— Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

FINE EFFORT: Cultural show by the mentally challenged students at the silver jubilee celebration of the Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu in Chennai.

CHENNAI: Deaf kids performed a mime; after all, actions speak louder than words.

A pair with cerebral palsy revelled in poikkal kuthiraiattam; the wooden horses help to support their weak legs. And children with Down's syndrome did a kind of puppet dance, the music and actions tailored to their slow movements.

The whole performance showcased the "abilities in disability" that the Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu (SPASTN) has championed for the last 25 years.

When a group of philanthropists started SPASTN in 1981, the International Year of the Disabled, it was to provide a special school for children with cerebral palsy.

A quarter of a century later, the organisation has served over 4.5 lakh disabled people through a variety of education and training programmes aimed at helping them participate fully in mainstream society.

Silver jubilee

SPASTN's silver jubilee function at its Taramani campus on Friday was marked with nostalgic reminiscing and an outpouring of gratitude towards all those involved in its growth.

But the troubling issue of finances kept popping up. President V.L. Indira Dutt said the organisation was constantly at its wit's end to meet monthly needs.

"Most big donors want to sponsor capital assets, not recurring expenses like teacher's salaries," she said.

The scaling down of Central Government grants and the lack of funding for regular therapists have also made things more difficult, director Annie Shyam said.

The Tamil Nadu Government's Special Secretary for Social Welfare, M.R. Mohan promised that the State Government would look into the possibility of funding a portion of the recurring expenditure and helping to promote the products made by SPASTN children. "We will definitely stand by you," he said.

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