is no malice in their hearts. They are very frank and outright in their actions, which is something we `normal' people don't have."
As we move into the next class Sister Lizzie mentions that some intelligent kids are put together as they are marginally ahead of the others. Did you read the paper today, asked the principal after the introductions. "Yes, Shobana's been arrested," said one. "She fell down and fainted," said another. What's the charge? Well, they couldn't answer that oneOne thing stood out. Unlike most principals, there was no fear on seeing Sister Lizzie. The kids were very comfortable in her presence. She knew each of them by name, one of them caught her eye and told her to pray for his sister who was not keeping well. Yet another who had been `naughty' came with a very sorry look on her face. One of them offered her a goodie when she told them that she had no money. "They will offer because they know that I will refuse, " she laughed. They are naughty too like all kids. Taking away pencils, rubbers, making noises, pulling each other's uniform and any other.
How do they correct them, let them know that they have been naughty? "We use the punishment-and-reward method. We note their weakness. Most of them are possessive about their bags, love sweets, be it chocolates or ladoos when visitors bring them, want to eat their lunch on time. So we keep away their bags, or don't give them sweets when others are eating them, or postpone their lunch for an hour." Sister Lizzie says it works very well and they are the most regretful and will not repeat it.
Of the syllabus, she says, they learn to take care of their own needs, personal hygiene, cleanliness, organising their things, behaviour at home, community. They learn to read and speak English and Malayalam and handle money. "We have very cooperative parents and from the interaction at the parent-teachers meeting, they seem to be very satisfied with the progress."
She talks of the parental trauma when they first bring the child to the institution. "Most of them have been given false hopes that their child would be normal after a few years. And my sessions with them are aimed at making them understand that there will be progress but don't look for complete normal behaviour."
A few hours in Snehanilayam made one realise that children will be children, normal or special. What stands out in them is their child-like innocence sans any bad or ill feeling for another being. If God made these kids special and different, he also made some people like the Sisters and teachers of these institutions to keep that goodness intact.
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